Opinion ID: 1059329
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: evidence of bell's prior possession of a firearm

Text: Over Bell's objection, the Commonwealth introduced evidence during the guilt phase of the trial that Sergeant Timbrook had arrested Bell in May 1997 for carrying a concealed weapon and that Bell had been convicted of that charge. Bell did not object to admission of the fact that Sergeant Timbrook had previously arrested Bell on a misdemeanor charge and that Bell had been convicted of the charge, but he objected to the specific charge being identified. The Commonwealth offered this evidence to establish Bell's motive for killing Sergeant Timbrook; namely, that if Sergeant Timbrook had apprehended Bell in possession of the .38 caliber revolver, Sergeant Timbrook could have charged him with a felony because it would have been Bell's second firearms offense, and that such a charge would have adversely affected Bell's pending appeal regarding deportation. [10] Evidence of other crimes is admissible if it tends to prove any relevant element of the offense charged, such as motive, or the conduct and feeling of the accused toward the victim. See, e.g., Satcher v. Commonwealth, 244 Va. 220, 230, 421 S.E.2d 821, 828 (1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 933, 113 S.Ct. 1319, 122 L.Ed.2d 705 (1993). The evidence regarding the concealed weapon charge and conviction was relevant to the Commonwealth's theory of motive and was therefore admissible for that purpose. The circuit court instructed the jury that it could consider the evidence only as evidence of Bell's intent or motive. Thus, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence.