Ben-Yisrayl v. State

690 N.E.2d 1141, 1997 Ind. LEXIS 248, 1998 WL 787
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 31, 1997
Docket64S00-9103-DP-00229
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 690 N.E.2d 1141 (Ben-Yisrayl v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ben-Yisrayl v. State, 690 N.E.2d 1141, 1997 Ind. LEXIS 248, 1998 WL 787 (Ind. 1997).

Opinions

DICKSON, Justice.

The defendant-appellant, Christopher D. Peterson, was convicted of two counts of murder1 and two counts of felony murder2 for the intentional killing and robbery of Harchand Dhaliwal (Counts 1 and 2) and Marie Meitzler (Counts 3 and 4).3 In accordance with the jury recommendation, the trial court ordered that a death sentence be imposed.

On December 15, 1990, Marie Meitzler, a Portage, Indiana, motel clerk was killed as the result of a shotgun wound to the neck and $467.00 was missing from the cash register. The next day, Harchand Dhaliwal, an attendant at a nearby gas station, was killed by a shotgun blast to the head and $327.55 was missing. The defendant subsequently confessed to these murders.

The defendant presents twenty claims in this direct appeal, which we regroup and address as follows: (1) severance of offenses; 4 (2) change of venue;5 (3) admissibility of evidence of the defendant’s other crimes;6 (4) prosecutor’s comments during [1145]*1145closing argument;7 (5) jury instructions;8 (6) sufficiency of evidence of statutory aggravating circumstances at the penalty phase;9 (7) admissibility of defendant’s statements;10 (8) search and seizure;11 and (9) appropriateness of the death sentence. We affirm.

1. Severance of Offenses

The defendant was charged on February 14, 1991, with two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder stemming from the shotgun murder and robbery of Harehand Dhaliwal on December 13,1990, at his workplace and the shotgun murder and robbery of Marie Meitzler on December 15,1990, at her workplace. The defendant contends he was entitled to a severance of the charged offenses as a matter of right. He also contends that, in the alternative, the denial of severance was an abuse of the trial court’s discretion.

Two statutory provisions are at issue here: Indiana Code Sections 35-34-l-9(a) and 35-34-l-ll(a).

“Two (2) or more offenses may be joined in the same indictment or information, with each offense stated in a separate count, when the offenses:
(1) are of the same or similar character, even if not part of a single scheme or plan; or
(2) are based on the same conduct or on a series of acts connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan.”

Ind.Code § 35-34-l-9(a) (1993).

Whenever two (2) or more offenses have been joined for trial in the same indictment or information solely on the ground that they are of the same or similar character, the defendant shall have a right to a severance of the offenses. In all other cases the court, upon motion of the defendant or the prosecutor, shall grant a severance of offenses whenever the court determines that severance is appropriate to promote a fair determination of the defen7 dant’s guilt or innocence of each offense considering:
(1) the number of offenses charged;
(2) the complexity of the evidence to be offered; and
(3) whether the trier of fact will be able to distinguish the evidence and apply the law intelligently as to each offense.

Ind.Code § 35-34-l-ll(a) (1993).

Interpreting these statutes, we have required severance of offenses as a matter of right under subsection 11(a) only when the offenses are joined solely because of the reason listed in subsection 9(a)(1), i.e., that the offenses are of the same or similar character. See Brown v. State, 650 N.E.2d 304, 305 (Ind.1995). However, when the offenses are joined under subsection 9(a)(2), the court must grant a severance only if it determines that it is “appropriate to promote a fair determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence,” based on subsections 11(a)(1) through (3). Conner v. State, 580 N.E.2d 214, 219 (Ind.1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 946, 112 S.Ct. 1501, 117 L.Ed.2d 640 (1992).

Under subsection 9(a)(2), offenses may be sufficiently “connected together” to justify joinder if the State can establish that a common modus operandi linked the crimes and that the same motive induced that criminal behavior. Davidson v. State, 558 N.E.2d 1077, 1083 (Ind.1990). In this case, the crimes for which the defendant was charged both have’ the same modus operandi. Both shootings involved, victims who were clerks and were killed at their place of business while working alone between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.nj. The assailant in both shootings was identified as someone who drove a white Nissan Sentra automobile. In both killings, the victims’ cash registers were emptied. The cause of death for both victims was a shotgun blast to the head, at close range, from a .12 gauge shotgun. Winchester AA 8 shotgun waddings were also found at both crime scenes. Both shootings were committed in the City of Portage, two days apart. As noted, the crimes also had the [1146]*1146same motive: robbery. Because these facts are sufficient to show a “series of acts connected together,” they were not joined solely because they were of a “same or similar character” and severance was not mandated as a matter of right. Accordingly, “whether to sever multiple charges is a matter within the trial court’s discretion, taking into account the three factors listed in [subsections 11(a)(1) through (3) ], and a denial of severance will be reversed only upon a showing of clear error.” Id.

The defendant concedes he cannot establish that the number of offenses charged or the complexity of the evidence offered subjected him to any prejudice, as required under Indiana Code Section 35-34-1-11(a)(1) and (2). He has similarly presented no evidence that the jury was unable to distinguish the evidence and apply the law intelligently as to each offense. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to sever the offenses for trial.

2. Change of Venue

The defendant contends that the record relating to his Motion for Change of Venue is insufficient to permit adequate appellate review. Alternatively, he argues that, to the extent that review is possible, the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion.

On August 25, 1994, the defendant sought relief in this Court for a new trial, alleging portions of the trial transcript were indecipherable.12 In response, this Court ordered the following:

As to the claim that the faulty transcript renders appellate review impossible, Ind. Appellate Rule 7.2(c) governs. That rule provides for reconstruction of the record where material is omitted from the record or where the record does not accurately represent the actual trial court proceedings.

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Bluebook (online)
690 N.E.2d 1141, 1997 Ind. LEXIS 248, 1998 WL 787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ben-yisrayl-v-state-ind-1997.