Opinion ID: 673896
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admission of August 1991 Arrest

Text: 19 Wiley argues that admission of the events surrounding his August 1991 arrest violated Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) (Rule 404(b)). We disagree. 20 Rule 404(b) is a rule of inclusion that precludes admission of evidence that is relevant solely to the defendant's character. United States v. Jones, 990 F.2d 1047, 1050 (8th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 699, 126 L.Ed.2d 666 (1994). The district court has broad discretion in deciding whether to admit evidence of other wrongful acts, and its decision will not be overturned without a clear showing that the requirements for admitting such evidence have not been met. United States v. Campbell, 937 F.2d 404, 406-07 (8th Cir.1991) (citations omitted). Evidence of prior bad acts is admissible under Rule 404(b) if it is (1) relevant to a material issue; (2) proved by a preponderance of the evidence; (3) higher in probative value than in prejudicial effect; and (4) similar in kind and close in time to the crime charged. Jones, 990 F.2d at 1050. 21 This court's decision in United States v. Mihm forecloses Wiley's argument. See 13 F.3d 1200, 1202 (8th Cir.1994). In Mihm, the police arrested Mihm as he descended from a roof on which 1684 marijuana plants were growing. Id. At trial, Mihm claimed that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Id. The government sought to introduce evidence that a harvested marijuana patch was discovered at Mihm's aunt's property one year earlier. Id. at 1204. This court stated that the government's theory for admitting this evidence under Rule 404(b) was sound: to refute the knowledge and intent issues raised by defendant's wrong place at the wrong time defense. Id. at 1205. 22 Like Mihm, Wiley also has claimed that he was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Admission of evidence regarding his August 1991 arrest, therefore, was relevant to disprove the knowledge and intent issues raised by Wiley's defense. See id.; see also United States v. Dobynes, 905 F.2d 1192 (8th Cir.) (holding that evidence of prior crimes relevant to knowledge and intent issues raised by defendants' mere presence defense), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 877, 111 S.Ct. 206, 112 L.Ed.2d 167 (1990); cf. United States v. Jenkins, 7 F.3d 803, 807 (8th Cir.1993) (holding that 404(b) evidence inadmissible to prove intent where intent not at issue). Applying our four-pronged test, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its broad discretion in admitting evidence of the August 1991 arrest. See Jones, 990 F.2d at 1050. Wiley's August 1991 possession of cocaine base was relevant to the knowledge and intent issues raised by his defense; the August 1991 arrest satisfied the preponderance of the evidence standard; the evidence was higher in probative value than in prejudicial effect; and the events of August 1991 are remarkably similar in kind and took place less than twenty months earlier than the charged offense. See id. 23 Thus, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence of Wiley's August 1991 arrest. See Mihm, 13 F.3d at 1205.