State v. Woodbury

The defendant appeals his conviction in Superior Court {Dunn, J.) for robbery, RSA 836:1. The sole issue presented upon appeal is whether the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion for a mistrial after a witness for the State testified as to a prior armed robbery charge brought against the defendant. We hold that this testimony was inadmissible and sufficiently prejudicial to require a new trial.

The evidence presented at the defendant’s trial revealed that on the night of December 21, 1981, John Rigney, Jr., owner of the Candy Corner Store, was robbed at knife point in a parking…