Opinion ID: 146484
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of the Mason City Robberies

Text: Knutson argues that the district court abused its discretion by allowing the government to introduce evidence of the Mason City robberies. He contends that there was insufficient evidence connecting him to those other crimes and that the evidence was therefore of little value in establishing his identity. Knutson also argues that he was unfairly prejudiced by the admission of the evidence because of the dramatic nature of the testimony and bank surveillance footage. Evidence of other criminal acts, though not admissible to demonstrate a defendant's propensity to commit a crime, may be admitted for other purposes such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Fed. R.Evid. 404(b). Such evidence is admissible if it is (1) relevant to a material issue; (2) similar in kind and close in time to the crime charged; (3) proven by a preponderance of the evidence; and (4) if the potential prejudice does not substantially outweigh its probative value. United States v. Oman, 427 F.3d 1070, 1075 (8th Cir. 2005). The district court has broad discretion in admitting evidence under Rule 404(b), and we will reverse its decision only when the evidence clearly has no bearing on any legitimate issues and is introduced solely to establish the defendant's propensity to commit a crime. Id. at 1074-75. Knutson's argument at trial was that some other person was involved in the robberies; thus, the central issue was one of identity. Evidence of other crimes may be relevant to establishing identity if a reasonable juror could conclude that the same person committed both crimes. See United States v. Carroll, 207 F.3d 465, 469 (8th Cir.2000). The crimes, however, must be sufficiently idiosyncratic to make them clearly distinctive from the thousands of other bank robberies committed each year. Id. at 468 (internal quotation omitted). Factors pertinent to this question include the extent of the similarity between the crimes and their temporal and geographic proximity to one another. Id. at 469. We conclude that the other robberies were sufficiently similar to the charged crime to establish an identity inference and support admission of the evidence for that purpose. The Mason City robberies occurred within two months of the First Bank robbery, and the locations of the crimes were all within relatively easy driving distance of one another. The circumstances thus suggested that the robberies were related to a single crime spree. Cf. United States v. Smith, 103 F.3d 600, 603 (7th Cir. 1996) (observing that a one month interval and a forty mile distance between two bank robberies strengthened the inference of a common identity). The crimes also involved a distinctive set of signature facts or modus operandi. All of the robberies targeted the same type of financial institutionsrelatively small banks with several teller windows and a small drive-up window. All of the crimes involved a tall Caucasian male conducting a takeover-style robbery, wearing a mask and hooded sweatshirt, and carrying a black powder pistol. Law enforcement agents testified that the perpetrator's use of a black powder pistol was especially unusual; Officer Castalline could not recall another robbery in his 30-year career in which such a weapon had been used. In addition, one of the Mason City robberies shared another distinctive characteristic with the First Bank robbery, in that the perpetrator threatened to cap anyone who did not cooperate with his orders. Based on these factual similarities, the district court could have found that the crimes were sufficiently idiosyncratic to allow admission of the evidence under Rule 404(b). Although Knutson points out that he was not convicted of the Mason City robberies, he does not contend that his involvement in those crimes was not established by at least a preponderance of the evidence. [4] Knutson likewise cannot show that the probative value of the evidence was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Because the same basic inferences were necessary to establish Knutson's involvement in both the charged and uncharged crimes, the jury was unlikely to conclude that Knutson was guilty of robbing First Bank simply because he had robbed other banks and thus had a propensity to commit the crime of bank robbery. [5] Knutson also argues that he was prejudiced because of the dramatic nature of the testimony and surveillance videos concerning the uncharged crimes. Although the cumulative impact of the evidence might warrant some concern, the shock value of the testimony and surveillance footage was likely diminished in the context of a bank robbery trial in which a substantial quantity of very similar evidence had already been admitted. Moreover, the district court gave the jury a limiting instruction that restricted the use of the evidence from the other robberies, thus decreasing the possibility of unfair prejudice. [6] See United States v. Thomas, 398 F.3d 1058, 1063 (8th Cir.2005) ([T]he use of a limiting instruction decreases the danger that unfair prejudice will result from admission of [404(b)] evidence.). The district court therefore did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of the Mason City robberies. Finally, even if we were to conclude that the evidence was improperly admitted, Knutson would not be entitled to relief because admission of the evidence did not have a significant influence on the verdict. See Oman, 427 F.3d at 1076 (holding that any error in admission of 404(b) evidence was harmless in light of the strong evidence of the defendant's guilt). Multiple surveillance videos established that Knutson bore a physical resemblance to the taller perpetrator in the First Bank robbery. Knutson was a known associate of Stenger and Robinson during the time when the crime occurred, and he conceded at trial that those individuals were involved in the First Bank robbery and other related crimes. Knutson also possessed a black powder pistol, motorcycle boots, and a pickup truck consistent with those of the perpetrator. Furthermore, three cooperating witnesses testified about Knutson's involvement in the crime. Accordingly, any error in admission of the evidence was harmless.