James E. True v. State of Indiana

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided August 20, 2012·No. 24A01-1110-CR-532·Unpublished

Opinion

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: CATHY M. BROWNSON GREGORY F. ZOELLER Coots, Henke & Wheeler, P.C. Attorney General of Indiana Carmel, Indiana KATHERINE MODESITT COOPER Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED

Aug 20 2012, 9:36 am

IN THE

CLERK

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA of the supreme court, court of appeals and

tax court

JAMES E. TRUE, )

)

Appellant, )

)

vs. ) No. 24A01-1110-CR-532 )

STATE OF INDIANA, )

)

Appellee. )

APPEAL FROM THE FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT The Honorable Clay M. Kellerman, Judge Cause No. 24C02-1012-FD-610

August 20, 2012

MEMORANDUM DECISION – NOT FOR PUBLICATION

MATHIAS, Judge

James E. True (“True”) was convicted in Franklin Circuit Court of Class D felony residential entry and Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy. True now appeals and raises the following restated and reordered issues:

I. Whether his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to tender a jury instruction on mistake of fact;

II. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support his convictions; and

III. Whether his convictions violate Indiana’s constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.

We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions.

Facts and Procedural History True and his wife, Stephanie True, (“Stephanie”) had been married for twenty years when Stephanie filed for divorce in April 2010. During the marriage, True and Stephanie lived in a residence located on Rebecca Drive in Franklin County. When the couple separated, True left the marital residence and moved in with a neighbor. Stephanie continued to live in the marital residence, and on July 15, 2010, the dissolution court issued a provisional order giving Stephanie exclusive possession of the residence during the pendency of the dissolution proceedings.

While the dissolution proceedings were pending, Stephanie sought and obtained protective orders against True. Specifically, Stephanie obtained an ex parte order of protection on June 24, 2010 and an order of protection on July 13, 2010, which was amended on August 23, 2010. True was present at the hearings on the July 13 and August 23, 2010 orders. The August 23, 2010 order provided that True was “prohibited

from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or directly or indirectly communicating with” Stephanie, with the exception that True was allowed to attend and participate in events related to his employment. Ex. Vol, State’s Ex. L., p. 3. The order further provided that True was to stay away from Stephanie’s residence.

During the fall of 2010, Stephanie and True engaged in mediation with respect to the pending dissolution proceedings. During the mediation, the parties agreed that True would ultimately be awarded the marital residence. One proposed settlement agreement provided that Stephanie would vacate the home “no later than November 15, 2010.” Ex. Vol., Defendant’s Ex. 1, p. 4. However, this proposed settlement agreement was neither signed by the parties nor approved by the dissolution court. On December 6, 2010, the dissolution court entered its decree of dissolution and approved a settlement agreement that gave Stephanie until November 20, 2010 to vacate the home.

Meanwhile, in late October 2010, Stephanie began an out-of-town training program for her job that required her to stay in a hotel in Plainfield, Indiana, but she still kept many of her personal belongings at the Rebecca Drive residence and received her mail there. On November 13, 2010, Stephanie began moving her possessions out of the Rebecca Drive residence, but she was unable to finish doing so on that date. On November 15, 2010, True went to the Rebecca Drive residence where he used a credit card and putty knife to pry open a locked side door to the garage. True then entered the residence and removed a small lamp and a pool filter. Later that day, Stephanie returned to the residence with her boyfriend, Gary Wolfe (“Wolfe”), and saw that the door was open and damaged. Upon entering the house, Stephanie noticed that items were missing.

Stephanie called 911, and Officer Donald L. Smith (“Officer Smith”) of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department responded to the call. Officer Smith observed that the door had been pried open and took photographs of the damage. Before leaving the residence, Stephanie asked her neighbor, Lora Smith (“Smith”), to call her if she saw anyone at the house.

The next morning, True returned to the Rebecca Drive residence and removed a pool key. When Smith saw True’s car in the driveway, she called Stephanie. Stephanie was at Wolfe’s nearby residence, and she and Wolfe proceeded toward the Rebecca Drive residence in Wolfe’s car. While en route, Stephanie called 911, and the dispatcher told her not to enter the house until police arrived. As Stephanie and Wolfe drove toward the house, they passed True’s vehicle headed in the opposite direction. However, by the time Stephanie and Wolfe pulled into Smith’s driveway, True had turned around and also pulled into Smith’s driveway. True drove down the driveway at a high rate of speed, and Wolfe believed that True was going to hit his vehicle. Stephanie exited Wolfe’s car and ran toward Smith’s house, and True stopped just short of hitting Wolfe’s vehicle. Wolfe then exited his car, and a confrontation between Wolfe and True ensued during which Wolfe displayed a gun.

Officer Smith responded to the 911 call and spoke with Stephanie. Officer Smith then informed True that he was investigating a break-in at the Rebecca Drive residence, and True volunteered that he had broken into the house that morning. Officer Smith examined the side door to the garage and saw that there was fresh damage to the door. Specifically, the entire door facing was broken out as if someone had “shouldered it, or

kicked it open.” Tr. p. 48. True told Officer Smith that he had paperwork at his office indicating that Stephanie was required to vacate the home by November 15. Officer Smith instructed True to go to his office and find the paperwork, and told True that he would be along shortly to look at it. When Officer Smith arrived at True’s office, True was unable to locate the paperwork. Officer Smith told True that he was not going to arrest him, but that he was going to file a report and charges might be filed by the prosecutor’s office.

Later that same morning, True located the paperwork he claimed required Stephanie to vacate the residence by November 15, 2010, and headed toward the Sheriff’s Department to show the paperwork to Officer Smith. At the same time, Stephanie was on her way to the Sheriff’s Department to speak to Officer Smith about the investigation. As Stephanie drove toward the Sheriff’s Department, she saw True driving in the other direction. Stephanie then parked in a location near the jail and, as she crossed the street, she saw True driving nearby. When True turned his car around and headed back in the direction of the jail, Stephanie became “hysterical” and ran toward the jail. Tr. p. 102. Jail matron Sally Henson (“Henson”) saw Stephanie as she approached the jail, and she noticed that Stephanie was very upset. She also saw True getting out of his vehicle and observed True motion to Stephanie. Henson allowed Stephanie inside the jail building and then took her to Officer Smith’s office. A short time later, Officer Smith encountered True in the building’s lobby. True presented Officer Smith with a proposed settlement agreement that he claimed gave him permission to be inside the Rebecca Drive

residence, but the document was neither signed nor file stamped by the trial court. Officer Smith then placed True under arrest.

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

James E. True v. State of Indiana, (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

James E. True v. State of Indiana (James E. True v. State of Indiana) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Drane v. State
867 N.E.2d 144 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2007)
Thompson v. State
804 N.E.2d 1146 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2004)
Davis v. State
770 N.E.2d 319 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2002)
Spivey v. State
761 N.E.2d 831 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2002)
Morgan v. State
755 N.E.2d 1070 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Richardson v. State
717 N.E.2d 32 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)
Woods v. State
701 N.E.2d 1208 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1998)
Atteberry v. State
911 N.E.2d 601 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)
Nolan v. State
863 N.E.2d 398 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2007)
Dewald v. State
898 N.E.2d 488 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Kibbey v. State
733 N.E.2d 991 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2000)
Stokes v. State
922 N.E.2d 758 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)
Sims v. State
771 N.E.2d 734 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)
Baumgartner v. State
891 N.E.2d 1131 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Saunders v. State
848 N.E.2d 1117 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
Coleman v. State
694 N.E.2d 269 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1998)
Thomas v. State
936 N.E.2d 339 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)
Barton v. State
936 N.E.2d 842 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)