Court Opinion

ID: 9666554
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:19:29.279508+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:58:44.115823
License: Public Domain

LOWENSTEIN, Judge,
concurring.
A jury convicted Ivron Butler of forcible sodomy, § 566.060, RSMo Cum.Supp.1993, felonious restraint, § 565.120, RSMo 1994, and two counts of armed criminal action, § 571.015, RSMo 1994. Mr. Butler was found to be a prior and persistent offender under §§ 558.016 and 557.036, RSMo 1994, and was sentenced accordingly to consecutive terms of life imprisonment for forcible sodomy, § 566.060.2, RSMo Cum.Supp. 1993, seven years for felonious restraint, § 558.011.1(3), RSMo Cum.Supp.1993, and 100 years each for the two counts of armed criminal action, § 571.015.1, RSMo 1994. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial because the court allowed evidence of uncharged crimes, in submitting the jury instruction on armed criminal action, and finally, “in denying [his] motion for judgment of acquittal on the grounds of insufficient evidence.”
Factual and Procedural Background
On August 31, 1993, at approximately 9:30 p.m., two boys, sixteen-year-old J.L. and thirteen-year-old N.E., were sitting idly by a lake and boat storage area at the Lakeview Terrace Mobile Home Court in Clay County, where they both lived. An individual, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, walked by the boat storage area several times and asked the boys if they had seen someone waiting around who was supposed to help him take his boat out of storage. When the boys told him they had not seen anyone, he offered them some money to help him get his boat ready to take to the lake. The boys agreed. The man, who was the perpetrator of the crimes, said that he had to go home to get the combination to unlock the boat storage gate. The perpetrator returned within a short period of time. On return, the perpetrator told the boys that he could not find the combination to the lock, but that he knew a spot where they could climb over the fence. The location where the fence was supposedly down was in the back of the boat storage area. It was a secluded area of the mobile home park. The perpetrator then directed the boys to that place, explaining that it would hide them so that no one would think they were breaking in.
The man followed J.L. and N.E. through a wooded area around the chain link fence which secured the boats stored there. As they were walking, he said, ‘Who is going to be the hero?” or “Don’t be a hero.” J.L. and N.E. turned around and saw a *23gun in the man’s hand. He told the boys if they cooperated, they would be all right. He ordered J.L. to lie on top of N.E. He tied J.L.’s hands behind his back with a rope, moved him over on his stomach next to N.E., and then tied N.E.’s hands behind his back. J.L. asked what he was going to do, and the man explained in harsh, crude language what he intended to do. The man pulled down J.L.’s shorts and underwear and had anal intercourse with J.L.
Neither boy got a good look at the assailant.1 N.E. tried twice to look at the man’s face, however, the man pushed N.E.’s head down and told him to turn his head. While the man was still sodomizing J.L., N.E. jumped to his feet and ran. N.E. ran even though the assailant grabbed his shirt and threatened to shoot him if he did not stop. After a brief chase, the man came back, untied J.L., and ran in the opposite direction.
N.E. ran into a street where he saw another Mend whose father was a police officer. His Mend’s father called the police. J.L. ran to his own home and the police arrived there approximately ten minutes later. A crime scene technician collected his clothing and underwear, which had recently been purchased and never worn before that day. The technician recovered what was later determined to be a head hair from J.L.’s T-shirt and a pubic hair from his underwear.
At trial, both N.E. and J.L. described the events surrounding the crime and the assailant’s appearance. N.E. testified that the assailant was a man of average weight, roughly five feet ten inches tall, with a couple of days’ growth of beard. He said that the assailant was wearing a ball cap with black letters on the front, and a Jack Daniels T-shirt. J.L. testified that the assailant was five foot seven or eight inches tall, wearing dark clothing and a baseball hat. In a statement given to the police right after the incident, J.L. described him as a white male, 20 to 30 years old, five feet seven inches tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds. J.L. also described the man with a couple of days’ growth of beard stubble on his face, and wearing a Jack Daniels T-shirt. Neither N.E. nor J.L. could identify the defendant as the individual who assaulted them. The defendant was five feet nine inches tall, and at the time of trial, weighed 185 to 190 pounds and was 32 years old. His age at the time of the assault would have been 29 years.
Ms. Darvine Duvenci, who was employed by the Regional Crime Lab in Kansas City, compared the hairs taken from J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt to the hairs taken from the defendant. Ms. Duvenci’s qualifications, education, and experience were described for the jury. Ms. Duvenci had been a forensic chemist for 12 years, and estimated that she performed approximately 100 hair comparisons a year. She was certified as a criminalist by the American Board of Criminalistics. She had attended numerous well-recognized forensic science-teaching programs, including the one sponsored by the F.B.I. Her qualifications were admitted.
Ms. Duvenci mounted the hairs taken from the defendant and “unknown” hairs on slides and used a transmitted light microscope to compare the hairs side by side. The hairs were examined, under magnifications of 40 to 400, along the hair shafts, from the root to the tip. In making the comparisons, Ms. Duvenci examined a range of characteristics in the hairs. While Ms. Duvenci acknowledged that she could not state with certainty that there would not be another individual who might also have similar hair features, she testified that she was 100 percent positive that the defendant’s hairs microscopically matched the ones recovered from the victim’s underwear and T-shirt. Furthermore, based upon her judgment and experience, she stated that, within a reasonable certainty, and that it was a “very strong probability,” the hairs found on J.L. origi*24nated from the defendant. There was no objection to her testimony.
