Aschliman v. State

578 N.E.2d 759, 1991 WL 191632
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 25, 1991
Docket90A04-9006-CR-276
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 578 N.E.2d 759 (Aschliman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aschliman v. State, 578 N.E.2d 759, 1991 WL 191632 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

CONOVER, Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Rex A. Aschliman (Aschliman) appeals his conviction for Theft, a class D felony and his habitual offender determination. IND.CODE 85-48-4-2; 85-50-2-8.

We affirm.

Aschliman presents the following restated issues for our review:

1. whether sufficient evidence exists to prove every element of the crime of theft beyond a reasonable doubt;
2. whether the trial court erred in refusing Aschliman's instruction on the lesser included offense of criminal conversion;
[761]*7613. whether the trial court erred in denying Aschliman's motion for change of prosecutor; motion for appointment of special prosecutor, and
4. whether the trial court erred in admitting State's Exhibit 5 over Aschli-man's objection.

In June, 1989, Truman and Mary Lou Barger watched Aschliman pull into the Fiechters' driveway. Mr. Barger watched through binoculars as Aschliman walked first to the door of the Fiechters' home, then to the locked garage door which he unsuccessfully attempted to open. Aschli-man next entered the screened-in porch, left, and went to the tool shed where the Fiechters stored their pry bar. Aschliman then returned and re-entered the sereened-in porch and used the Fiechters' pry bar in his attempt to pry open the doors from the porch to the living area of the house. Mr. Barger then wrote down a description of Aschliman's car and his license number, and telephoned the Fiechters' home, to frighten Aschliman. Aschliman left the sereened-in porch, threw the pry bar under a tree, and drove away. Mr. Barger found the pry bar, saw the damage to the doors, and then called the police.

Aschliman was originally charged with Burglary, a class B felony, amended by an Habitual Offender count. The charge was later amended to Attempted Burglary, instead of Burglary. Via a subsequent amendment, Theft (of the pry bar), a class D felony was added to the charges. The trial court directed a verdict in Aschliman's favor regarding Attempted Burglary. The jury then found Aschliman guilty of Theft and determined him to be an Habitual Offender. He was sentenced to two years on the theft charge with a 30 year enhancement for being adjudged an habitual offender. The court then suspended 5 years of the sentence. Aschliman appeals.

Additional facts as necessary will be provided below.

Aschliman first contends insufficient evidence supports his conviction. He maintains no evidence exists regarding his intent, an element of the offense of theft. Aschliman asserts although intent is commonly established by circumstantial evidence, in determining intent, "the trier of fact must resort to reasonable inferences based upon examination of the surrounding circumstances." - Appellant's Brief, at 8. He further claims substantial evidence of probative value does not establish the element of intent and thus, no reasonable inference as to his intent is justified. Additionally, he argues the jury was confused over the issue of intent, as demonstrated by their question to the judge during deliberations.1 Thus, he contends his conviction must be reversed. We disagree.

When presented with a claim of insufficient evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Loyd v. State (1980), 272 Ind. 404, 398 N.E.2d 1260, 1265, reh. denied, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 881, 101 S.Ct. 231, 66 L.Ed.2d 105. Instead, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the State. Meredith v. State (1987), Ind., 503 N.E.2d 880, 882. If there is substantial evidence to support the verdict, we will affirm the conviction. Id. True, the State has the burden of introducing sufficient evidence from which the jury can find the existence of each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Montego v. State (1987), Ind., 517 N.E.2d 74, 75. However, because intent is a mental state, the fact finder must generally resort to reasonable inferences from the surrounding circumstances to determine whether the requisite intent exists. Id.; Anglin v. State (1986), Ind., 490 N.E.2d 721, 723.

The statute under which Aschliman was charged for the crime of theft provides

[762]*762(a) A person who knowingly or intentionally exerts unauthorized control over property of another person, with intent to deprive the other person of any part of its value or use, commits theft, a Class D felony....

Here, Aschliman entered the tool shed where Mr. Fiechter kept the pry bar, returned and re-entered the screened-in porch, and used Fiechters' pry bar in his unsuccessful attempt to gain entry to the house. Aschliman then abandoned his attempt to gain entry, left the screened-in porch, and threw the pry bar into a weeded area under a tree before hurriedly leaving. Sufficient evidence yields the inference Aschliman intended to deprive the Fiecht-ers of the use or value of their pry bar by his unauthorized control.

Next, Aschliman contends the trial court erred in refusing his tendered instruction on the lesser included offense of conversion. He maintains because conversion is a lesser included offense of theft and a "serious dispute" exists regarding whether he committed the element distinguishing the lesser crime from the greater, the trial court erred in refusing his instruction. Thus, he contends his conviction should be reversed and a new trial granted. We disagree.

Initially, we address the issue of waiver as presented by the State. The State contends Aschliman waived the issue pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 8.3(A)(7), for failing to set out the instruction verba tim in the argument section of his brief. Accordingly, any error in this issue may be deemed waived under our appellate rule. Collier v. State (1984), Ind., 470 N.E.2d 1340, 1343. However, Aschliman cites the specific pages in the record where the instruction appears, so we will consider this allegation of error. Id.

When determining whether an instruction was properly refused, we consider whether the instruction was a correct statement of the law, whether there was evidence in the record to support giving the instruction, and whether the substance of the tendered instruction was covered by other instructions given. Avance v. State (1991), Ind., 567 N.E.2d 1149, 1151. The decision as to what instructions to give is within the discretion of trial court. Id.

Most recently, in Holder v. State (1991), Ind., 571 N.E.2d 1250, 1256, our supreme court reiterated the two-step test we must use to determine whether the trial court should have given an instruction on a lesser included offense. First, we determine whether the claimed lesser offense is either inherently or factually included in the language of the statute and the charging document. Id. at 9. Next, we examine the evidence to determine whether it warranted an instruction on the lesser offense. An instruction on the lesser offense was warranted if a serious evidentiary dispute existed respecting the element that distinguishes the greater from the lesser offense. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Meriweather v. State
659 N.E.2d 133 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1995)
Wright v. State
658 N.E.2d 563 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1995)
Aschliman v. State
589 N.E.2d 1160 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1992)
Aschliman v. State
578 N.E.2d 759 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
578 N.E.2d 759, 1991 WL 191632, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aschliman-v-state-indctapp-1991.