Perez

This case involves the issue of the use or the attempted use by the prosecution of prior or subsequent narcotics activity by the defendant to show his knowledge of the narcotic character of the substance involved in the primary charge. This issue presents itself rather frequently in trial courts but unfortunately has not been handled with complete consistency in the appellate courts. We will briefly review the authorities and attempt to set up some guidelines for trial courts in this troublesome area.

Defendant was convicted by a jury of sale of heroin.

An undercover agent was searched, given money and sent to the defendant’s residence. He returned without the money but with two balloons. The undercover agent testified that when he went to the house the defendant answered the door. The undercover agent asked him if had “any stuff.” The defendant said he did. The undercover agent then gave him the money and secured the balloons. An expert testified the balloons contained a usable amount of heroin.

Over objection, the prosecution presented evidence that six days later the defendant’s home was searched pursuant to a search warrant. A substantial amount of heroin was found…