People v. Williams, 167 N.W.2d 358 (Mich. 1969)

The testimony stated that the casings from the first and second robbery were fired from the same gun, but did not identify the gun and did not link the bullets recovered from the victim to the casings. Defendant argued reversable error because of a lack of connecting evidence between the murder and the other crimes. "[W]e notice a dearth of Michigan or other decisions concerning a trial like the present, in which shell casings rather than bullets were involved and the weapon was not produced in evidence. Nevertheless, we are convinced that the evidence was admissible if there was shown a connecting link between the evidence of the second crime and the murder that engendered defendant's trial. The testimony included an uncontested identification of the defendant as the assailant who shot the second robbery victim. The shell casings found at the scene of the second robbery were of the same caliber and fired by the same gun which fired the shell casing found at the scene of the first robbery, in which the decedent was killed. We agree that these facts establish a direct connection between defendant and the two crimes, and that the jury's conclusion that defendant fired the fatal shot in the first robbery was reasonable. Therefore, the evidence was properly admitted, and there was no reversible error committed."