A critical factor influencing Ms. Duven-ci’s opinion was a black spot seen on the medulla of the hair found on J.L.’s underwear. She considered it very unusual that the same identical black spot was found on the medulla of the defendant’s pubic hairs. Ms. Duvenci said that she did not recall having ever seen a match with this characteristic before in the cases she had studied. She also testified that it was “very rare to find not only two head hairs, unknown head hairs that happen to match somebody else, but also two hairs from totally different body regions that match the individual.” She observed that matching two hairs from two separate parts of the body was “like double significance of evidence.”
The defendant denied that he committed the crimes and testified that he did not fit the description of the assailant. He gave an explanation as to how the two body hairs found on J.L. may have come from him. He testified that he was at the mobile home park’s swimming pool on the afternoon of the day the assault occurred, and that a boy who looked like J.L. was swimming at the pool. He testified that the swimmers left their clothes and towels in a pile at the end of the pool. He remembered that he left his towel in the pile of clothes and towels. Both attorneys asked the defendant about his location and alibi at the time the crimes were committed. He answered that he presumed that he was home, alone.
Standard of Review
When the sufficiency of the evidence is the issue, this court “does not act as a ‘super juror’ with veto powers,” State v. Grim, 854 S.W.2d 408, 414 (Mo. banc 1993), but instead, gives great deference to the trier of fact. State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d 47, 52 (Mo. banc 1998) (emphasis added). An appellate court is compelled to view the sum of all of the evidence, and its reasonable inferences, in the light favorable to the guilty verdicts. Id. Our review “is limited to a determination of whether there is sufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror might have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quoting State v. Dulany, 781 S.W.2d 52, 55 (Mo. banc 1989)) (emphasis added). We are obligated to consider the favorable evidence and inferences therefrom in determining whether there was evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt upon which the jury could base its verdict. Id.
Emphasizing the great deference to be given to the trier of fact, the United States Supreme Court stated that the appropriate inquiry “does not require a court to ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (quoted in State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 52). “Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781 (emphasis added) (quoted in State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 52).
We first address the defendant’s last point. It reads as follows: “The court erred in denying the defense motion for a judgement [sic] of acquittal on the grounds of insufficient evidence.”2 The thrust of his complaint is that Ms. Duven-ci’s testimony regarding the comparison of the defendant’s hairs to those found on the victim’s underwear and T-shirt was not sufficient to make a submissible case for the jury’s consideration. This argument is premised on the notion that the only evidence of guilt was the hair evidence, which he describes as ambiguous. His argument ignores Duvenci’s testimony that it was her opinion, within a reasonable certainty, *25and a very strong probability that the hairs found on J.L.’s clothing came from the defendant.3 He also neglects to mention the other evidence of guilt. Ms. Du-venci’s qualifications are unchallenged and the “admissibility” of her testimony is accepted.
Lack of an objection
As noted, there was no objection to Ms. Duvenci’s opinion that the hair comparisons were within a reasonable certainty. The Missouri Supreme Court has held that admissibility of an expert’s opinion becomes an issue “only if there is a timely and specific objection.” Callahan v. Cardinal Glennon Hospital, 863 S.W.2d 852, 860 (Mo. banc 1993)(citing Missouri Evidence Restated, § 103 (Mo. Bar 2d ed.1993)). The value of the expert’s opinion is then for the jury to measure, considering its assessment of the opinion’s reasonableness in light of all of the evidence and the qualifications of the witness.
The extent to which the scientific community accepts ham comparisons as proof of guilt is, in the first instance, a foundation question to be determined by the trial court. State v. White, 621 S.W.2d 287, 293 (Mo.1981). The requirement of a contemporaneous objection is not a mere technical rule of procedure. State v. Lassen, 679 S.W.2d 363, 368 (Mo.App.1984). An objection tests the expert’s testimony as it relates to scientific principles and the grounds upon which the opinion is based. It permits the trial court to make a determination that those principles and tests have gained scientific acceptance in the scientific community and are, therefore, reliable. State v. Erwin, 848 S.W.2d 476, 479-80 (Mo. banc 1993). An “objection to a putative error affords the trial court an opportunity to invoke remedial measures rather than relegating appellate courts to the imprecise calculus of determining whether prejudice resulted.” State v. Barnett, 980 S.W.2d 297, 304-05 (Mo. banc 1998)(quoting State v. Borden, 605 S.W.2d 88, 90 (Mo. banc 1980)).
