Opinion ID: 658352
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Mary Bacon Shooting Incident

Text: 159 One of the overt acts alleged in furtherance of the methamphetamine and marijuana conspiracies was that on August 16, 1983, Dominic Cavallaro attempted to kill Mary Bacon, an employee of the United States Forest Service, by shooting at her five times with a large caliber firearm while Bacon was on official duty in a remote part of California's Shasta National Forest. Witness Dale Richmond testified that Cavallaro had admitted to shooting at Bacon to scare her away from the Squaw Creek marijuana growing area. The district court admitted the evidence over defense objection and subsequently denied a defense motion to strike this overt act from counts 2 and 3 on the grounds that the incident had not been tied to the charged conspiracies. On appeal, Cavallaro vehemently argues that he did not commit the shooting, that the act was not connected to the conspiracies and was therefore irrelevant, and that, even if relevant, the district court should have excluded the evidence under Rule 403. 160 Prior to Richmond's testimony, the district court determined that Cavallaro's admission was made in furtherance of the conspiracy under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) and conducted a Rule 403 analysis. In denying the motion to strike the overt act from the indictment, the court stated that it found sufficient evidence that the shooting was in furtherance of the two conspiracies. The admission of the evidence was not an abuse of the district court's discretion. As to Cavallaro's culpability, the defense thoroughly cross-examined Richmond and presented exculpatory witnesses. It was for the jury to decide whether Cavallaro was responsible for the shooting.