Leyva v. State

Facts

King reported that a television set had been taken from his apartment. Officers arrived and observed a parked vehicle with a television set in the front passenger seat. King's son identified the television as the one taken from his father's apartment. Officers saw two individuals getting into the vehicle. The individuals turned out to be Erin Setright, who owned the vehicle, and D. Ms. Setright told the officers that D had the television set with him when he asked her for a ride. D was detained on suspicion of stealing the television set. After learning of an outstanding warrant, they placed D under arrest. Their pat-down search revealed a knife, a brass pipe with marijuana residue, and a plastic bag containing a minimal amount of methamphetamine residue. D claimed he borrowed the television set from King. He also claimed that he had borrowed the pants he was wearing from King. The brass pipe was not his, he said, and must have been in the pocket when he borrowed the pants that morning. The knife was his, but D said he had put the knife in the pocket of the pants the night before which didn’t match up with borrowing the pants that morning. D reached a plea agreement to plead guilty to the methamphetamine charge and P would dismiss the burglary charge. Eventually, D withdraw the guilty plea and the case was set for trial on the two original counts, burglary and illegal possession of methamphetamine. D objected to P's evidence that he was in possession of a brass pipe containing marijuana residue at the time of his arrest. The district court admitted the evidence. The jury subsequently returned a verdict of guilty on both charges. D was sentenced to three to five years in the state penitentiary, with the recommendation that he be referred to boot camp. D appealed in part on the issue of whether the district court erred in allowing evidence of uncharged misconduct to be admitted at trial.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

© 2007-2024 ABN Study Partner.