A line of Missouri cases pointedly cautions against ignoring the requirement that the offending evidence be challenged in the trial court when the issue is the foundation for an expert’s opinion. See State v. Hudson, 970 S.W.2d 855, 857 (Mo.App.1998); State v. Blue, 875 S.W.2d 632, 633 (Mo.App.1994); State v. Jones, 569 S.W.2d 15, 16 (Mo.App.1978). The importance of challenging a forensic scientist’s hair comparison testimony at trial was most recently discussed in State v. Hudson. In Hudson, the defendant claimed that it was error to permit the expert, who was employed by the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Laboratory, to give a statistical probability based on the similar qualities of the defendant’s hair and the hair found in a stocking cap. 970 S.W.2d at 857. No objection was made to the foundation or to the scientific principles underlying the expert’s opinion. Id. On appeal, Hudson claimed that the expert’s testimony was inadmissible because the procedures used by the expert were not shown as having gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belonged, as required by Frye v. U.S., 293 F. 1013, 1014 (D.C.Cir.1923). See also State v. Davis, 814 S.W.2d 593, 600 (Mo. banc 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1047, 112 S.Ct. 911, 116 L.Ed.2d 812 (1992). The court held that the issue was not preserved for appellate review. State v. Hudson, 970 S.W.2d at 860. Furthermore, the court held that plain error review would not be afforded to a party who did not object to the foundation for the opinion. Id.
When faced with the problem of a lack of an objection to expert testimony, the courts of Missouri have been clear in their holdings. In State v. Blue, the court reiterated the standard to be followed:
It is particularly important that where an inadequate foundation has been laid *26for admission of evidence that the objection made be specific as such foundation deficiencies can frequently be remedied. We will not review the contention of inadequate foundation raised for the first time on appeal.
875 S.W.2d at 633(quoting State v. Jones, 569 S.W.2d at 16)(emphasis added).
Thus, in accordance with Callahan, Hudson, Blue, and Jones, Ms. Duvenci’s opinion that, “within a reasonable certainty,” the hairs found on J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt, came from the defendant, “there is no issue of admissibility presented and none is preserved for appeal,” Callahan, 863 S.W.2d at 860, and the evidence was properly before the jury. (Emphasis added). The opinion is to be weighed by the jury in determining guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Brown, 660 S.W.2d 694, 698 (Mo.1983). The jury, not an appellate court, is entitled to give whatever weight it deems appropriate. State v. Guyton, 635 S.W.2d 353, 360 (Mo.App.1982); State v. Lieberknecht, 608 S.W.2d 93, 98 (Mo.App.1980).
Sufficiency of the evidence
The submissibility of the state’s case does not rest solely on Ms. Duvenci’s opinion linking the defendant to the crimes. The submissibility of the case is not dependent on one piece of evidence, or on the phrase that within a reasonable certainty the hairs originated from the defendant. Rather, it is the sum of all of the evidence linking the defendant to the crimes, including the reasonable inferences drawn from that evidence. We disagree with the defendant’s argument that the only evidence of guilt was hair comparison evidence. Quite to the contrary, there is other evidence, in addition to Ms. Duvenci’s testimony, bearing on the issue of the defendant’s guilt, and thus, whether the case was properly submitted to the jury.
That the two boys were feloniously restrained, and that J.L. was sodomized are not at issue. The only issue for the jury was whether the defendant was the assailant. Accepting as true all of the evidence fayorable to the state, including all favorable inferences drawn from the evidence, and disregarding all of the evidence and inferences to the contrary, as we must, we are obligated to conclude that the jurors had sufficient evidence to sustain their guilty verdict. See State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 52. The following is a summary of the evidence from which the jury could have properly found the defendant guilty.
A critical piece of the evidence linking the defendant to the crimes was that the individual who committed the crimes lived in the mobile home park, which narrows the field of suspects to a resident of the park. The principal reason permitting the jury to conclude that the perpetrator was a resident of the mobile home park was his statement to the boys that he had to go to his home to get the combination to the lock on the gate. Additionally, the perpetrator showed a surprising amount of knowledge and familiarity of the mobile home park and, specifically, of the boat storage area. This evidence permitted the jury to reasonably conclude that the perpetrator lived there.
The mobile home park had only two entrances, one for the residents and a smaller one for service vehicles. It was not designed for easy access by non-residents. The boat storage facility was further restricted to residents who stored their boats there. It was a wooded, secluded area, secured by a combination lock on the gate.
The facts that the jury heard were that, after dark, at approximately 9:30 to 10:00 p.m., the perpetrator, dressed in shorts and a dark T-shirt, was walking where the boys were located, near the boat storage area. After getting the boys’ affirmative response for help, he told them that he had to go to his home to get the combination to the lock to the boat storage gate. He returned within 5 to 10 minutes and said that he could not find the combination to the lock, but knew a spot where they could climb over the fence. This spot, where the *27fence was supposedly knocked down, was in a secluded part of the boat storage area. He then followed the boys to a secluded place where he sodomized J.L. The jury viewed aerial photographs of the mobile home park, which showed the number of homes in the park, the relationship of all of the homes to the scene of the crime and specifically, the defendant’s home in relationship to the boat storage area. The defendant testified that he lived a little over one-half mile from the boat storage area. Other photographs confirmed both the secluded nature of the boat storage area and that a combination lock was used to secure the gate.
It was the defendant’s testimony that only residents could store their boats in the boat storage area. As such, the perpetrator’s statement that he had the combination to the lock on the gate was a statement from which the jury could conclude that he had access to the boats and therefore, was a resident. Second, the perpetrator displayed specific knowledge of the mobile home area when he stated that the gate was secured by a combination lock, and not a key lock. Finally, the time it took the perpetrator to go to his home and return was consistent with the distance that the defendant testified that he lived from the boat storage area.
