Opinion ID: 881792
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the incident of september 5 and 6, 1988

Text: Officer Reeder, Beaverhead County sheriff's department, testified to the following. At approximately 11:00 p.m. on September 5, 1988, a call came to the sheriff's office from the manager of Kentucky Fried Chicken who reported that a man was sleeping in her vehicle. When Officer Reeder arrived he found the defendant either asleep or passed out in the manager's vehicle. The officer had difficulty in arousing the defendant. When he did arouse him and identified himself as a sheriff's officer, the defendant told him to go get ____. The sheriff's deputy had to struggle with the defendant to get him out of the vehicle. When he did get him out and advised him he was under arrest, the defendant struck the officer in the testicles. After more struggling, the defendant was finally subdued. He fought all the way to the jail. At the jail it took four officers to place him in a padded cell where he would presumably not injure himself. The transcript is full of interesting statements about defendant's profanity and his spitting in the faces of officers. I believe the record clearly indicates that the evidence of defendant's other prior crimes, wrongs or acts tends to prove the defendant did have opportunity, intent, motive, or common scheme when he was arrested, when he was full of strong drink, to fight and resist the arresting officers right to the jail or hospital. I believe Rule 404(b), M.R.Evid. and the Just standards have been met. In this case the defendant was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer. The evidence introduced by the prosecution in three of the above incidents clearly established that the defendant used the opportunity of arrest to assault the law enforcement officer or officers involved. The evidence of defendant's conduct was probative and did establish opportunity, intent, motive or common scheme. It would be a different matter if the evidence was introduced to only prove that in defendant's character there abides dislike of law enforcement officers. Such is not the facts in this case where such dislike escalates into violent assault. I would affirm.