Opinion ID: 1905163
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Evidence Regarding the Plymouth Burglary Was Admissible for the Purpose of Proving the Identity of the Wymore Casey's Robber.

Text: Epp next asserts that the district court erred by admitting evidence regarding the Plymouth burglary. He argues that such evidence was inadmissible as evidence of other crimes used to show propensity. We conclude that the court did not err in determining that the evidence was admissible for the purpose of proving identity. Prior to trial, the court sustained the State's motion pursuant to rule 404 to present evidence regarding the Plymouth burglary. Such evidence included a video recording of the Plymouth burglary, items stolen from the Plymouth store that were found in Epp's apartment, and testimony establishing that Epp committed the Plymouth burglary. The court determined that the evidence was admissible for the purpose of proving the identity of the person who committed the Wymore Casey's robbery at issue in this case. Prior to admitting evidence regarding the Plymouth burglary over Epp's objection at trial, the court gave a limiting instruction stating that the evidence was received for the limited purpose of proving identity. The admissibility of the Plymouth burglary evidence is controlled by rule 404. Rule 404(1) generally provides that [e]vidence of a person's character or a trait of his or her character is not admissible for the purpose of proving that he or she acted in conformity therewith . . . . However, rule 404(2) further provides that [e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he or she acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. [19] An appellate court's analysis under rule 404(2) considers (1) whether the evidence was relevant for some purpose other than to prove the character of a person to show that he or she acted in conformity therewith; (2) whether the probative value of the evidence is substantially outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice; and (3) whether the trial court, if requested, instructed the jury to consider the evidence only for the limited purpose for which it was admitted. State v. Floyd, 277 Neb. 502, 763 N.W.2d 91 (2009). In the present case, the court instructed the jury that evidence of the Plymouth burglary was admitted for the limited purpose of proving identity. We therefore need to determine whether the evidence was relevant for that purpose and whether the probative value of the evidence was substantially outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice. We first consider whether evidence of the Plymouth burglary was relevant for some purpose other than to show Epp's propensity to commit the robbery charged in this case. The State urged, and the court agreed, that the evidence was admissible to prove the identity of the person who committed the Wymore Casey's robbery. The State sought to prove Epp was the person who robbed the Wymore Casey's by presenting evidence that the same person who committed the Wymore Casey's robbery also committed the Plymouth burglary and that Epp committed the Plymouth burglary. The jury could then logically infer that Epp committed the Wymore Casey's robbery. Identity was at issue in this case, because although witnesses testified regarding the Wymore Casey's robbery, none of the witnesses was able to identify the person who committed the robbery. Therefore, other acts evidence potentially had probative value on the issue of identity. See State v. Burdette, 259 Neb. 679, 611 N.W.2d 615 (2000). Compare State v. Sanchez, 257 Neb. 291, 597 N.W.2d 361 (1999) (finding that other acts evidence could have no probative value on issue of identity because witness unequivocally identified defendant as assailant in sexual assault case). [20,21] We have stated that other acts evidence may have probative value as to identity where there are overwhelming similarities between the other crime and the charged offense or offenses, such that the crimes are so similar, unusual, and distinctive that the trial judge could reasonably find that they bear the same signature. State v. Trotter, 262 Neb. 443, 632 N.W.2d 325 (2001); State v. Burdette, supra . In evaluating other acts evidence in criminal prosecutions, the other act must be so related in time, place, and circumstances to the offense or offenses charged so as to have substantial probative value in determining the guilt of the accused. Trotter, supra . Evidence of the Plymouth burglary is probative with respect to the identity of the Wymore Casey's robber. As the district court noted, the video recordings and other evidence indicate that in each incident, the person who committed the Plymouth burglary or the Wymore Casey's robbery wore a dark ski mask, dark pants, a dark windbreaker jacket, and white tennis shoes with dark stripes. The court further found that there was a distinct pattern and procedure relating to the identity of the intruder in both the Plymouth grocery store burglaries and the Casey's . . . robbery which goes significantly beyond the common thread of the intruder wearing dark clothing in both instances. As a general matter, the way that the perpetrator was dressed in both the Plymouth burglary and the Wymore Casey's robbery does not necessarily establish a signaturethe general description of the clothing appears to be common attire for one committing a robbery or burglary. Evidence such as testimony of witnesses regarding what a person was wearing might not in itself be enough to establish a distinctive identity. However, in the present case, the evidence regarding the two crimes included video recordings which gave the jury much more information regarding the perpetrator of each crime than would witness testimony regarding the perpetrator's clothing. The jury was able to see exactly what the perpetrator was wearing and was not limited to generic descriptions such as dark clothes or dark ski mask which could describe any variety of clothing and would not necessarily constitute a signature. But with the video recordings of the two crimes, the jury was able to see exactly what type of clothing the perpetrator was wearing and come to its own conclusions whether the perpetrator in each case was wearing the same clothing and, in this case, whether such clothing was the same clothing that was found in Epp's apartment. In addition to seeing the exact clothing worn in each incident, the jury was able to view and make its own determination regarding similarities in the size and build of the perpetrator in each incident, as well as subtle factors such as the gait and manner in which the perpetrator moved. The video recording evidence in this case provided significant information regarding the perpetrator of each crime which went beyond general descriptions of the clothing worn by the perpetrator of each crime. Such visual evidence was sufficient to allow the jury to make an informed determination of whether the same person committed both crimes. We therefore conclude that evidence of the Plymouth burglary was relevant for the purpose of proving the identity of the person who committed the robbery charged in this case. Having concluded that the evidence of the Plymouth burglary was relevant for a proper purpose under rule 404(2), we next consider whether the probative value of such evidence is outweighed by its potential for unfair prejudice. An analysis under rule 403 requires a court to weigh the probative value of particular evidence against the danger of unfair prejudice. As we concluded above, the evidence of the Plymouth burglary is probative as to the identity of the Wymore Casey's robber. The evidence also indicated that the Plymouth burglary was so related in time, place, and circumstances to the Wymore Casey's robbery so as to have substantial probative value in determining the guilt of the accused. See State v. Trotter, 262 Neb. 443, 459, 632 N.W.2d 325, 339 (2001). The two crimes occurred within 1 month of one another, and the targets of the crimes were small stores in small towns in adjoining counties. Therefore, the probative value of the evidence is substantial. The potential for unfair prejudice with respect to rule 404 is that the evidence could be used to show that because Epp committed the Plymouth burglary, he had a propensity to commit the robbery charged in this case. However, because the evidence has substantial probative value with respect to the proper purpose of identity and because the court gave a limiting instruction to the jury that it should consider the evidence only for the purpose of identity, we conclude that the probative value of the evidence was not substantially outweighed by the potential for unfair prejudice. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of the Plymouth burglary. Epp's assignment of error is without merit.