Opinion ID: 1992848
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Admission of defendant's ammunition and gun paraphernalia

Text: When the police searched defendant's wallet, car, and house, they found a significant amount of gun paraphernalia. Defendant had a box in his kitchen closet that contained 500 rounds of ammunition for a .380 caliber weapon, a smaller box containing twenty-six bullets, and equipment and materials used for making one's own ammunition. Defendant did not object to the admission of that evidence at trial, but now claims that the trial court's failure to sua sponte exclude the evidence of the arsenal of bullets and the equipment used to make ammunition constitutes plain error in both the guilt and penalty phases. Defendant asserts that that evidence was not relevant to any issue, but that even if it was relevant, it should have been excluded because it showed defendant's bad character and propensity to commit criminal acts.
Evidence may only be admitted at trial when it is relevant, having a tendency in reason to prove or disprove any fact of consequence to the determination of the action. N.J.R.E. 401, 402; see Davis, supra, 96 N.J. at 619, 477 A. 2d 308 (finding evidence relevant where it renders desired inference more probable than it would be without such evidence). Defendant claims that State v. Coyle, 119 N.J. 194, 574 A. 2d 951 (1990), requires a finding that the evidence here was not relevant. In Coyle, supra, the State introduced into evidence the defendant's Soldier of Fortune magazine, instructions on the use of a silencer, a target, and a gun catalogue. Id. at 218, 574 A. 2d 951. The State urged that the evidence was relevant to prove that the defendant's conduct was purposeful. The Court conceded that the defendant's marksmanship would be relevant, but held that [d]efendant's ownership of Soldier of Fortune magazine, the silencer instructions, and the gun catalogue does not demonstrate sharpshooter ability. Id. at 219, 574 A. 2d 951. However, the target would be admissible if the State could prove that the defendant had practiced with it or a similar target. Ibid. Defendant misconstrues Coyle. Coyle did not hold that all gun paraphernalia is per se irrelevant; it simply held that literature about guns merely indicates an interest in guns rather than marksmanship. Ibid. Defendant had more than just literature. Defendant had over 500 rounds of ammunition, a complete set of tools to reload cartridges, and a partially used box of ammunition. Moreover, police found in defendant's home a blank application for the Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, a club that the owner of D & S Gun Supplies (where defendant purchased his weaponry) recommended to his clients who shot guns often. Defendant's wallet contained a Washington State permit to carry concealed weapons and a business card for Target World, an indoor shooting range. In defendant's car, police found, along with defendant's gun, two magazines for the gun (one empty and one partially loaded), a side-kick shoulder holster that allows a person to conceal a weapon underneath a jacket, and a military identification card from defendant's service in the Navy. Defendant does not object to the admission of those objects into evidence but only objects to the admission of the arsenal of bullets and the bullet-making equipment. A ballistics expert testified at both the guilt and penalty phase trials that test results indicated a strong likelihood that the bullets found in defendant's closet were derived from the same process as the bullet used to kill Marsh. That testimony supports an inference of the knowledge, competency, and experience of defendant in handling firearms. Such evidence is significant to show that defendant intended to kill Marsh when he shot him in the head, and that the shot was not the result of an accidental discharge caused by an inexperienced marksman. As the State asserts, when defendant's possession of 500 rounds is viewed in conjunction with his complete set of tools for reloading cartridges (not to mention his Naval training, his permit to carry a concealed weapon, and his active interest in shooting ranges and clubs), a clear image emerges of a man possessing a wealth of knowledge of the workings of firearms and equally vast firsthand experience in firing them. That inference certainly strengthened the contention of an intentional murder. We agree. In the penalty phase, the ammunition and reloading equipment evidence also was relevant to help demonstrate that one of defendant's motives for killing Marsh was to avoid apprehension. In conjunction with the other evidence that indicated defendant's familiarity with firearms (e.g., Naval training, a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and an active interest in shooting ranges), the ammunition and gun equipment evidence was germane in establishing the likelihood that the shot to the victim's head was intentional and designed to eliminate a witness.
Defendant further contends that, even if the evidence was relevant, it should have sua sponte been excluded because it implied that defendant had bad character and a propensity to commit criminal acts, and its probative value was therefore substantially outweighed by the risk of prejudice. N.J.R.E. 403(a). However, the State never argued that defendant's possession of the ammunition was illegal or that the ammunition indicated that defendant would be dangerous in the future. Accord Loftin, supra, 287 N.J. Super. at 93, 670 A. 2d 557 (approving of introduction of same evidence into defendant's trial for prior murder). Indeed, defense counsel emphasized, on cross-examination of Officer Burnett, that defendant was not charged with unlawful possession of the ammunition. While the ammunition and reloading equipment may have prejudiced defendant, that evidence is shrouded with unsavory implications is no reason for exclusion when it is a significant part of the proof. State v. Stevens, 115 N.J. 289, 308, 558 A. 2d 833 (1989) (quoting State v. West, 29 N.J. 327, 335, 149 A. 2d 217 (1959)). The evidence did not prejudice defendant in an inflammatory way. If indeed it prejudiced defendant at all, it was only because it tended to prove a material element of the case against him. In any event, even if the evidence should not have been admitted, the trial court's decision to admit the ammunition evidence would be harmless error. It strains credulity to believe that the admission into evidence of 500 rounds of cartridge reloading equipment could have prevented a fair consideration of the evidence, because the jury had already been exposed to similar evidence, including testimony during the penalty phase from defendant's wife that they went target shooting together. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted that evidence.