Opinion ID: 2425145
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: evidence of collateral criminal activity

Text: The record shows serious abuse of the rule of relevancy that evidence of the commission of a crime other than the one charged is not admissible unless there are special circumstances establishing relevancy. The rule and the exceptions are discussed in Lawson, The Kentucky Evidence Law Handbook, 2d ed., § 2.20 (1984). There is, of course, an exception for interwoven criminal acts which would cover proof that guns obtained in one robbery were used in another, but the exception is only applicable if the trial judge determines that the possibility of prejudice to the accused is outweighed by the probative worth and need for the evidence. Lawson, supra. Here there was no need for the evidence that the appellants were armed with guns from the burglary of the Guthrie Pawn Shop nine days before, none whatsoever. Both appellants gave both tape recorded and written statements in which they acknowledged that they were armed when they committed the present offenses, one statement described the weapons in detail, and throughout the trial the defense freely acknowledged anything and everything that could suggest a pretext for a need for this evidence. Although the trial judge excluded explicit references to the prior killing or murder at the Guthrie Pawn Shop, no reasonable and objective person can seriously question that the jury would assume the defendants were responsible for the crimes committed at the Guthrie Pawn Shop once the evidence identifying where their guns came from was admitted. These were two lurid and sensational crimes committed in adjacent rural counties, obviously well publicized. Indeed, eight of the jurors acknowledged familiarity with the Todd County burglaries. Once having been reminded of the burglary, surely they need not have been further reminded of the murder. Leaving aside for the moment error in refusing to strike these jurors for cause, once the proof came in that the guns used in the present case came from the Guthrie Pawn Shop, we can conclude the entire jury was not well aware of the whole episode, only closing our eyes and ears to the obvious truth. This we should never do just to reach a result, no matter how well intended. In the circumstances of this case, admitting evidence that the guns the appellants used in the present offenses were stolen from the Guthrie Pawn Shop should be designated a prejudicial error.