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Powell v. State

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting similar transaction evidence in the defendant's trial for family violence battery, family violence terroristic threats and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree.

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A jury acquitted Evelyn Powell of aggravated assault with a knife but convicted her of family violence battery, family violence terroristic threats and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree for having committed aggravated assault and battery in the presence of a minor. On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce similar transaction evidence and that the error was not harmless. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence at trial showed that the 13-year-old victim, her 16-year-old sister, and her 19-year-old sister and her baby lived with their grandparents, Powell and her husband, along with other family members. On the day of the incident that led to the charges against Powell, Powell became angry when the victim would not give her letters addressed to other family members. Powell followed the victim into her bedroom, grabbed her shirt, “jacked her up,” and scratched her neck. The victim got loose and Powell started to walk away, then turned and shoved the victim into a wall. One of the victim’s sisters heard a “boom” and came out of her bathroom to find the victim sitting on the floor crying. Powell went into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and came toward the victim with it while threatening to kill her. Another sister came out of her room and asked Powell why she was chasing the victim with a knife, and Powell said, “I’m going to kill you, bitch.”

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