State v. Thomas

THIS
OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS
PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 239(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Efrain Thomas, Appellant.

Appeal From Lee County

Clifton Newman, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2009-UP-059

Submitted January 2, 2009 – Filed January
22, 2009   

AFFIRMED

Chief Appellant Defender Joseph L. Savitz, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy
Attorney General John W. McIntosh, and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald
J. Zelenka, all of Columbia; and Solicitor C. Kelly Jackson, of Sumter, for
Respondent. 

PER CURIAM:  Efrain Thomas appeals his conviction for
murder and possession of a firearm during a violent crime and his sentence of
thirty years’ imprisonment, arguing the circuit court erred in permitting the
State to impeach him at trial using a prior conviction for unlawful possession
of a weapon, arguing the prejudice he suffered because of this testimony was
unfair and outweighed any probative value.  We
affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b), SCACR, and the following authorities:  Ohler
v. U.S., 529 U.S. 753, 755 (2000) (“Generally, a party introducing evidence
cannot complain on appeal that the evidence was erroneously admitted.”); State
v. Wannamaker, 346 S.C. 495, 499, 552 S.E.2d 284, 286 (2001) (holding a
party must object contemporaneously to the admission of evidence to preserve
that issue for appellate review); State v. Mitchell, 330 S.C. 189, 199,
498 S.E.2d 642, 647 (1998) (placing on appellant the burden of presenting a
sufficient record to allow review); State v. Mueller, 319 S.C. 266, 268,
460 S.E.2d 409, 410 (Ct. App. 1995) (requiring a ruling on a motion in limine to exclude evidence to be elicited from a witness must be obtained immediately
prior to the witness’s testimony in order to preserve the ruling for appellate
review without a contemporaneous objection).  

AFFIRMED.

WILLIAMS, PIEPER, and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.