The jury had before it evidence that the perpetrator was an individual who had access to private premises, late at night, with information about the area generally known only to the people who lived there, all of which was confirmed by other evidence. Even though the reviewing court may be convinced that, if it were sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently, the weight to be accorded particular evidence was a decision for the jury, and the reviewing court may not substitute its judgment for that’ of the jury. State v. Clark, 596 S.W.2d 747, 749 (Mo.App.1980). As our Supreme Court stated in City of Kansas City v. Thorpe, “[w]here different inferences are reasonably deducible [from the facts and circumstances of the case], it is for the triers of the facts to determine which inference shall be drawn and [the Supreme Court] may not cast aside their inferences for another of [its] own choice.” 499 S.W.2d 454, 459 (Mo.1973) (quoting State v. Selle, 367 S.W.2d 522, 528 (Mo.1963)). The Court of Appeals does not determine credibility of witnesses, resolve conflicts in testimony, or weigh evidence, as these tasks are quite properly left to the jury. State v. Idlebird, 896 S.W.2d 656, 660-61 (Mo.App.1995).
Other evidence of the defendant’s guilt was the boys’ description of the perpetrator that he was a white male, in his late 20s or early 30s, average weight, and roughly five feet ten inches tall. The defendant is a white male, five feet nine inches tall and weighed 185 to 190 pounds at the time of trial. In August 1995, he was 29 years old. The similarity between the boys’ description of the assailant and the defendant’s height, weight, and age is probative and persuasive evidence pointing to the defendant. Any discrepancies between the boys’ identification of him and the defendant’s testimony were credibility calls for the jury. State v. Neal, 849 S.W.2d 250, 253 (Mo.App.l993)(citing State v. Dulany, 781 S.W.2d at 55). In Neal, this court pointedly stated, “[t]hese were factors for the jury to consider, not this court.” Id. at 254. “An appellate court ‘faced with a record of historical facts that supports conflicting inferences must presume — even if it does not affirmatively appear in the record — that the trier of fact resolved any such conflicts in favor of the prosecution, and must defer to that resolution.’ ” State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 53-54 (quoting from Jackson, 443 U.S. at 326, 99 S.Ct. 2781).
But for the dissent’s attempt to fashion some basis of appellate review under Callahan, there would be nothing further for our review, and the convictions would be affirmed.
Hair comparison evidence is accepted in this state as reliable for identifying indi-*28victuals accused of crimes. State v. White, 621 S.W.2d 287, 293 (Mo.1981). In White the expert concluded, “that hair samples taken from the murder scene matched with those taken from the defendant.” Id. at 292. The challenge in White, as in the case before this court, was that the expert’s opinion lacked sufficient scientific acceptance and thus, was incompetent. Id. at 292. This issue was placed squarely before the Supreme Court in White, and unlike this case, was unencumbered by a lack of objection. After reviewing the forensic expert’s education, training, experience, and techniques employed, the Supreme Court in White, held that the witness properly expressed an opinion that the unknown hairs found on the murder weapon matched the defendant’s, Id. at 293, and that hair comparison evidence is competent for purposes of determining the sufficiency of the evidence. Id. at 292-93.
Accordingly, as in White, there was “a sufficiently high incidence of similarity between the hair comparisons to allow an expression of [the expert’s] opinion as to their source.” Id. at 292. As White instructs, the evidence is competent for the purpose of determining the sufficiency of the evidence. Id. at 292. See also Callahan, 863 S.W.2d at 860; State v. Kleypas, 602 S.W.2d 863, 869 (Mo.App.1980); State v. Marlow, 888 S.W.2d 417, 421 (Mo.App.1994).
Missouri, as well as most jurisdictions, have repeatedly held that hair comparison evidence has probative value to prove a defendant’s guilt.4 Hair comparison evidence that affirmatively establishes the defendant’s participation in the crime has probative value. If the expert’s opinion tends to link the defendant with the crime, it is neither inadmissible nor lacks credibility because the conclusion sought to be proven is not absolute. State v. Maxie, 513 S.W.2d 338, 344 (Mo.l974)(where expert expressed his opinion that “it was highly probable that the fibers came from that shirt”). The limitations of proof of hair evidence do not defeat its probative value nor prohibit it from being competent evidence of guilt. State v. Jones, 777 S.W.2d at 641; and State v. Brown, 660 S.W.2d at 698.
We agree with Ms. Duvenci’s testimony that hair comparison evidence, standing alone, will not generally make a submissi-ble case. She explained that the state of hair comparison evidence is such that one cannot quantify an exact percentage of the *29population as a contributor of a certain hair. Rather, her opinion was based on her experience and judgment considering the unique factors that were developed by her study of the case, not the least of which was the unique character and number and source of the hairs compared, resulting in the hair comparison evidence being statistically more compelling than the usual case.
Although Duvenci’s opinion may not have been supported by statistical studies, such data is not an absolute necessity in order for an expert to render an opinion. State v. Kleypas, 602 S.W.2d at 869. Kleypas dealt with a human bite mark on the victim, which was matched to dental impressions of the defendant’s teeth. Id. at 867-70. As in the case before this court, there was other evidence of Klepas’ guilt, which put the defendant at the back door of the victim’s house at or near the time of the crime. At issue was the source of the bite marks found on the victim’s body. The expert for the state, a dentist, testified that the bite marks on the body “were compatible with the impression of the occlusion and the diagnostic cast and could have been made by these teeth” and that the bite marks were “consistent with marks made by the mouth of the defendant.” Id. at 868. (Emphasis added). On cross-examination he stated his opinion “within a reasonable scientific certainty,” which the trial and the appellate courts disregarded in arriving at their respective decisions. Id. at 869.
