State of Arizona v. Michael Andrew Elmer
Opinion
Opinion
Trott, J.
This pretrial appeal arises out of an alleged shooting near Nogales, Arizona. The State of Arizona has charged former United States Border Patrol Agent Michael Elmer with ten counts of aggravated assault for allegedly shooting at 20 to 30 aliens who, on March 18, 1992, had crossed the Mexican border into the United States. Prior to trial, the State gave notice it intended to introduce evidence that Agent Elmer was involved in a subsequent similar shooting on June 12, 1992.
Agent Elmer filed a motion to exclude the evidence. The district court granted defendant’s motion because it concluded the evidence was 1) only “superficially similar” to the charges on trial, 2) extremely prejudicial, and 8) would unduly seize the attention of the jury. See State v. Elmer, 815 F.Supp. 319, 323 (D.Ariz.1993). The State of Arizona appeals, arguing the evidence: 1) is admissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(a)(1) and 405(b); 2) is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b); and 3) should not be excluded under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of the June 1992 incident.