People v. Martinez

*520Defendant was arrested for a street sale of cocaine. The court precluded the People from introducing evidence that the arresting officers recognized defendant from previous arrests at the same location. These prior arrests had resulted in charges that were eventually dismissed. Out of the presence of the jury, defense counsel indicated that he intended to argue that defendant was arrested solely because the officers knew him from these previous arrests. Although given leeway to cross-examine the officers concerning how they recognized defendant, counsel never actually asked them about prior…