Jones v. State

775 N.E.2d 322, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 1494, 2002 WL 31031657
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided September 12, 2002·No. 48A02-0109-PC-615·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinions

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE1

Appellant-Petitioner, David Michael Jones (Jones), appeals the adverse judgment on his petitions for post-conviction relief.

We affirm in part and reverse in part.

ISSUES

Jones raises seven (7) issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as follows:

1. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support Jones’ convictions for false informing and intimidation.

2. Whether the trial court properly ordered Jones to serve consecutive sentences.

3. Whether the trial court properly awarded Jones pretrial detention credit.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The facts which follow reveal a series of events that occurred over several months in 1997.2 On April 17, 1997, Officer Trent Chamberlin (Chamberlin) of the Anderson Police Department was dispatched to 1515 Pendleton Avenue, Anderson, Indiana, in reference to a property damage accident involving a car and a pickup truck. When Chamberlin arrived at the scene, he spoke first with the driver of the car, Jones. Jones told Chamberlin that Stoney Dobbs (Dobbs), the driver of the pickup truck, chased Jones down an alley to the intersection of 20th Street and Morton Street, where Dobbs rammed his pickup truck into the back of Jones’ car.

[325] Chamberlin then spoke with Dobbs, who told the officer that the impact at 20th and Morton Streets was actually the second collision between Dobbs’ pickup and Jones’ car, the first collision having occurred in the parking lot of a diner located at 1515 Pendleton Avenue, a few short blocks away. According to Dobbs, he was attempting to park his pickup at the diner when Jones “backed up his car at a high rate, ran into [Dobbs’] truck, and then took off down the alley.” (September 24, 1997 Tr. p. 24). Dobbs chased Jones down the alley in an attempt to stop him. Dobbs said the vehicles traveled a short distance in this manner until they arrived at the intersection of 20th and Morton Streets, where Jones suddenly stopped his car and ran into Dobbs a second time. Chamber-lin spoke next with the passengers in each vehicle; their versions of what had transpired supported those of their respective driver.

Because of the limited space provided on the accident reporting form, Chamberlin decided to condense the disparate witness accounts of the two (2) collisions into one (1) accident, located at 1515 Pendleton Avenue. He believed that his report was consistent with the actual events, as reported by all witnesses, because of the proximity of the two (2) collision sites and the similarity of the damage done to both vehicles both times.3

On April 18, 1997, Jones went to Cham-berlin’s police station to obtain a copy of the accident report for his insurance company and discovered the manner in which Chamberlin had written the accident report. Jones demanded that Chamberlin change the accident report to reflect that the accident had occurred at 20th and Morton Streets. Chamberlin informed Jones that he would not change the report from the way it had been filed because it was correct as written. At this point, Jones became irate and started arguing with Chamberlin. This behavior drew the attention of other officers at the station, who overheard their conversation.

On April 21, 1997, the State filed an information against Jones for false informing, a Class A misdemeanor, Ind.Code § 35-44-2-2(c). The information alleged that Jones “unlawfully g[a]ve false information to an officer, regarding his involvment [sic] in a property damage accident.” (Amended Brief of Appellant, Exhibit A). Jones was arrested on May 19, 1997, and entered a plea of not guilty the same day. Jones was released while awaiting trial.

On June 11,1997, Jones and Dobbs were involved in another incident. Dobbs left his house in Anderson, Indiana, to drive to church. Driving down the street, Dobbs noticed his former wife, Brandy, sitting in a parked car with Jones. After Dobbs drove past, Brandy and Jones pulled behind him and followed him down Columbus Street and onto 38th Street. After the intersection of 38th and Main Streets, Jones pulled his car alongside Dobbs’ car. At that point, Brandy threw something at Dobbs’ car and said that she would “see the kids dead before [Dobbs] get 'em.” (September 24, 1997 Tr. p. 44). Additionally, Jones pulled out a gun, pointed it into the air, and said to Dobbs, “I’m just gonna kill ya.” (September 24, 1997 Tr. p. 44). Thereafter, Jones and Brandy drove away.

On June 12, 1997, the State filed an information in the Anderson City Court charging Jones with intimidation, a Class A misdemeanor, Ind.Code § 35-45-2-1, and an arrest warrant was issued the following day. Jones was eventually arrested on July 1, 1997. At the time of his arrest, he had in his possession several [326] baggies of marijuana. Hence, when Jones was arraigned the following day on the intimidation charge, he was also arraigned for possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, I.C. § 35^18-4-11. Jones was then held without bond while awaiting his trial on all three (3) pending misdemeanor charges.

Following a bench trial on September 24, 1997, Jones was found guilty on each charge. Jones received a one (l)-year sentence at the Indiana Department of Correction on each count. The sentence for intimidation was ordered to run consecutive to the sentence for false informing, while the sentence for possession of marijuana was ordered to run consecutive to the sentence for intimidation. Jones received pretrial detention credit on the false informing charge from July 2, 1997, following his arrest for intimidation and possession, until his sentencing date.

Jones failed to timely file a direct appeal. On October 6, 1998, Jones filed a Motion for Trial de Novo. The trial court summarily denied the motion on October 7, 1998, because it had not been filed in accordance with Ind. Trial De Novo Rule 3.4 On October 16, 1998, Jones filed a Verified Petition for Permission to File Belated Appeal that claimed a timely appeal had not been filed due to the trial court’s failure to respond to previously filed notices and requests. The trial court denied Jones’ request for belated appeal on October 20, 1998, claiming that the court’s records did not indicate that Jones had filed anything with the trial court between December 31, 1997, and October 6, 1998 — the date the Motion for Trial de Novo was filed.

On June 21, 1999, Jones filed three (3) Petitions for Post-Conviction Relief, which the post-conviction court set for hearing on July 30, 1999. On July 30, 1999, the post-conviction court, noting that Jones had failed to appear and finding the issues moot, denied his motions. On August 16, 1999, Jones filed Motions to Clarify and for Rehearing. The post-conviction court denied those motions on December 1,1999.

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Jones v. State, 775 N.E.2d 322, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 1494, 2002 WL 31031657 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

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