In analyzing the Frye rule, the court observed that statistical science, as applied to the points of similarity, might produce varying degrees of probability. Id. at 869.5 Depending on the number of points of similarity, there are different degrees of certainty of identification. Id. “One point of similarity may be so remarkable the result is certainty of identification. One point of dissimilarity may eliminate a connection of a mark or trace with a defendant.” Id. The court held that in “some circumstances the similarities may establish a high degree of probability in the absence of statistics.”6 Id. (emphasis added).
As a result, the court held that there was sufficient evidence of guilt even if the expert’s testimony of a reasonable medical certainty was excluded because the testimony that the bite marks were compatible with or could have been made by the defendant’s bite was “clearly sufficient to support the conviction.” Id. at 870. Likewise, if we exclude Duvenci’s opinion given “within a reasonable certainty,” the remainder of her testimony identifying the body hairs found on J.L. as originating from the defendant, coupled with the other evidence, was clearly sufficient to support the convictions. See also State v. Maxie, 513 S.W.2d at 344-45. (Expert’s opinion admitted concerning the source of cloth fibers without supporting statistical data).
A fair review of the totality of Ms. Du-venci’s testimony compels the conclusion that it was probative evidence of the defendant’s guilt, disregarding the part of her opinion, which stated that it was within a reasonable certainty. The basis for Ms. Duvenci’s opinion that the hairs found on J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt originated from the defendant, was: (1) that the hairs displayed the numerous points of similarity between the defendant’s head and pubic hairs and the ones found on the victim, with no points of dissimilarity, under magnifications of up to 400 times normal; (2) that the unique black spot on the medulla of the hair removed from the victim’s un*30derwear was identical to the black spot found on medulla of the defendant’s pubic hair; (3) that microscopically, she was 100 percent certain that the hairs found on the victim matched the defendant’s, and (4) that she had two hairs, a head and pubic hair, both of which microscopically matched the defendant’s pubic and head hairs.
Ms. Duvenci’s qualifications were admitted. In the case before this court, Duven-ci’s qualifications are not challenged; in fact, they are admitted. Her examination was comprehensive. The techniques she employed were accepted and standard methods used in the scientific community to examine trace evidence. See State v. White, 621 S.W.2d at 298. Her testimony provided the jury with demonstrable evidence linking the defendant to the crime. Commonwealth v. McCauley, 588 A.2d at 947. All of these factors establish the weight and credibility of her testimony as discussed in Callahan.
Additional Evidence of Guilt
If any doubt of the defendant’s guilt remained, his guilt was firmly established by his own testimony. An accused, “by putting on evidence, takes the chance of aiding the state’s case.” State v. Wells, 729 S.W.2d 591, 593 (Mo.App.1987)(citing State v. Johnson, 447 S.W.2d 285, 287 (Mo.1969)). The jury is entitled “to believe all, some, or none of the witnesses’ testimony in arriving at its verdict.” State v. Brown, 984 S.W.2d 535, 537 (Mo.App.1998).
By his testimony, the defendant not only placed himself in the mobile home park at the time the crime occurred, without an alibi, but also near the scene of the crime with one of the victims a few hours before. Moreover, his varying and improbable accounts, explaining how his body hairs were transferred to J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt showed an overall plan to lie to conceal his guilt.
The defendant never denied that the body hairs found on the victim were his. Instead, he chose to tell the jury an account designed to explain how his body hairs were transferred from his towel, and eventually came to rest in J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt. He gave the jury two versions as to how his body hairs may have ended up on J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt.
The defendant set up his account by giving a detailed recall of the events at the pool on the afternoon of August 31, 1993, although he did not become a suspect until over one and a half years later, in April of 1995, when the police collected hair and blood samples from him. In spite of the lengthy time interval between the crime and when the defendant acknowledged that he first became aware that he was a suspect, he testified in significant detail about the events that occurred at the swimming pool on August 31, 1993. He recalled that he got to the pool about 1:00 p.m. and left about 3:30 p.m. He remembered that his towel was blue. A critical part of the defendant’s evidence was his testimony that he put his towel in a pile where all of the swimmers usually left their towels and clothes. A boy who looked like J.L. was at the pool. He told the jury that he was offering this evidence to explain how the pubic and head hairs found on J.L.’s underwear may have been his head and pubic hairs. That was his only explanation on direct examination as to how his body hairs may have been transferred to the victim’s T-shirt and underwear. This was the first time he had related this version about leaving his towel in the pile at the end of the pool, except to his lawyer. He told the jury that he had previously testified that the hairs might have passed in the water.7
Cross-examination showed that in his first trial, the defendant testified that J.L. might have picked up his body hairs while in the swimming pool. He admitted that *31he had originally testified that he was in the pool, roughhousing with several boys, one of whom looked like J.L., who received a cut to his head. He remembers that he somehow had contact with the person who looked like J.L. while he, the defendant, was in the pool. Also, he recalled a lady, who was sitting by the towels, who retrieved a towel and tended to the boy with the cut. The lady used the towel to wipe away the blood to determine how deep the cut was. He believed that it was possible that the towel the lady used to attend to the boy who looked like J.L., had his body hairs on it.
