Opinion ID: 410290
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of Extrinsic Offenses

Text: 4 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing Campbell to testify concerning his prior relationship with Costa, even though his testimony showed Costa previously had dealt in cocaine. Costa argues this violated Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) which prohibits evidence of offenses or illegal acts extrinsic to a defendant's indictment to show the defendant's bad character. 5 The relationship between Costa and Campbell, however, was not extrinsic to the Government's charge. Campbell testified as to the circumstances in which he came to know Costa as a dealer in cocaine to show why he could expect Costa to provide him with a kilogram. The evidence concerning the prior acts and that used to prove the crime charged were inextricably intertwined. United States v. Aleman, 592 F.2d 881, 885 (5th Cir. 1979) 1 . Therefore, Campbell's testimony about Costa's previous dealing in cocaine was necessary because it formed an integral and natural part of the witness's accounts of the circumstances surrounding the offenses for which the defendant was indicted. Id. at 886; United States v. Bloom, 538 F.2d 704, 707 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1074, 97 S.Ct. 814, 50 L.Ed.2d 792 (1977). 6 The trial court's sensitivity to the problems arising under Rule 404(b) is demonstrated by the transcript of the hearing regarding Campbell's testimony and by the fact that the court prohibited introduction of a prior state drug conviction during the prosecution's case-in-chief.