Cirillo v. State

OPINION

By the Court,

Mowbray, C. J.:

Michael Joseph Cirillo appeals from the judgment of conviction entered by the district court upon a jury verdict finding Cirillo guilty of murder in the second degree. We hold that the admission into evidence of testimony concerning other crimes was prejudicial error. We therefore reverse and remand for a new trial.

Cirillo was charged with the murder of Manuel Vega. At trial, Toni Rizzo testified that at about two in the afternoon on April 7, 1978, she had gone to Paradise Park in Las Vegas to jog. There she saw appellant Cirillo and John Santini with Manuel…