Ms. Duvenci testified between the defendant’s first version given in his first trial and his second explanation, given in this case. The defendant repeatedly questioned her about the probability of hairs being transferred in water, whether there were any studies dealing with the likelihood of hairs transferring from one individual to another in water, and whether “hairs can float around in a swimming pool,” or whether someone could pick them up in a swimming pool and transfer them to another party. When the obvious answer was in the negative, she went on to explain why it was highly unlikely that body hairs would be transferred in water. Following Ms. Duvenci’s testimony, the defendant testified that his body hairs might have been transferred through the towels piled at the end of the pool, not in the pool as he had described in his first trial.
While the defendant was persistent in explaining that his body hairs were transferred innocently, his varying accounts as to the manner in which the hams were transferred provided a legitimate basis for the jury to believe the defendant’s explanation was evidence of his guilt. His “overall plan to he to conceal his guilt” about how his body hairs may have gotten on J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt, allowed the jury to infer that he knew the hairs were his. State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 53.
The two versions are as inconsistent as they are illogical. The fact finder could rightly view the varying versions as an attempt to conceal his guilt. The defendant’s deceptive testimony gives rise to an inference of guilty knowledge. See State v. Wells, 729 S.W.2d at 593. The logical inference from the defendant’s two different explanations, improbable as they may have been, was that he knew that his body hairs were discovered on the victim. It is not for this court to cast an innocent slant on two contradictory theories if it is reasonably susceptible to an interpretation of an attempt to conceal guilt.
The changing accounts of how his body hairs may have found their way to the victim’s underwear and T-shirt is heightened by the obvious disparity between the clarity of the defendant’s recall of events on the afternoon of the crimes and his almost complete inability to remember his whereabouts later that night when the crimes occurred. When asked by his attorney where he was that night, he answered, “[pjrobably at home.” The prosecutor inquired if he was at home around ten o’clock that night. He answered, “I would assume so.”
It is not unreasonable for the jury to conclude that the defendant’s detailed recall of the events that occurred over one- and-a-half years earlier were triggered by an occurrence of some greater significance than witnessing some boys roughhousing in the pool. The defendant’s vivid recall of trivial events permitted the jurors to infer that the defendant was involved in the crime. The jury could properly believe that the defendant’s varying and implausible hypothesis of innocence, coupled with lack of an alibi, was an attempt to cover the truth that the body hairs found on J.L. were his. State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d at 53.
Finally, some comment is necessary in light of the dissent’s use of Callahan to support appellate review of an expert’s opinion to which there has been no objection. The dissent, not the defendant, fash*32ions a basis for appellate review under Callahan.
Callahan is a civil case which addressed a “but for” causation submission of negligence to the jury. Two medical experts’ opinions were received without objection. Their opinions were not based on any scientific studies as required by Frye. Thus, if this civil case, concerned with “but for” casual connection of negligence, is authority for appellate review of the submissibility of a criminal case, then our review is obligated to follow the other instructions of Callahan. Assuming, without agreeing, that Callahan provides a basis for review, then we are instructed by Callahan, that the defendant is “reduced to arguing that the expert’s testimony was so deficient in weight and credibility that it has little or no value on the issue of causation.” Id. Furthermore, if Callahan constitutes authority for appellate review of the weight and credibility of an expert’s opinion in this case, then our review must also accept the twice repeated principle in Callahan that “we will review the testimony of the [expert] in the light most favorable to the [verdict]”, Id. at 863, a standard which the dissent does not accord Duvenei’s testimony.8
In Callahan, two doctors testified within a reasonable medical certainty that there was causal connection between the negligent act and the injury. There were no statistical studies supporting their opinions. Id. at 864.
Briefly, the facts in Callahan were that the child’s immune system was suppressed and susceptible to a routine polio vaccine he had received a number of weeks earlier. Id. at 857. The doctors’ theory was that the polio virus replicated rapidly overcoming the suppressed immune system, resulting in poliomyelitis. Id. at 857-58. There were numerous differing medical opinions concerning the causal connection between the failure to properly treat an abscess and the resulting contraction of polio. Id. at 858. The issue on appeal in Callahan, as it relates to the point here under consideration, challenges the adequacy of the foundation of the expert’s opinion, charging that it failed the Frye test.9 Id. at 860.
The Supreme Court, after clarifying the relationship of the Frye rule concerning the question of submissibility and admissibility, noted that an expert’s opinion “must be based on scientific principles that are generally accepted in the relevant scientific community.” Id. at 860 (citing Frye, 293 F. at 1014). The doctors did not base their testimony on epidemiological studies showing that the polio vaccine will develop into polio virus if a child’s immune system becomes suppressed, Id. at 863-64, because during the 40-year history of use of polio vaccine, there had rarely been occurrences of vaccine-induced poliomyelitis. Id. at 864.
Callahan teaches several principles applicable here. First, Duvenci’s opinion, *33not having been objected to, was properly admitted and is “properly considered in determining the sufficiency of the evidence.” Id. at 863 (citing Appelhans v. Goldman, 349 S.W.2d 204, 207 (Mo.1961)). Second, after holding that the expert’s opinion was properly received and considered in determining the sufficiency of the evidence, the Court observed that the defendant “was reduced to arguing weight and credibility of the expert’s testimony,” Id. at 863, and to evaluate that argument, the weight and credibility of the expert’s testimony must be considered “in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Id. at 863 and 864 (emphasis added).
