Banks v. Commonwealth

Opinion

BARROW, J.

In this criminal appeal, we must decide whether the trial court erred in excluding evidence of illegal activities of an undercover police agent during his investigation. We hold that the trial court should have admitted this evidence because, if believed, it shows a motive for the undercover agent to have fabricated his testimony against the defendant.

Lynchburg police arrested the defendant, along with others, at the end of a six-month undercover narcotics operation in July, 1991. He was charged with selling crack cocaine to an ABC Board Special Undercover Agent named Frances…