Opinion ID: 195236
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Lincoln Mark VII

Text: 31 Hahn attempted to preclude evidence seized from a Lincoln Mark VII abandoned near an airport in Islip, New York. An inventory search yielded, inter alia, a .45 caliber Derringer handgun, several Colt .45 caliber ammunition clips, and various travel documents in Hahn's name. Coconspirator Ken White had testified to purchasing an identical Lincoln Mark VII at Hahn's behest, and several witnesses testified that the Lincoln was used by Hahn in his New York City area activities in behalf of the Lujan organization. The Derringer bore a serial number matching that on the bill of sale White received when he purchased it, as he did other handguns, at Hahn's request. Finally, among the travel documents found in the Lincoln was the receipt for a round-trip airline ticket issued in Hahn's name for travel between Tucson and Islip. 32 Hahn argues that this evidence should have been excluded under Rule 403 because its prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value. The difficulty with Hahn's claim is that he has not shown that the probative value of the 'other act' evidence was substantially outweighed by its unfair prejudice. United States v. Carty, 993 F.2d 1005, 1011 (1st Cir.1993) (emphasis in original); see United States v. Rodriguez-Estrada, 877 F.2d 153, 156 (1st Cir.1989) (all evidence is meant to be prejudicial; it is only unfair prejudice which must be avoided). Although evidence of handgun possession may indeed invite an inference that the defendant used the gun, the entirely legitimate predicate inference for so concluding is that prior possession makes it more probable that the defendant used a handgun than would be the case if there were no such evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 401. Thus, no unfair inference of character-based predisposition was necessary to constitute the seized handgun and ammunition probative evidence on several important factual issues, including Hahn's activities in the New York area. As no cautionary instruction was requested, we discern no abuse of discretion.