Games-Neely v. Yoder (Signed Opinion)
Annotate this CaseStreets, a 32-year Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department veteran, was indicted for felony embezzlement and fraudulent schemes, with respect to 13 guns taken from the Department and sold to a gun dealer, Glockcop. He was found not guilty of fraudulent schemes; the jury hung on the embezzlement count. A mistrial was declared. The state filed a notice of intent to use Rule 404(b) evidence, consisting of certified public records of judgments against Streets from lawsuits involving wrongful occupation and defaults on residential rental agreements, a default on a furniture installment agreement, nonpayment of medical bills, wage garnishment and home foreclosure, to establish debt in excess of $38,000. The court determined that the evidence was admissible to show motive, During retrial, the state also presented Glockcop’s business records and testimony that Streets was the sole officer in charge of the evidence room. Streets claimed that he mistakenly sold the guns, thinking that they were guns he had inherited from his father. After a conviction, the court granted a retrial. The Supreme Court of Appeals granted mandamus, finding that the trial court erred by granting a new trial when Streets failed to object to alleged error during trial; in determining that the state improperly attacked Streets’ character, when he first placed his character in issue; and by granting a new trial when the alleged error was harmless. The overwhelming evidence would support the conviction without the state’s closing argument comments implicating character.
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