In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals granted a new trial on the ground that improper and prejudicial character evidence regarding a prior incarceration of the defendant was admitted at trial. The case presents a reminder about the distinction between North Carolina Rules of Evidence 404(a) and 404(b) and sheds light on the admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s incarceration. Facts. In State v. Rios, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Dec. 20, 2016), law enforcement obtained a warrant to search the residence of the defendant, where he lived with the homeowner and another roommate. The search revealed nearly sixty pounds of marijuana and a host of other evidence of drug distribution activity. The police found about seven pounds of marijuana in the defendant’s bedroom, most of which was in a large box. Fifty more pounds were found in the garage. A latent fingerprint found on drug-packaging material in the homeowner’s room was matched to the defendant. The defendant’s girlfriend, Ms. Hodges, testified on his behalf at trial, offering several reasons why the drugs did not belong to him. She testified that the two had met in high school around 2004 and began dating in 2012 while she was in graduate school in Chapel Hill. She had not seen the defendant use or possess marijuana but had seen the roommates do so. Among other things, she testified that other people used the defendant’s bedroom at the defendant’s residence in Greensboro when he visited her on weekends in Chapel Hill and that between [...]
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