Farmer v. State

908 N.E.2d 1192, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 947, 2009 WL 1974386
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided July 9, 2009·No. 29A05-0810-CR-609·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

*1194 OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

Charles Robert Farmer ("Farmer") was convicted in Hamilton Superior Court of Class A felony attempted rape, Class A felony burglary, Class C felony robbery, Class D felony criminal confinement, and Class D felony criminal recklessness. Farmer also admitted to being a habitual offender. Farmer appeals and presents four issues, which we restate as:

I. Whether the trial court erred in recognizing two of the State's witnesses as experts in front of the jury;
Whether the trial court erred in permitting one of the State's expert witnesses to testify regarding an analysis performed by another individual;
Whether the trial court erred in excluding the self-serving portions of Farmer's statement to the police; and TIL.
Whether Farmer's convictions for burglary and robbery constitute double jeopardy.

We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On November 25, 2007, Farmer was at a Wal-Mart in Noblesville, Indiana when he nearly collided with the victim in this case, L.N. Farmer later approached L.N. at the store and asked her a question about ingredients for a recipe. The following afternoon, Farmer came to L.N.'s house and rang the doorbell. L.N. was home with her young son, whom she had recently put to bed for a nap. L.N. answered the door and saw Farmer holding a small poinsettia plant. Farmer said he was there for a "floral delivery." Tr. p. 354. LN. was suspicious because the plant was not wrapped and had no gift card with it and because Farmer said he assumed the plant was a gift from L.N.'s husband, who was at work at the time. When Farmer went to his vehicle, allegedly to get paperwork so L.N. could sign for the plant, LN. noticed that Farmer went to a silver Ford Explorer. Farmer returned with a sheet of paper and asked if LN. had a pen. When L.N. returned to the door from retrieving a pen, Farmer pushed the door open and lunged at L.N., knocking her down.

L.N. struggled with Farmer as he placed his hand over her nose and mouth, causing her to become weak. Farmer shut the door and told L.N. to sit in a chair in the living room. Farmer told L.N. that he was there for "money" and would not hurt her. Tr. p. 867. Farmer used duct tape to bind L.N.'s wrists and ankles and threatened her with a box-cutting knife, which Farmer said "he would use ... if he had to." Tr. p. 372. L.N. told Farmer where to find her bank cards and told him the pin numbers. Over the next two hours, Farmer moved L.N. from room to room while demanding cash and jewelry. When L.N. told Farmer how much money was in her bank accounts, Farmer forced her to show him her bank account balances on her computer. Farmer also reminded L.N. that he had seen her the day before at Wal-Mart and told her that he had been stalking her for two or three weeks. He also told L.N. that he knew who her husband was, and repeatedly threatened to kill her, her husband, and her son.

After inquiring into L.N.'s sexual habits with her husband, Farmer told LN. that she was "sexy" and stated, "I'm gonna f* * * you," because he had not gotten as much money as he wanted. Tr. pp. 403-04. He then made LN. bend over a chair in the living room and pulled up her sweater and bra and pulled down her jeans and underpants. Farmer touched L.N.'s breasts and rubbed his penis against her *1195 buttocks and vagina. Farmer, however, did not have an erection and told L.N., "No, I'm not gonna do it." Tr. p. 410.

Shortly thereafter, L.N.'s son woke up from his nap and began to call for his mother. Farmer made L.N. lie on the floor and began to ask her for more money. L.N. offered Farmer jewelry. At first, Farmer replied that it was difficult to "get rid of jewelry," and later threatened to "take [L.N.] with [him]." Tr. pp. 367, 415. At this, L.N. began to ery. Farmer then went to look for more duct tape, and told L.N. that he was going to take her to the master bedroom, tape her up, and leave. As he went to the garage to look for the tape, he warned L.N., "Don't try anything, I'll kill you, or I'll hurt you, your son, your husband." Tr. p. 417.

After getting more duct tape, Farmer told L.N. to go upstairs to the master bedroom. In the bedroom, Farmer made L.N. go through her jewelry while he picked out what he considered the more valuable pieces, including a diamond necklace, diamond earrings, a pearl necklace, and pearl earrings. Farmer then ordered L.N. to get on the bed and tied her to the bedposts with a telephone cord and a cord he had ripped from a baby monitor. He also wrapped duct tape around the cords. While Farmer was tying L.N. to the bed, her son left his room and began to play with toys while repeatedly calling for his mother.

At one point, Farmer asked L.N. if she had seen his car. When L.N. feigned ignorance, Farmer told her he was driving a silver Buick, which he claimed he had stolen. Farmer, who is white, also told L.N. to tell the police that a black man driving a silver Buick had committed the crimes. He also told L.N., "if he saw a physical description of himself on the news ... 'I will kill your husband, I will have you kill your and then I will take you with me somewhere and let men have their way with youl,] and then I'll kill you'" Tr. p. 489.

After Farmer had tied L.N. to the bed, her son came to the bedroom door and tried to get in. Farmer told L.N. that he would hide behind the door, let her son in, and leave. However, when L.N.'s son entered the room, he saw Farmer enter the bathroom and close the door. L.N.'s son tried to get in the bed with his mother. Farmer then came out of the bathroom and helped L.N.'s son onto the bed. Farmer accused L.N. of trying to escape, and re-taped her arms and legs and also wrapped duct tape around her mouth and head. Farmer then threatened L.N. by thrusting his knife toward her stomach as if to stab her. Farmer then laughed and said, "Nah, I'm not gonna do it, I just wanted to seare you." Tr. p. 452. Farmer warned L.N. that he might return, and reminded her to tell the police that a black man driving a silver Buick had committed the crimes. Farmer left, but returned a few minutes later and asked about her neighbor's car and how to use her garage door opener. He also spoke to L.N.'s son and commented that L.N. looked "sexy" in a vacation photograph. Tr. p. 455. Farmer then left again, calling to L.N., "Remember [L.N.], what color am I? What car do I drive?" Tr. p. 456.

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Farmer v. State, 908 N.E.2d 1192, 2009 Ind. App. LEXIS 947, 2009 WL 1974386 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

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