State v. Stewart Jerome Middleton

Syllabus

At Stewart Jerome Middleton's trial for criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, the State introduced a police detective's testimony that Middleton was evasive in response to her attempts to get Middleton to come in for a voluntary interview. The trial court admitted this testimony over Middleton's relevance objection. We hold the trial court erred in finding the testimony relevant because the State did not establish the required nexus between Middleton's conduct and a consciousness of his guilt. We reverse Middleton's conviction and remand for a new trial.