Brooks v. State

934 N.E.2d 1234, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1854, 2010 WL 3872943
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 5, 2010
Docket49A04-0911-CR-651
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 934 N.E.2d 1234 (Brooks 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
Brooks v. State, 934 N.E.2d 1234, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1854, 2010 WL 3872943 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

BARTEAU, Senior Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendant-Appellant Nevin Brooks appeals his conviction of and sentence for felony murder. 1 We affirm.

ISSUES

Brooks raises six issues for our review, which we restate as:

I. Whether the juvenile court abused its discretion in waiving jurisdiction over Brooks.
II. Whether the admission of evidence obtained through a pat down search was proper under the Fourth Amendment.
III. Whether the admission of evidence obtained through a pat down search was proper under Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
Whether the trial court erred in denying Brooks' motion for mistrial. IV.
V. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support the convietion.
VI. Whether the sentence imposed was inappropriate.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On March 16, 2008, at approximately 10 p.m., David Hardwick was shot in the head and mortally wounded during a robbery. A police investigation disclosed that Hard-wick had been shot at close range while on his knees and that his body had been turned over as it lay on the ground. Hardwick's wallet, watch, and bracelet were not found on his person.

Approximately two miles from the crime scene, a young African-American male was caught on surveillance video attempting to use Hardwick's ATM card at a machine located in a service station. This person, later identified as fourteen-year-old Brooks, arrived at the service station in a white ear containing at least two other individuals Brooks' attempts to use Hardwick's card occurred approximately twenty minutes after Hardwick's death.

Two days later, Lawrence Police Officer Tracey Cantrell responded to a dispatch that described an armed robbery at a Lawrence apartment complex. The dispatch included a description of the suspect, particularly the suspect's jacket and clothing, and the direction in which the suspect had fled. Officer Cantrell, who was near the crime seene, observed a person who matched the description given by dispatch *1238 talking with the apartment complex maintenance man. Officer Cantrell approached the person, later identified as Brooks, and asked to speak with him. Suspecting that Brooks might be armed, Officer Cantrell performed a pat down search before speaking with him. During this pat down search, Officer Cantrell felt what he immediately identified as bullets. Officer Cantrell removed the bullets from Brooks because he was concerned that Brooks might have the gun on his person or might have hidden the gun nearby. After removing the bullets from Brooks, Officer Cantrell hand-euffed him and continued the search, still looking for a weapon. Another Lawrence officer arrived at the seene with the victim of the armed robbery, and the victim identified Brooks as the one who pointed a gun at him while robbing him of cash. Brooks was then arrested for the armed robbery and was transported to the police station.

Brooks was subsequently identified as the person in the service station surveillance tapes by both a police officer and Brooks' mother. Forensic testing on Hardwick's skull and the confiscated bullets disclosed that the .38 caliber special light weight bullets had the same uncommon characteristies and morphology as the bullet recovered from Hardwick's skull.

The State filed a delinquency petition in juvenile court, alleging that Brooks had committed acts of murder, felony murder, and robbery. The State also filed a petition to waive jurisdiction over Brooks to adult court. After a hearing on the waiver petition, the juvenile court ordered waiver. After waiver and a subsequent hearing on Brooks' motion to suppress the bullets, the trial court denied the motion to suppress. The trial court also denied Brooks' motion for mistrial during the trial As noted above, Brooks was found guilty on all three counts, with the trial court merging the convictions at sentencing. Brooks was sentenced to the advisory sentence of fifty-five years. He now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. WAIVER

Brooks contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion when it waived him into adult court. He argues that the juvenile court neglected to make sufficient findings on the issue of whether waiver was in his best interest or the best interests of the safety and welfare of the community. He further argues that he presented sufficient evidence to show that waiver was not in his or the community's best interest. Brooks also contends that under the current standard of review, this Court is unable to conduct a meaningful review of the juvenile court's order, resulting in the loss of opportunity for a constitutionally meaningful review.

Ind.Code § 31-30-3-4 provides:

Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney and after full investigation and hearing, the juvenile court may waive jurisdiction if it finds that:
(1) the child is charged with an act that would be murder if committed by an adult;
(2) there is probable cause to believe that the child has committed the act; and
(3) the child was at least ten (10) years of age when the act charged was allegedly committed;
unless it would be in the best interests of the child and the safety and welfare of the community for the child to remain within the juvenile justice system.

We review a juvenile court's decision to waive jurisdiction only for an abuse of discretion. Moore v. State, 723 N.E.2d 442, 445 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). It is for the juvenile court judge, after weighing *1239 the effect of retaining or waiving jurisdiction, to determine which is the more desirable alternative. Id. It is well-settled that in reviewing a sufficiency claim, appellate eourts will neither weigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses "but rather will consider that evidence most favorable to the State with all reasonable inferences therefrom." McDowell v. State, 456 N.E.2d 713, 715 (Ind.1983). The ree-ord of the waiver hearing may be used to supplement the juvenile court's conclusion. Smith v. State, 459 N.E.2d 355, 360 (Ind.1983).

In the present case, the juvenile court made extensive findings on the first three elements above. However, with regard to the best interests of Brooks and the community, the juvenile court merely concluded that it had "not found from the evidence that it would be in the best interest of the child and the safety and welfare of the community for him to remain within the juvenile justice system." (Appellant's App. at 42).

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

Related

Jorge Juarez Lopez v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2025
Troy Gaines v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2019
Kevin Harris v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2019
Daniel Vega v. State of Indiana
119 N.E.3d 193 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2019)
K.G. v. State of Indiana
81 N.E.3d 1078 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2017)
Daniel Ray Holloway v. State of Indiana
69 N.E.3d 924 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2017)
William McNeal v. State of Indaina
62 N.E.3d 1275 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2016)
Kelly C. Mullen v. State of Indiana
55 N.E.3d 822 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2016)
Obed Bailey v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2016
Jack L. Anderson v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2014
Dustin E. McCowan v. State of Indiana
10 N.E.3d 522 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2014)
Jermaine Hines v. State of Indiana
981 N.E.2d 150 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)
Angela R. Elliott v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012
Larry C. Perry, Jr. v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012
Jason E. Hough v. State of Indiana
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
934 N.E.2d 1234, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1854, 2010 WL 3872943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brooks-v-state-indctapp-2010.