Francois v. State

May Francois appeals his convictions of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He contends that the trial court erred in admitting testimony that he possessed four rifles in his residence when it was undisputed that those rifles were not used in the robbery. We agree because the State failed to establish (1) how Francois’s mere possession of four rifles, concededly unrelated to the robbery, was relevant to any issue at trial, and (2) that the erroneously admitted evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

At trial, the State informed the trial court of its intention to…