Ms. Duvenci’s opinion was obviously influenced by the black spot in the medulla of the defendant’s pubic hairs and the two hairs from separate parts of the body, which were microscopically identical to the defendant’s head and pubic hairs. These are relevant factors which must be considered in determining the weight and credibility of the opinion. Ms. Duvenci’s observation concerning the medulla was the subject matter of State v. Jones, 777 S.W.2d 639, 641 (Mo.App.1989). In Jones, the hair examiner from the Regional Crime Laboratory testified that he found a black spot on the cortex of the “unknown” hair and the defendant’s hairs. The examiner testified that he had seen this condition in only one to two percent of the hairs he had examined. This court held that it was proper to allow the expert to testify to his observations. Id. As such, in evaluating the weight and credibility of Duvenci’s testimony, this court must consider her observation, along with all of the rest of her testimony, that the matching black spots on the medulla of defendant’s hair had never been seen in her examination of over 1200 cases in her 12 years of study and work.
The Supreme Court in Callahan continued by considering the doctors’ education, experience, and training. Callahan at 864. We need not repeat Ms. Duvenci’s experience, training and qualifications. As noted, they have been admitted. To exclude the testimony because there are no studies which serve as a foundation to permit the positive identification of a certain individual, ignores the unique characteristics of the defendant’s pubic hair and Duvenci’s common sense observation of the significance of two hairs from separate parts of his body; a remark not dependent on any scientific studies for support.
Furthermore, to the extent that the dissent orchestrates contradictory testimony from Duvenci, we repeat that it was for the jury, who heard all of the testimony recited by the dissent, to weigh and credit the expert’s testimony in any respect which may have been contradictory. State v. Parker, 535 S.W.2d 126, 128 (Mo.App.1976)(where the defendant claimed the fingerprint technician’s testimony was contradictory).
Like the doctors in Callahan, Ms. Du-venci testified that she relied on her personal experience and training in arriving at her opinion. Id. at 864. Moreover, Ms. Duvenci testified to the limitations of hair comparison evidence, as the dissent has pointed out. It was then the jury’s function to evaluate the weight and credibility of Duvenci’s testimony. Each step leading to Ms. Duvenci’s opinion is based on logic and reason, and the techniques employed were accepted and standard in the scientific community.
Testimony of Uncharged Misconduct
The defendant’s first point on appeal is directed at the police officer’s testimony of uncharged misconduct. The officer, who testified for the state, was asked at what point the defendant first became a suspect in the case. He answered, “Back when he was identified in a separate investigation.” Defense counsel objected. The court overruled the defendant’s request for a mistrial, but instead instructed the jury to disregard the statement.
A defendant in a criminal trial has “a right to be tried only for the offense for which [he is] charged.” State v. Horn*34buckle, 769 S.W.2d 89, 96 (Mo. banc 1989). The admission of evidence violates the rule “if it shows that the defendant has committed, been accused of, been convicted of or definitely associated with another crime or crimes.” Id. “Vague references” are not clear evidence associating a defendant with other crimes. Id.; State v. Hoff, 904 S.W.2d 56, 60 (Mo.App.1995).
The police officer’s testimony did not indicate a similar or any particular prior crime or sexual offense. Defense counsel objected, and after a brief bench conference out of range of hearing by the jury, the jury was immediately instructed to disregard the matter. Declaring a mistrial is a drastic remedy and is to be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances. State v. Young, 701 S.W.2d 429, 434 (Mo. banc 1985). The trial court, having observed the incident, is in a better position than an appellate court to evaluate prejudice. Id. Our review extends only to determining if there was an abuse of discretion, id., and we discern none.
Armed Criminal Action
The defendant next argues that the weapon described looked more like a B.B. gun. This point is without merit. Both boys thought the weapon was a real gun. J.L. specifically described it as black, like a .45, squared off at the end. He said, “it looked real enough to me.” See State v. Hillis, 748 S.W.2d 694, 696 (Mo.App.1988). As such, the testimony of the victims that the assailant brandished a gun was sufficient evidence to submit this charge. State v. McCoy, 748 S.W.2d 809, 811 (Mo.App.1988).
Conclusion
The evidence substantially narrowed the pool of suspects to a white male, in his late 20s, living in the mobile home park where the crimes were committed, and where the boys and the defendant lived. The pool of suspects was further reduced to an individual of average weight, about 5T0” tall in his late 20⅛. It is from this limited pool of suspects that Duvenci’s testimony must be considered. She testified that the defendant’s pubic hair had such a remarkably rare identifying characteristic as not seen before by an experienced forensic examiner in her twelve years of studying hair evidence. She also explained that the pubic and head hairs found on J.L.’s underwear and T-shirt were microscopically indistinguishable from the defendant’s head and pubic hairs and very probably came from the defendant. Furthermore, she described the two matching pieces of evidence, from two separate parts of the defendant’s body as double significance. J.L.’s new underwear and T-shirt, ruled out any other unusual occurrence that may have caused the unknown hairs to get on his clothes.
