Page v. State, 114 A.3d 283

Victim Rubearth Nichols identified Jamal Marcus Page as the shooter after being shot six times on June 7, 2013; Nichols survived and testified at trial.
Two weeks before the shooting Nichols and Page argued about money for shoes; Nichols testified Page tried to shoot him then but the gun jammed.
After the June 7 shooting eyewitnesses saw a man in a camouflage jacket run from the scene; a canine track led police to an apartment where Page was found and officers recovered a camouflage jacket and a semiautomatic handgun.
The jury convicted Page of attempted second-degree murder, handgun use, and related offenses (acquitted of attempted first-degree murder); sentence aggregated to 50 years, with all but 35 years suspended.
On appeal Page raised two issues: (1) admission of the prior attempted-shooting incident under Rule 5-404(b); and (2) whether a jury instruction on flight (consciousness of guilt) was proper given the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Page)	Held
Admissibility of prior assault under Rule 5-404(b)	Prior attempted shooting two weeks earlier is specially relevant to motive, intent, premeditation and identity; admissible exception to propensity ban	The prior incident was unreported, not in early statements, lacked independent proof and was unfairly prejudicial; only the money dispute (motive) should be admitted, not the violent act	Court affirmed admission: prior act had heightened relevance to identity and intent, was supported by competent testimony (clear and convincing for trial judge), and probative value outweighed undue prejudice
Flight instruction (consciousness of guilt)	Testimony that Page ran immediately after the shooting and later hid in a nearby apartment supports a flight instruction	Departure was ordinary leaving of the scene (not flight); comparable cases show mere walking away doesn’t warrant instruction	Court affirmed instruction: evidence met the low threshold of “some evidence” of flight and consciousness of guilt; unlike Hoerauf, witnesses described running and avoidance of public view

Terry v. State, 332 Md. 329 (rule excluding other-crimes evidence and exceptions)
Faulkner v. State, 314 Md. 630 (3-step test for admissibility of other-crimes evidence)
Emory v. State, 101 Md. App. 585 (special relevance and sufficiency of testimony for prior-act evidence)
Oesby v. State, 142 Md. App. 144 (discussion of categories and overlap of other-crimes exceptions)
Snyder v. State, 361 Md. 580 (temporal relationship and linking prior conduct to main charge)
Thompson v. State, 393 Md. 291 (standards for giving flight instruction)
Hoerauf v. State, 178 Md. App. 292 (distinguishing mere departure from flight)