State v. Lassiter

KONENKAMP, Justice.

[¶ 1.] In this appeal, we confront the problem of when prior act evidence may be used to show modus operandi or motive in order to prove identity. A man entered the home of Scott Davis and assaulted him. At the time, Davis had a relationship with Brenda Tobin. Defendant, John Las-siter, Tobin’s former boyfriend, was charged with the assault. At trial, defendant denied involvement in the incident and offered an alibi. To prove that defendant was the assailant, the State sought to offer evidence surrounding defendant’s prior conviction for aggravated assault of another former…