Barrientos v. State

Appellant challenges his conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on the ground that the court erred in admitting evidence of appellant's flight from police officers as suggesting a collateral crime. We conclude that the trial court did not err in admitting the evidence. The police were completing the execution of a search warrant at appellant's house when they noticed appellant arrive in a car. Upon seeing the police, appellant turned and drove away with the police following him. When he failed to yield for a stop sign, the officers initiated a traffic stop. A police dog then alerted the officers to the presence of drugs, prompting them to search the vehicle. They discovered a firearm under the seat and arrested appellant.