Heyen v. State

936 N.E.2d 294, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1962, 2010 WL 4253657
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 28, 2010
Docket84A04-1002-CR-134
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 936 N.E.2d 294 (Heyen 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
Heyen v. State, 936 N.E.2d 294, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1962, 2010 WL 4253657 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant, Kelvin Heyen (Heyen), appeals his conviction for dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, *298 Ind.Code § 35-48-4-1.1 and for being an habitual offender, L.C. § 35-50-2-8.

We affirm.

ISSUES

Heyen raises five issues for our review, which we restate as the following six:

(1) Whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence;
(2) Whether the trial court erred in denying his motion at trial to reveal the identity of the confidential informant;
(38) Whether the evidence was sufficient to convict Heyen of dealing in methamphetamine and his habitual offender enhancement;
(4) Whether Heyen received ineffective assistance of trial counsel;
(5) Whether the trial court erred by not affording more weight to certain miti-gators; and
(6) Whether his sentence is appropriate in light of his character and the nature of his offense.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 24, 2007, Detective Karen Cross (Detective Cross), an officer with the Vigo County Sheriff's Department and a member of the Vigo County Drug Task Force, arranged a controlled methamphetamine buy from Heyen with the help of confidential informant # 174 (CT) at a predetermined location. Before the controlled buy, Detective Paul Hartzler (Detective Hartzler) searched the CI and the CI's car, which revealed that he did not have any contraband on him, and then wired him with an audio video recorder. The Detectives gave the CI $50, which had been photocopied, and instructed him to purchase half a gram of methamphetamine. Detectives then followed the CI to 3071 Old Paris Road in West Terre Haute, Indiana. While under audio video surveillance, the CI exchanged the money provided by the Detectives for a baggie containing a white substance, which later tested to be .38 grams of methamphetamine.

After the controlled buy, Detective Cross reviewed the videotape and identified Heyen as the person talking with the CI. Additionally, Detective Cross completed a background investigation on Hey-en and discovered that he had prior felony convictions relating to controlled substances. Based on this information, Detective Cross set forth the facts underlying the request for an arrest warrant:

2. Affiant and Detectives met with [CI] on April 24, 2007 at a predetermined location[.] [CI] agreed and signed an agreement to assist the detectives in purchasing methamphetamine from [Heyen]. [CI] was searched and the vehicle which was going to be driven was also searched, nothing was located. [CX] was given an amount of photocopied drug task force buy money and a wire transmitter. Detectives followed the informant to the area of 3071 Old Paris Road in West Terre Haute. This is the known address for [Heyen] and [P.C.]. The [cJonversation was monitored by detectives for security. The [CI] returned to the predetermined staging area and gave affiant a plastic bag containing an off white substance. The [CI] and vehicle were searched and no other drugs or money was located.
3. Affiant returned to the Vigo County Drug Task [Florce Office and weighed and field tested the contents in the plastic bag. The substance had a gross preliminary weight of 45 grams and had a positive field test result for the presence of methamphetamine.
4. Affiant reviewed the video tape and identified [Heyen] as the male in the video that the conversation and transac *299 tion took place with [in] the garage area at the residence of 3071 Old Paris Road.

(Appellant's App. p. 4).

On August 13, 2007, the State filed an Information charging Heyen with Count I, dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, I.C. § 35-48-4-1.1 and Count II, an habitual substance offender, I1.C. § 85-50-2-10. On December 1, 2009, the State amended the habitual substance offender charge to an habitual offender charge. On December 15-16, 2009, a two-day jury trial was held. The jury found Heyen guilty as charged. On January 27, 2010, a sentencing hearing was held and the trial court sentenced Heyen to ten years for Count I and enhanced the sentence by fourteen years because of the habitual offender finding for a total of twenty-four years.

Heyen now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Admission of Evidence

Heyen first argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted certain evidence during the trial, Specifically, he contends that the arrest warrant was supported, in part, by hearsay statements of the CI and that the affidavit did not establish the credibility of the CI. Thus, he contends, the methamphetamine should not have been admitted at trial.

Our standard of review of rulings on the admissibility of evidence is essentially the same whether the challenge is made by a pre-trial motion to suppress or by trial objection. Ackerman v. State, 774 N.E.2d 970, 974-75 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. We review the admission of evidence for an abuse of the trial court's discretion. Taylor v. State, 891 N.E.2d 155, 158 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. demied. An abuse of discretion occurs if the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and cireumstances before the trial court. Id. We do not reweigh the evidence and we consider conflicting evidence in a light most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Cole v. State, 878 N.E.2d 882, 885 (Ind.Ct.App.2007). We also consider uncontroverted evidence in the defendant's favor. Id.

A court may issue warrants only upon probable cause. I.C. § 35-38-5-1; see U.S. Const. 4th amend., Ind. Const. article I, § 11. Indiana's warrant statute, Indiana Code section 35-83-5-2, provides, in pertinent part, that a judge generally may not issue a search or arrest warrant without an affidavit that: (1) particularly describes the house or place to be searched and the things to be searched for; (2) alleges substantially the offense in relation thereto and that the affiant believes and has good cause to believe that the things as are to be searched for are there concealed; and (8) sets forth the facts then in knowledge of the affiant or information based on hearsay, constituting probable cause.

In this case, Detective Cross was not attempting to rely on hearsay information from the CI. The affidavit was devoid of such information and additionally made no attempt to establish the CT's reliability. Rather, in its arrest warrant, the State relied solely upon the personal observations of Detectives Cross and Hartzler during the controlled drug buy. In Flaherty v. State, 443 N.E.2d 340, 341 (Ind.Ct.App.1982), we explained the mechanics of a controlled buy:

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Bluebook (online)
936 N.E.2d 294, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1962, 2010 WL 4253657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heyen-v-state-indctapp-2010.