There is no doubt that Percy's credibility was critical to the State's case. What does Mr. Percy have to lose? There is enormous potential for prejudice in the guilt phase if the jury is permitted to know from the outset, in a murder case, that the defendant is a convicted killer. And, he took Wesley Crandall's guns Mr. Thompson was ultimately convicted of the murder of Wesley Crandall in February of 1991. The State responded that his testimony was admissible under Evidence Rule 801(d)(1)(B) as a prior consistent statement to rebut Thompson's recent charge of improper motive. The prosecutor's contention at trial that the Crandall jury verdict constituted validation of Percy is a stretch no court can make. Observing that Thompson had challenged Percy's credibility in opening arguments, the State maintained that some detail was needed to give the jury "sufficient context" in which to understand, and therefore credit, Percy's testimony about how Thompson acquired the gun used to kill Hillis and Beeler. He claimed this was sufficiently proved by the undisputed evidence that the murder weapon was found when Percy and Thompson were stopped by Illinois state police three months after Hillis and Beeler were killed. 1991, and ballistics tests confirmed to be the weapon used to kill Hillis and Beeler. 1993) (holding that improperly admitted evidence of prior acts was not harmless error where the State emphasized the disputed conduct in its opening and closing arguments); James v. State, 622 N.E.2d 1303, 1309-10 (Ind. Thompson was charged and a jury convicted him on all counts. In the end, an impermissible flood of damaging propensity evidence washed away Thompson's right to a fair trial. However, the details of the killing, including the cause of death "as being two gunshot wounds in the head," id. Because we conclude that the extensive evidence of the prior crime was inadmissible under Indiana Evidence Rules 402, 403, and 404(b), and denied Thompson a fair trial, we reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial. View the profiles of people named Jerry Thompson Thompson. Jerry Thompson, his brothers David (Lisa) and Dan (Ana) Thompson, his nephews, Lucas . This [is] the gun that came from there. Access to the murder weapon, particularly where the evidence is circumstantial as in this case, is such a permissible purpose. C. The errors were not harmless We cannot conclude that these evidentiary errors were harmless. People at Inforver; . In rebuttal, the State replied that the events surrounding the Crandall murder were relevant: The reason it's relevant is because it proves [Thompson's] identity.