State v. McCombs, 762 S.E.2d 744

McCombs indicted for lewd act on a minor; pretrial motion to admit prior bad act evidence under Rule 404(b) discussed at hearing.
Jessica testified to a 2001 incident at McCombs' home pool involving touching and insertion under her bathing suit; McCombs pled guilty to AJBHAN in 2002.
Detective Miller testified Jessica reported groping, kissing fingers, and attempting fondling; he claimed different details from Jessica but similar acts.
Victim testified to an August 1, 2009 incident at McCombs' house pool, involving touching of vagina under bathing suit in the pool setting.
Circuit court denied admission of the prior bad act as 404(b) evidence, balancing similarities and remoteness, and ruled it inadmissible.
State appeals under State v. Henry; appellate standard of review focuses on abuse of discretion in evidentiary rulings and the admissibility framework for 404(b) and Rule 403

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether prior bad act evidence is admissible under Rule 404(b).	State: close similarity shows common scheme.	McCombs: dissimilarities predominate; remoteness and 403 concerns support exclusion.	Admissible: similarities outweigh dissimilarities; remoteness not dispositive; 404(b) supports admission.
Whether the trial court properly weighed prejudice under Rule 403 after finding 404(b) admissible.	State: probative value outweighs prejudice.	McCombs: admission would be unfairly prejudicial and confusing.	Court held 403 analysis improper here because 404(b) admission was erroneous; however remand for proper ruling.
Whether the circuit court erred in finding the acts were not a close degree of similarity.	State: strong similarities exist (age, location, victims, bathing-suit touching).	McCombs: dissimilarities (coercion, alcohol use) are significant.	Close degree of similarity exists; similarities outweigh dissimilarities.

State v. Wallace, 384 S.C. 428 (2009) (sets factors for close similarity in common scheme analysis)
State v. Hubner, 384 S.C. 436 (2009) (acknowledges see-saw on admission of prior acts; remits to Wallace framework)
State v. Taylor, 399 S.C. 51 (Ct. App. 2012) (defines 'close degree of similarity' and factors)
State v. Gaines, 380 S.C. 23 (Ct. App. 2008) (explains common scheme or plan analysis)
State v. Claiby, 385 S.C. 148 (Ct. App. 2009) (outlines 404(b) admissibility framework)
State v. Berry, 332 S.C. 214 (Ct. App. 1998) (discusses similarities vs. dissimilarities in bad-act evidence)
State v. Scott, 405 S.C. 489 (Ct. App. 2013) (defines 'close degree of similarity' and application to sexual offenses)