Opinion ID: 2122312
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Admissibility of the Reverse -Spreigl Incident

Text: As stated above, an alternative perpetrator's past crime is relevant to a defendant's case if the past crime is sufficiently similar to the charged crime in terms of time, place, or modus operandi. Johnson, 568 N.W.2d at 426, 434. Our case law explains that while an alternative perpetrator's past crime must be sufficiently similar to the charged crime to be admissible, it does not need to be a signature crime, or absolutely similar to the charged crime. Id. Swaney asserts that the kidnap and robbery committed by Flowers is sufficiently similar to Nelson's murderthe charged offenseto be admitted at trial. The State acknowledges that the kidnap and robbery may be of the same generic type as Nelson's murder but argues that Flowers's past crime is not similar enough in time, place, or modus operandi to Nelson's murder to be admissible. According to the State, the district court properly excluded the evidence and therefore did not abuse its discretion. We conclude that the district court did not err when it granted the State's motion to exclude the evidence of M.K.'s kidnapping and robbery. Though there were some similarities between the crime committed by Flowers and the charged crime, there were several differences and we cannot conclude that the court abused its discretion in determining that the two crimes were not sufficiently similar. First, the district court could reasonably conclude that the modus operandi of the two crimes were not sufficiently similar. Swaney points out that he was charged with and found guilty of first-degree felony murder for intentionally causing Nelson's death while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping and argues that both crimes included a kidnapping and robbery of a lone woman. Additionally, the perpetrator of each crime used a weapon to facilitate the crime, and either threatened to kill or ultimately killed his victim. But the kidnappings that occurred were dissimilar. Flowers kidnapped M.K. and forced her to travel with him from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Sioux City, Iowa. The purpose of the kidnapping appears to be the facilitation of Flowers's escape from the Minnehaha County Jail. In the Nelson murder, the State surmised that the perpetrator forced Nelson to move within the contact station: from the bathroom area, to the rear of the employee-only area to open the safe, and back to the area immediately behind the counter where Nelson's body was ultimately found. The purpose of the kidnapping of Nelson appears to be the facilitation of robbing the Park. The perpetrator of each crime used a weapon during the crime, but it appears that neither perpetrator came prepared to use a weapon. Each used a weapon that was found during the commission of the crimeFlowers a knife in a stairwell, the perpetrator of the Nelson murder an engraved rock in the contact station. But the perpetrator of the Nelson murder used the rock to brutally assault and kill Nelson, while Flowers used the knife to threaten M.K. and then threw the knife out the car window. The weapons were not the same, and in one instance, the perpetrator did not use the weapon to physically injure the victim and eventually threw the weapon away while the criminal act continued to take place. As to time and location, the district court again was reasonable in concluding that the two crimes were not sufficiently similar. Flowers kidnapped and robbed M.K. on May 1, 2001. The Nelson murder occurred 19 days later on May 20, 2001. Sioux Falls, South Dakotathe location where Flowers kidnapped M.K.is approximately 36 miles from Blue Mounds State Park. Sioux City, Iowathe location where Flowers transported and eventually released M.K.is approximately 91 miles from Blue Mounds State Park. Though the crimes were not entirely dissimilar in terms of time and geographic location, we conclude that they were not similar enough for us to hold that the court abused its discretion when it excluded this evidence. We acknowledge that because Swaney sought to introduce the other crimes evidence, Sixth Amendment concerns regarding the right to present evidence are at issue in this case. Yet we cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in excluding the reverse- Spreigl evidence because the court reasonably determined that the kidnap and robbery committed by Flowers was not sufficiently similar in time, place, or modus operandi to Nelson's murder. We therefore hold that the court did not err in granting the State's motion to exclude evidence of Flowers's kidnap and robbery of M.K.
Swaney's third claim of error is that the State committed prosecutorial error by improperly attacking Swaney's character, speculating about events occurring at the time of the murder absent a factual basis, and improperly using past-crimes impeachment evidence as substantive character evidence.