State v. Smith

STEWART, Associate Chief Justice:

Richard Louis Smith was convicted of theft by deception and theft by receiving stolen property. On this appeal, he claims that the trial court erred in excluding his testimony which was intended to show that he had a strong motivation to avoid imprisonment and would not therefore have knowingly or intentionally committed the crimes charged.

On the night of June 6, 1982, Steven Page’s home was burglarized. Among the various items taken were two .300 Magnum rifles. At about noon on June 7, 1982, Smith pawned one of these rifles at the Pawnee Loans pawn shop and…