Opinion ID: 2486429
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Evidence of Collateral Acts

Text: In his next claim, McCRAY contends that the State violated the Williams [11] rule when it impermissibly made evidence of McCRAY's collateral drug arrest and his role as a drug dealer a feature of the trial that exceeded the scope of the State's Notice of Other Crimes, Wrongs or Acts. We reject McCRAY's claim that this evidence is precluded by the Williams rule. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting these collateral acts because they were relevant to establish McCRAY's motive for the murders. Under the State's theory of the case, McCRAY went to the Selkirk-Perrotta rental home on the morning in question and killed the victims in retribution for their role in his earlier arrest occurring approximately three months earlier. According to the State, the evidence demonstrated that McCRAY wanted to know who had informed on him. To establish this theory, the State sought to introduce evidence relating to McCRAY's February 12, 2004, arrest at the site of the murders. Consequently, the State filed a Notice of Other Crimes, Wrongs or Acts, which argued for the admission of such evidence, including statements made by McCRAY to anyone during or after the arrest. McCRAY later filed a motion to exclude this evidence. At a hearing on the motion, the State argued that it would need to identify McCRAY as a drug supplier of this house. The State explained that McCRAY had been arrested for possession of cocaine in February 2004 and had informed several individuals that he wanted to find out who was responsible for alerting the police to his drug dealing. The State advanced that its purpose in offering the evidence was to establish McCRAY's motive of retribution for the February arrestto show a jury why [McCRAY] chose to kill the people that he chose in that house and it relat[ed] directly back to that [February] drug raid. The State further explained that McCRAY was running a drug dealing operation, that [h]e got caught, and that [h]e was arrested. The trial court did not exclude the evidence. At trial, the State presented evidence to the jury of the February 2004 drug arrest and ensuing drug raid. Detective Hall testified to his belief that McCRAY was the home's main drug supplier and that after executing a warrant, the police arrested Selkirk, Ellis, Perrotta, Cunningham, and McCRAY. Goodman testified that John Whitehead was also arrested. Further, several other witnesses testified that in the weeks leading up to the May 2004 shootings, McCRAY questioned each of them about the events surrounding his February arrest and the other parties' involvement in that arrest; McCRAY wanted to know who had alerted the police to him. As this Court recently explained in McGirth v. State, 48 So.3d 777, 786-87 (Fla.2010): An appellate court will not disturb a trial court's determination that evidence is relevant and admissible absent an abuse of discretion. Relevant evidence is generally admissible unless precluded by a specific rule of exclusion. There are two categories under which evidence of uncharged crimes or bad acts will be admissiblesimilar fact evidence, otherwise known as Williams rule evidence, and dissimilar fact evidence. The requirements and limitations of section 90.404 govern similar fact evidence while the general rule of relevancy set forth in section 90.402 governs dissimilar fact evidence. (Citations omitted.) The collateral crime evidence that McCRAY was a drug dealer who was arrested in a drug raid at the murder site was not similar fact evidence, and consequently, McCRAY's claim does not constitute a true Williams rule claim. As explained below, the general rule of relevancy under section 90.402, Florida Statutes (2008), applies, and the evidence at issue was relevant to establish McCRAY's motive for the charged crimes. [12] McCRAY appears to concede that evidence of his prior arrest was a permissible tactic to show motive. However, McCRAY asserts that the State's use of the facts and circumstances surrounding the arrest and his role as a drug dealer was irrelevant. We disagree. This Court has previously approved of a trial court's admission of evidence of a defendant's prior drug dealing to assist in establishing motive. See, e.g., Jackson v. State, 25 So.3d 518, 529 (Fla.2009), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 3420, 177 L.Ed.2d 332 (2010); Jorgenson v. State, 714 So.2d 423, 427-28 (Fla.1998). Here, as in Jackson and Jorgenson, the evidence regarding the February 2004 drug raid and McCRAY's role as a drug dealer was relevant to support the State's theory of motive. McCRAY was in the business of regularly delivering and selling crack cocaine to the site at which the murders occurred, it was explained that all four victims were arrested along with McCRAY during the drug raid, and several witnesses testified that after his February arrest, but before the shooting spree, McCRAY had relayed some concern about the victims' roles in his arrest. The fact that McCRAY was a drug dealer who supplied the home with drugs was evidence that helped to establish McCRAY's relationship to the murder location and with the victims. It therefore placed the State's theory that McCRAY murdered the victims for their role in his drug arrest into context. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting such evidence, nor was the probative value of the evidence substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. McCRAY also argues that the admission of his collateral acts impermissibly became a feature of the trial. Regardless of relevancy of collateral crime evidence ... admissibility is improper where the probative value of the evidence is substantially outweighed by undue prejudice. Hodges v. State, 885 So.2d 338, 358 (Fla.2004). This Court has explained that relevant evidence of collateral crimes impermissibly becomes a feature of the trial when the evidence `transend[s] the bounds of relevancy to the charge being tried' and the prosecution `devolves from development of facts pertinent to the main issue of guilt or innocence into an assault on the character of the defendant.' Peterson v. State, 2 So.3d 146, 155 (Fla.2009) (alteration in original) (quoting Conde v. State, 860 So.2d 930, 945 (Fla.2003)). Where evidence does, in fact, become a feature of the capital trial, reversible error will result. See, e.g., Steverson v. State, 695 So.2d 687, 687 (Fla.1997) (reversing Steverson's conviction and death sentence because State's presentation of excessive collateral crime evidence was unfairly prejudicial and became a feature of Steverson's capital murder trial). During the course of trial, the State presented to the jury details about and surrounding McCRAY's February 2004 arrest and the fact that McCRAY was a drug supplier to the home. However, in light of the accumulation of other evidence the State presented to prove the charged offenses and the defense's own apparent theory that another drug supplier may have committed the charged offenses, we conclude that the State's references to the collateral crimes did not transcend[ ] the bounds of relevancy to the charge being tried or devolve[ ] from development of facts pertinent to the main issue of guilt or innocence into an assault on the character of the defendant so as to warrant a new trial. Conde, 860 So.2d at 945 (quoting Williams v. State, 117 So.2d 473, 475 (Fla.1960)). Accordingly, we deny relief on this claim.