Prosecutor: uncontested pretrial proffer made trip and post-shooting conduct relevant in State v. Little

Samantha Kenner of the King County Prosecutor's Office summarized the state's view of the record and asked the court to affirm the convictions and standard-range sentence. Kenner described an "uncontested proffer" that, she said, showed that within about 24 hours the defendant had "shot the victims, fled the scene, cleaned and ditched the car, switched cars, picked mister Sanders back up and picked up mister Sanders' girlfriend, and then left for Oregon on an impromptu trip." She said the trial court had a record that reasonably supported juror inferences about consciousness of guilt.

Kenner argued that the defense did not preserve an ER 404(b) objection that would have required a balancing on the record and that the state had offered only the ordinary probative prejudice one expects when relevant evidence tends to undercut a self-defense claim. "It's unremarkable that Washington residents would go on a road trip to the state of Oregon," Kenner said, adding that the state's proffer suggested the trip here had features (texts indicating it was impromptu and lack of funds) that made it probative in this particular case. The prosecutor also noted the sentencing issue but emphasized the evidentiary record as dispositive for the state's position.