Andrew M. Cassaday v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided March 14, 2018·No. 02A04-1706-CR-1437·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 14 2018, 10:19 am

court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Adam C. Squiller Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Squiller & Hamilton, LLP Attorney General of Indiana Auburn, Indiana Lyubov Gore

Robert J. Hardy Deputy Attorney General Hardy Law Office Indianapolis, Indiana Auburn, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Andrew M. Cassaday, March 14, 2018 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

02A04-1706-CR-1437

v. Appeal from the Allen Superior Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Appellee-Plaintiff. John F. Surbeck, Jr., Judge Trial Court Cause No.

02D05-1608-MR-4

Kirsch, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1706-CR-1437 | March 14, 2018 Page 1 of 17

[1] Andrew M. Cassaday (“Cassaday”) was convicted after a jury trial of murder, 1 a felony, and a sentencing enhancement for the use of a firearm in the commission of an offense2 and was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of sixty- five years. Cassaday appeals his convictions, contending that the trial court erred when it instructed the jury regarding self-defense.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [3] During the summer of 2015, Jeffrey Lute (“Lute”), Justin Clark (“Clark”),

Cassaday, Phil Elkins (“Elkins”), Brandon Briggs (“Briggs”), and other friends formed a motorcycle club called the Steel Horse Rebels. Elkins was appointed President, Lute was appointed Vice President, and Cassaday was appointed Sergeant at Arms. In December of 2015, the relationship between Lute and Elkins deteriorated, and the tension escalated to the point that Lute left the club along with his father and his best friend, Clark. Cassaday was subsequently made Vice President of the club. This tension between Lute and Elkins continued despite Lute leaving the club.

[4] On the evening of August 14, 2016, Lute and Clark went to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant located in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana and met three other friends. Lute brought along and open carried his handgun as he

1 See Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1.

2 See Ind. Code § 35-50-2-11.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1706-CR-1437 | March 14, 2018 Page 2 of 17 usually did; he had a license to carry the handgun, and it was generally known that he carried it on his person. Tr. Vol. I at 62, 194; Tr. Vol. III at 3, 29, 90. The five friends ate dinner and had a good time. At around 8:26 p.m., one of the friends, Alma Hrmcic (“Hrmcic”) recorded a Snapchat video of the group and posted it so her friends would be able to view it.

[5] At the same time, several members of the Steel Horse Rebels, including Elkins, were hanging out at another motorcycle club’s clubhouse and became aware of the Snapchat video and the fact that Lute was at Texas Roadhouse. Cassaday was at his own residence with his girlfriend, Amanda Bovie (“Bovie”), when he received a phone call from Elkins. Immediately after receiving the phone call, Cassaday “drop[ped] everything,” retrieved his handgun, which he was not licensed to carry, and left the house with Bovie. Tr. Vol. I at 72-73. Cassaday and Bovie then drove to the clubhouse and met the seven or so others who were gathered there.

[6] At the clubhouse, Elkins, who was friends with Hrmcic, viewed her Snapchat video and found out that Lute was at the restaurant.3 Elkins then decided he would go to the restaurant to “chew [Lute’s] ass” and said he was going there to confront Lute. Tr. Vol. II at 240. Cassaday decided that he would also go to the restaurant in order to give Lute his “two cents.” Tr. Vol. III at 138, 140.

3 It is not clear whether Elkins showed the Snapchat video to anyone else, but Bovie testified that, just before everyone left the clubhouse, Cassaday and other club members gathered around Elkins’s cellphone and had a conversation about what they had viewed on it. Tr. Vol. I at 76-77.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1706-CR-1437 | March 14, 2018 Page 3 of 17

Everyone at the clubhouse decided to drive over in their separate vehicles to the restaurant. At 9:16 p.m., Elkins sent a text message to Hrmcic, asking her whether she was still eating at the restaurant, and Hrmcic responded that she was.

[7] Just after 9:31 p.m., Lute and his friends finished eating dinner, paid their tabs, and left the restaurant. Lute and Clark headed through the parking lot to Clark’s car, but before they could get in, ten to fourteen people “converged” on them and surrounded Lute. Tr. Vol. I at 82, 144, 192-93. Briggs approached Lute first and began yelling at him, acting aggressively, and stating, “what’s up, Bitch, what’s up, Pussy, are ya gonna pull a gun on me now.” Id. at 193-94; Tr. Vol. II at 245-46. Lute took out his cell phone and held it up as if to take a video, and Briggs immediately stopped yelling at him and just stood there. Tr. Vol. I at 195, 233.

[8] Cassaday then approached Lute and started to attack him verbally and physically. Cassaday pushed Lute and “threw a punch at him,” which may not have made contact. Id. at 249. Lute began retreating and walking backwards towards the sidewalk of the restaurant, and as Lute retreated, Elkins came running at full speed, which caused Lute to begin “backtracking a lot faster … almost [at] a run backwards.” Id. at 197-98, 211. Elkins put his finger in Lute’s face, bumped chests with Lute, and yelled and argued with Lute. Elkins also punched and shoved Lute multiple times. At one point, Lute stumbled over the curb but was able to regain his balance. Elkins persisted in acting aggressively

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1706-CR-1437 | March 14, 2018 Page 4 of 17 toward Lute, even after Lute told Elkins to stop, to leave him alone, and that he did not want any problems. Id. at 198; Tr. Vol. II at 10.

[9] Clark shouted to Lute, “defend yourself, … pull your gun if you have to.” Tr. Vol. I at 198; Tr. Vol. II at 15. Lute then pulled out his handgun, and Elkins stated, “if you’re gonna pull that gun you better fucking shoot and kill me.” Tr. Vol. I at 199; Tr. Vol. II at 15-16. Elkins continued to move closer to Lute, and Lute again told him to stop and to leave him alone. Tr. Vol. I at 199; Tr. Vol. II at 8, 15, 188. Lute was backed up against the building and could not retreat further. Clark yelled to Lute, “shoot that motherfucker if you have to.” Tr. Vol. I at 199; Tr. Vol. II at 15-16; Tr. Vol. III at 4, 37, 91. As Elkins “went to push [Lute] with his left hand,” and “cocked his right arm to punch [Lute],” Lute pointed his handgun at Elkin’s chest and then lowered it and shot him in the right leg. Tr. Vol. I at 199; Tr. Vol. II at 15-16; Tr. Vol. III at 4, 54-55. Elkins went down to the ground and screamed that Lute had shot him, to call 911, and for “somebody [to] go get him, somebody go kill that motherfucker.” Tr. Vol. I at 199-200, 208.

[10] After shooting Elkins, Lute began retreating backwards saying, “good, call 911.” Id. at 201. Then, Lute turned his back and retreated by running around the corner of the restaurant. Several of those present ran over to assist Elkins, and others chased after Lute. Briggs yelled to Cassaday that Elkins had been shot and that “[Lute’s] coming around the building, somebody grab him, somebody get him.” Id. at 201-02, 229; Tr. Vol. II at 38. Cassaday proceeded to

quickly walk over to his vehicle and told Bovie to give him his gun. Tr. Vol. I at Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1706-CR-1437 | March 14, 2018 Page 5 of 17 85, 92, 111; Tr. Vol. II at 201; Tr. Vol. III at 94-96.4 Bovie gave Cassaday his gun, and Cassaday then walked back toward the entrance of the restaurant.

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