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State v. Henderson3/7/2001
Griffin's trailer was relevant to establishing the sequence of events on the night of Griffin's murder. In addition, the trial court also found that the probative value of this evidence was not outweighed by danger of unfair prejudice.
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled that this evidence was admissible. The evidence that showed that Appellants were involved in an altercation with Griffin and that they set fire to Griffin's trailer on the night that he was killed was relevant to establishing Appellants' intent and motive for killing Griffin. Indeed, the Tennessee Supreme Court has previously recognized that evidence of prior acts of violence against the victim are admissible under Rule 404(b) because the evidence is relevant to show the defendant's hostility toward the victim, malice, intent, and a settled purpose to harm the victim. State v. Smith, 868 S.W.2d 561, 574 (Tenn. 1993). Moreover, the evidence that tied Appellants to the other crimes against Griffin that were committed just hours before Griffin was killed was also relevant to establishing the identity of Griffin's killers. Indeed, Rule 404(b) provides for the admissibility of evidence about other crimes when relevant to issues of identity, intent, and motive. See Tenn. R. Evid. 404(b) (Sentencing Commission Comments). We also conclude that the probative value of this evidence was not outweighed by danger of unfair prejudice. This issue has no merit.
B. The Connie Branam Murder
The trial court ruled that the State could introduce evidence about the murder of Branam, but the State could not introduce the fact that Appellants had been convicted of the Branam murder. The trial court found that the evidence about the Branam murder was admissible because it was relevant to establishing the identity of Griffin's killers.
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it ruled that this evidence was admissible. The evidence regarding the Branam murder showed that when Appellants went to Howie's Hideaway with Branam the day after Griffin was killed, they acted suspiciously by repeatedly questioning the barmaids about whether they remembered seeing them with Griffin on the previous day and by attempting to fabricate a story about drinking at the bar with Griffin after he had been released from jail. In addition, the evidence showed that when Newman told Appellants that she remembered them from the day before, Sutton attempted to convince Newman to come with them. When Newman refused, Sutton threatened her. This evidence suggests that Appellants had the intent to silence any witness who could connect them with Griffin's murder. Thus, the evidence of Branam's murder was highly relevant to establishing the identity of Griffin's killers because it tended to show that Appellants had killed Branam in order to conceal the fact that they had murdered Griffin. In addition, we conclude that the highly probative value of this evidence was not outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted this evidence. This issue has no merit.
XI. ADMISSION OF A RIFLE AND SHELLS INTO EVIDENCE
Appellant Sutton contends that the trial court erred when it admitted the .303 rifle and the .303 shells that were found at Dellinger's residence into evidence. Specifically, Sutton contends that this evidence was inadmissible because it was not relevant to any issue in the case. We disagree.
As this Court has previously stated, the determination of whether evidence is relevant is within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Griffis, 964 S.W.
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