State v. Lewis

Sabrina Lewis (defendant) helped set up a robbery of antique-store owner Gary Finchum by scheduling a fake vase-appraisal appointment; during that appointment, the store was robbed and Finchum was shot. Finchum told bystanders he'd been shot in the heart, and when police arrived, he told Detective Mike Chastain that the contact information for "the lady with the vases" was on his desk -- a note bearing Lewis's name and the words "two vases." Asked whether he thought the woman was involved, Finchum said, "I know she is." Finchum then died of his wounds. The trial court admitted his statements to Chastain over Lewis's objection as dying declarations, and Lewis was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and appealed.