Jones v. State

536 N.E.2d 267, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 92, 1989 WL 29312
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 28, 1989
Docket49S00-8709-CR-823
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 536 N.E.2d 267 (Jones 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
Jones v. State, 536 N.E.2d 267, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 92, 1989 WL 29312 (Ind. 1989).

Opinion

*270 GIVAN, Justice.

A jury trial resulted in appellants’ convictions of Attempted Murder, a Class A felony, for which each received a sentence of twenty (20) years; Carrying a Handgun Without a License, a Class A misdemeanor, for which each received a sentence of one (1) year; Resisting Law Enforcement, a Class D felony, for which each received a sentence of two (2) years; and three counts of Theft, a Class D felony, for which each received sentences of two (2) years on each count, their sentences to run concurrently.

The facts are: Late on the evening of May 15, 1983 Ernie Snow, Henry Hewlett, and appellants met at appellants’ home. There, appellants suggested that they steal car radios from automobiles parked at the Braeburn Apartment Complex in Indianapolis. With appellants in the back seat and Snow in the passenger seat, Hewlett drove his car to the complex, parked, and the group split off in pairs. Hewlett helped John Jones break into the cars with coat hangers, and after Jones removed the radios, Hewlett carried them back to his car.

Officer Derrett received a radio dispatch that two black males were breaking into cars at the Braeburn Apartments. In the complex, Officer Derrett observed a car travelling toward his which was driven by a black male, so he followed the vehicle. He stopped the car and the driver; Hewlett jumped out. Officer Derrett drew his revolver, exited his vehicle, and ordered Hewlett to get back in his car.

Appellants, who were in the back seat of the car, stated their apprehension that they were going to jail. Then Snow said that he was not going to jail. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Snow put the car in gear and pressed on the accelerator. Then Hewlett took the wheel as Snow began shooting at Officer Derrett through the passenger window.

Hewlett heard eight or nine shots as he sped down the street with Officer Derrett following him. Both Snow and Terrance Jones shot at the officer. Hewlett saw other police cars, pulled into a parking lot, parked the car, and put his hands up. Snow had exited the car before it had stopped, and he fled on foot. Terrance Jones got out of the car with a gun in his hand then stumbled back into the car and said he thought he had been shot. Police apprehended appellants and recovered two guns from Hewlett’s car and six pieces of automobile audio equipment, among other items, from the trunk.

Both appellants waived their Miranda rights and gave inculpatory statements to police.

Terrance Jones argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of attempted murder. He states that no evidence was presented to show he intended to kill the officer when he shot in the direction of his car. He claims he was not aiming at him at all.

On a claim of insufficient evidence, this Court will not reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Alfaro v. State (1985), Ind., 478 N.E.2d 670. One’s intent to kill may be inferred from the use of a deadly weapon in a manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. Johnson v. State (1983), Ind., 455 N.E.2d 932. The jury properly could have inferred Terrance Jones exhibited an intent to kill when he fired a gun in the direction of the officer.

John Jones argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of attempted murder because he simply was a passenger in the car and the owner of the gun shot by Terrance, and no evidence established his intent to kill. He also argues the evidence failed to show he took a substantial step toward the commission of a murder; thus, his conviction of attempted murder is erroneous.

The acts of one accomplice are imputed to all other accomplices when they act in concert in the furtherance of a crime. Ford v. State (1988), Ind., 521 N.E.2d 1309. It is not necessary that the evidence shows John Jones personally participated in the commission of each element of the offense. Sims v. State (1988), Ind., 521 N.E.2d 336. We find the evidence is sufficient to support appellants’ convictions of attempted murder.

*271 John Jones argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction of theft. He asserts that despite the fact that several stolen radios were found in the car in which he was found prior to his arrest, no evidence established he in fact participated in the thefts.

Hewlett testified that he and John Jones worked together in removing audio equipment from vehicles, and John Jones stated during cross-examination that he let Hewlett hold the gun while he took the radio out of a car. We find the evidence is sufficient to sustain his theft convictions.

John Jones argues the evidence does not support his conviction of resisting law enforcement. He contends he had no control over the fleeing vehicle, and once the vehicle stopped, he did not try to escape police.

Again, the acts of John Jones’ accomplices in furtherance of the crimes are imputed to him. Ford, supra. Additionally, John Jones testified that when Hewlett was driving the car in an attempt to escape from police, he told Hewlett to not stop. His conviction is supported by sufficient evidence.

Appellants both argue State’s Exhibit No. 10 was admitted without a proper showing of its chain of custody. Exhibit No. 10 consists of a spent bullet which was removed from the side of Officer Derrett’s vehicle after the incident.

The less an exhibit is susceptible to alteration, tampering, substitution or fungibility, the less strictly the chain-of-custody rule is applied. The foundation for introduction of physical evidence, the characteristics of which can be identified by eyewitness identification, is fulfilled when the witness is able to identify the item and the item has relevance to the issues in the case. Boyd v. State (1986), Ind., 494 N.E.2d 284, cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1046, 107 S.Ct. 910, 93 L.Ed.2d 860.

The following chain of custody was established by testimony at trial: Officer Derrett recovered the bullet from his right front door and he gave it to Sergeant Brooks. Derrett identified Exhibit 10 at trial as the bullet he recovered from his door, and Sergeant Brooks testified that he received Exhibit 10 from Officer Derrett and placed it in a pill box and marked it. Sergeant Brooks also identified the exhibit at trial. Sergeant Warren testified that he received the bullet from Sergeant Brooks, and he identified Exhibit 10 as the same bullet. He transferred it to the Indianapolis Police Department Firearms Laboratory. Officer Koss testified that he compared Exhibit 10 with a firearm, and he recognized his identifying mark on the pill box.

Appellant argues the chain of custody fails because Officer Warren did not state when the exhibit was taken to the laboratory, who obtained it at the lab, how long it was there, or who returned it to the property room.

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Bluebook (online)
536 N.E.2d 267, 1989 Ind. LEXIS 92, 1989 WL 29312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-state-ind-1989.