The evidence pointed directly to the defendant as he knew the victim, had been with him the afternoon of the crime, lived at the same mobile home park where the crimes occurred, and where both victims lived, where the victims were first contacted, and who, by his own admission, was within a short distance of the crime scene without an alibi when the crimes were committed. In explaining how his hairs were transferred to the victim, the defendant gave implausible and varying versions of his innocence, permitting the jury to infer a consciousness of guilt from his untruths. These facts, and the inferences drawn from them, are more than coincidences or speculation of guilt. Once these facts were before the jury, it was for the jury, not this court, to determine whether they constituted evidence of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Cunningham, 763 S.W.2d 186, 188-89 (Mo.App.1988). These facts represent sufficient evidence upon which the jury rightly relied on in determining the defendant’s guilt.
This holding does not disturb or expand the limitations of hair comparison evidence as presently recorded by the scientific community. It stands for the often-repeated rule in this state that an expert’s opinion received in evidence without objec*35tion was properly considered by the trial court in ruling on the sufficiency of the evidence as well as by the jury in reaching its verdict. However, rejecting the expert’s opinion stated within a reasonable certainty, which is the only legitimate challenge to her testimony, we specifically hold that the rest of the expert’s testimony linking the defendant to the crimes was clearly sufficient to make a submissible case.
The judgment should be affirmed.

. The crimes occurred at 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. Sunset on August 31,1993, was at 7:50 p.m.

. The point falls short of satisfying the requirements of Rule 30.06(d). However, we are able to discern from the point relied on and the argument portion of the brief that his argument is directed solely to the submission of the case to the jury.

. The defendant does not argue that Ms. Du-venci-’s opinion failed the test set forth in Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923). In fact, he does not mention the Frye case or argue its application to the submissibility issue.

. The defendant, and the dissent, cite cases from other jurisdictions that limit the probative value of hair evidence. Contrary to those holdings are decisions from Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island, where greater weight is given to hair comparison evidence, and in some of the cases, the courts have permitted the testimony to be expressed within a reasonable certainty. Although the disposition of this case is not dependent on an opinion expressed within a reasonable certainty, these cases are persuasive that hair evidence is positive evidence linking the defendant to the crime. In People v. Buie, 238 Ill.App.3d 260, 179 Ill.Dec. 447, 606 N.E.2d 279, 287 (1992), a hair expert testified, "within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty” that the hair originated from the defendant, although he could not exclude all other persons in the world as a possible source of the hair fragments. The court held that there was a sufficient basis for the expert's opinion that the unknown hair originated from the defendant. Id. at 287. In Padilla v. People, an F.B.I. hair and fabric expert testified that a strand of hair found in the defendant’s vehicle "unequivocally” was from the victim. 156 Colo. 186, 397 P.2d 741, 743 (1964). The court noted that the weight to be given the evidence was for the jury. Id. In State v. Hunt, testimony that hairs found in the lining of the defendant’s jacket belonged to the decedent was admitted even though the identification was not an absolute certainty. 53 Wis.2d 734, 193 N.W.2d 858, 867 (1972). In State v. Earley, a special agent’s testimony that a microscopic comparison determined that "a reasonable probability” that the hair found on the ski mask worn and abandoned by the perpetrator belonged to the defendant, with the weight to be given by the jury. 118 R.I. 205, 373 A.2d 162, 165 (1977). The court in Commonwealth v. McCauley, after a thorough examination of the law, stated that "microscopic hair comparison evidence satisfies the Frye standard.” 403 Pa.Super. 262, 588 A.2d 941, 947 (1991).

. Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923).

. Studies of the methodology and statistical reliability of hair comparison analysis can be found in the works of B.D. Gaudette. Published works include: Probabilities and Human Pubic Hair Comparisons, 21 J. Forensic Sci. 514 (1976); Some Further Thoughts on Probabilities and Human Hair Comparisons, 23 J. Forensic Sci. 758 (1978); A Supplementary Discussion of Probabilities and Human Hair Comparisons, 27 J. Forensic Sci. 279 (1982).

. The defendant’s first trial ended in a mistrial. The second trial took place from July 22-24, 1996.

. It is stated that there is a distinction between objections to foundation and objections which go to the reliability of the opinion, suggesting in the latter situation that an objection at the trial would be of no value. Of course, there is no such distinction, and Callahan does not stand for such a proposition. The purpose of the Frye test is to establish reliability by requiring accepted studies in the particular field under consideration. Reliability is established if the expert’s opinion is based on scientific principles that are generally accepted in the relevant scientific community. State v. Taylor, 663 S.W.2d 235, 239 (Mo. banc 1984); State v. Erwin, 848 S.W.2d 476, 480 (Mo. banc 1993). The reliability of the expert’s opinion is dependent on the foundation established. Thus, an objection to the foundation, or the lack of a foundation, challenges the reliability of the proffered opinion. See State v. White, 621 S.W.2d at 292 (where the Supreme Court stated that the "admission of hair sample comparisons will depend on scientific support for their reliability.”) The Frye test requiring "general acceptance in the field in which it belongs,” Id. at 1014, attains reliability. State v. Davis, 814 S.W.2d 593, 600 (Mo. banc 1991).

. There was no objection to the foundational requirement for the doctor’s opinions in the trial court but, unlike the case before this court, the defendants in Callahan raised the Fiye rule.