The admissibility of the Crandall murder evidence was contested from the outset. While we have reversed on the basis of evidence improperly admitted during the State's case in chief, it might turn out that discrete pieces of this evidence would be admissible as rebuttal. Without explanation, the trial court ruled that the conviction was admissible. Lockhart v. State, 609 N.E.2d 1093, 1097 (Ind. When this mandate is observed, the conviction will not be disturbed. The only similarity here between the Crandall murder and the Indianapolis killings was the use of firearms to kill the victims (and different guns were used in each crime). See, e.g., Swain v. State, 647 N.E.2d 23 (Ind.Ct.App.1995) (evidence as to defendant's four prior convictions for dealing in cocaine should not have been admitted in prosecution for cocaine possession), trans. While we have reversed on the basis of evidence improperly admitted during the State's case in chief, it might turn out that discrete pieces of this evidence would be admissible as rebuttal. 1991) (erroneous admission of extrinsic acts was harmless because there was strong properly admitted evidence of guilt and prosecutor did not "embellish upon the incident"). The list of "other purposes" in the Rule is not exhaustive; extrinsic act evidence may be admitted for any purpose not specified in Rule 404(b) unless precluded by, the first sentence of Rule 404(b) or any other Rule. cuando tu pareja te miente frases virginia rockhounding map doug percy jerry thompson. Jerry D. Thompson - Wikipedia The list of other purposes in the Rule is not exhaustive; extrinsic act evidence may be admitted for any purpose not specified in Rule 404(b) unless precluded by the first sentence of Rule 404(b) or any other Rule. Hardin v. State, 611 N.E.2d 123, 129 (Ind.1993). The bag Thompson carried contained several guns and Percy's bag contained marijuana and shell casings. Because the risk that the jury would draw the "forbidden inference" based on what happened in Henry County is undeniable, the probative value of the extra details of the Crandall murder was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Unnecessary and inflammatory detail may require reversal. That is not the end of the analysis, however. In rebuttal, the State replied that the events surrounding the Crandall murder were relevant: The reason it's relevant is because it proves [Thompson's] identity. And, he took Wesley Crandall's money that was there, and the marihuana. 492, 355 N.E.2d 843 (1976), however, stand for nothing more than what we have already concluded was permissible-a showing, with reasonable factual context, of access to the murder weapon. Even oblique or apparently innocuous references to prior convictions are impermissible. The rules of evidence require courts to guard against exploitation of those details. Specifically, prospective jurors were informed, verbatim, of the four aggravating circumstances the State had pleaded against Thompson in the death penalty information. First Female Commander of Marine One Fired After Assault Charge Most seriously, the information, witness list, and verdict form from the Crandall murder trial were admitted into evidence. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. On February 14, 1991, he and Thompson went to Crandall's house to buy marijuana. Ind.Code 35-50-2-9(b)(1) (Supp.1990). ), APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable John R. Barney Jr., Judge Cause NO. He didn't stomp on him; he didn't take a shotgun and nearly blow his head off. In the end, an impermissible flood of damaging propensity evidence washed away Thompson's right to a fair trial. At oral argument in this Court, the State contended that these details, which were partially corroborated by other witnesses as explained below, were admissible to show Percy's credibility. The State then suggested that because the jury in the Crandall murder trial had apparently credited Percy's testimony, the same should be done here: "[Percy] was scrutinized in New Castle and in Henry County, by that Jury; and they returned a conviction . He appeals. The officers put the other prisoners back in the cells, then recovered several knives from the . doug percy jerry thompson I. 1983, trial court committed reversible error by informing jury sua sponte during voir dire of inmate's prior convictions for rape and sexual assault). The State indicated its intent to offer evidence related to the Crandall murder to establish Thompson's identity, and that it might offer evidence of Thompson's previous felony convictions "possibly as rebuttal to any attacks on the credibility of witness Douglas Percy . Jerry Thompson & Company, 45927 Cottonwood Hills Dr, Parker, CO (Owned by: Jerry W Thompson) holds a General A license and 1 other license according to the Douglas County license board. 1986). The State's contention that the extra details of the Crandall murder helped prove identity is unpersuasive. Percy did not testify that Crandall was killed in his presence, only that he assumed Thompson shot him in the head. Such evidence is highly prejudicial. Loveless v. State, 240 Ind. at 368, 417 N.E.2d at 906. Although the State conceded that Percy had some culpability in both crimes, Percy's role was distinguished from Thompson's: All of us know Doug Percy is not blameless in this, and at the very least, he assisted Jerry Thompson, after these horrible murders were committed [T]he Evidence shows that [Percy] did nothing to kill either of those 3 men. See Part I supra. Evidence Rule 801(d)(1)(B), corroborative proof is limited by several considerations: (1) whether the challenged witness actually testified to what is sought to be corroborated; (2) whether the corroboration helps prove a material fact (relevance); and (3) whether the corroborative evidence, assuming it is relevant, is nonetheless so prejudicial that it must be excluded under Evidence Rule 403. The trial court began the voir dire, before any questioning had occurred, by reading both the charging information and the death penalty information to all prospective jurors. There is no shortage of decisions reversing convictions due to the erroneous admission of the defendant's prior criminal history, specifically prior convictions. The trial court denied Thompson's motion, ruling that the State could show how a weapon of the crime was obtained. The charging information, witness list, and verdict form from Henry County were admitted into evidence at that point. However, Thompson conceded in his second motion that the State was entitled to show that Thompson had access to or control over the weapon used to commit the murders of Hillis and Beeler. He claimed this was sufficiently proved by the undisputed evidence that the murder weapon was found when Percy and Thompson were stopped by Illinois state police three months after Hillis and Beeler were killed. The State also claims that any prejudice to Thompson was offset by a limiting instruction to the jury to constrain its consideration of prior acts to the issue of identity. Rather, he chose to attack Percy's credibility. . C. The State's case in chief When Percy began to testify about the events surrounding the Crandall murder, the defense objected and renewed its contention that this evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible under Rule 404(b). When Featheringill was asked about the events in New Castle, the defense objected on hearsay grounds. There is no doubt that Percy's credibility was critical to the State's case. 13. He then went to Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington. 1990) (citing Brewer). The fact of Thompson's conviction for murdering Crandall was wholly irrelevant to establishing his access to the murder weapon. Douglas Percy Thompson Born: 3 . Percy is much taller then any student at Doug's school. Despite Thompson's actions linking the separate events, the jury was impermissibly left with the reverberating clang of the Crandall murder ringing in its ears, United States v. Merriweather, 78 F.3d 1070, 1077 (6th Cir.1996) (reversing conviction due to erroneous admission of propensity evidence) (internal quotation marks omitted), suggesting that because Thompson killed and robbed Crandall, he must have killed and robbed Hillis and Beeler too. That's what identifies him with being associated with that gun. Before the trial in this case, Thompson was tried and convicted in Henry County of murdering Crandall. Loveless v. State, 240 Ind. He didn't leave witnesses. In June 1991, defendant Jerry Thompson and Douglas Percy were driving through Illinois and were stopped for a traffic violation. Their license was verified as active when we last checked. Inexplicably, Featheringill was also permitted to relate Percy's account of an execution style shooting.10 The fact that Crandall was killed, and how that occurred, was potentially as prejudicial as any fact can be and had no bearing on whether Thompson stole the murder weapon from Crandall that day.