Markland v. State

865 N.E.2d 639, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 868, 2007 WL 1240288
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 30, 2007
Docket79A04-0612-CR-728
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 865 N.E.2d 639 (Markland 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
Markland v. State, 865 N.E.2d 639, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 868, 2007 WL 1240288 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

Appellant-defendant Steven E. Mark-land appeals his conviction for Theft, 1 claiming insufficiency of the evidence. Markland also argues that the trial court erred in ordering him to make restitution for costs relating to the disinterment and cremation of a body. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

On January 31, 2005, Markland’s best friend, William Dycus, was murdered. The following day, Markland telephoned the Lafayette Police Department and erroneously identified himself as Dycus’s nephew. Also on that day, Markland told an acquaintance, James Bee, that Dycus was his uncle and asked Bee to accompany him to the apartment.

When the two arrived at Dycus’s residence, Bee saw Markland use a key to gain entry. Markland then “grabbed stuff, some swords, CD’s, [and] tapes” from the apartment. Tr. p. 29, 30. After leaving, the pair went to Markland’s home in Tippecanoe County and took the items inside. Markland gave Bee a pack of cigarettes from Dycus’s apartment for helping him. Bee subsequently learned that Markland was not Dycus’s nephew.

At some point before Dycus’s death, Markland worked as a general laborer in the apartment complex where Dycus resided. While Markland had possession of a master key during his employment, he returned his key and a cell phone when he quit in November 2005.

Following Dycus’s death, Markland went to the county trustees’ office on February 4, 2005, and applied for assistance regarding Dycus’s funeral arrangements and burial. Once again, Markland asserted that he was Dycus’s nephew. In response, representatives from the trustees’ office planned a visit to Dycus’s apartment to determine if there was anything of value that could be used to reimburse them for the costs of the funeral and burial.

On February 8, 2005, several individuals from the trustees’ office met Markland and his girlfriend at the apartment. When they went inside, Markland pointed out that various items were missing including pictures, swords, and tools. During that visit, Markland took a pair of boots, jeans, and a shirt from the residence.

Markland and his girlfriend made another trip to Dycus’s apartment a week or two later. They entered the apartment with a key, and Markland removed additional items and took them to his own residence. Markland indicated to his girlfriend that he was going to divide that property between himself and Dycus’s girlfriend.

During the course of the investigation, Markland gave a statement to the police, admitting that he had taken some of Dy-cus’s property including swords and *642 knives. Markland again misrepresented to the police that he was Dycus’s nephew and stated that he removed the items from the residence to prevent the landlord or others from taking the property. Thereafter, Markland was charged with theft and false informing. Markland pleaded guilty to false informing and proceeded to a jury trial on the theft charge. Markland was found guilty as charged and was later sentenced to eighteen months for theft and 180 days on the false informing charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.

At a sentencing hearing that commenced on August 30, 2006, one of Dycus’s relatives testified that the family would like to have the body exhumed and cremated. Because Dycus had been estranged from family members, they had not been informed of Dycus’s murder or burial until February 18, 2005. Dycus’s family provided the trial court with an estimate of $4,097.50 as the cost of these procedures. As a result, the trial court ordered Mark-land to make restitution for the expenses relating to the disinterment and cremation of Dycus’s body. Markland now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Markland first claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for theft. Specifically, Markland maintains that his conviction must be reversed because the State failed to prove the ownership of the property that was taken and that no evidence was presented establishing his “intent to deprive.” Appellant’s Br. p. 10.

When reviewing challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Vasquez v. State, 741 N.E.2d 1214, 1216 (Ind.2001). Rather, we will examine the evidence and the reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom that support the verdict and will affirm a conviction if there is probative evidence based on which a jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Put another way, we will affirm unless “no rational fact-finder” could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Clark v. State, 728 N.E.2d 880, 887 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). To convict Markland of theft, the State was required to prove that he knowingly or intentionally exerted unauthorized control over Dycus’s property with the “intent to deprive the other person of any part of its value or use.” I.C. § 35-43-4-2.

Markland claims that his conviction must be reversed because the State did not prove that Dycus’s heirs owned the property that was removed from the apartment. While he correctly contends that the name of the owner or possessor of property alleged to have been stolen is a material allegation that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, see Thomas v. State, 423 N.E.2d 682, 685 (Ind.Ct.App.1981), our Supreme Court has determined that a theft conviction may rely on circumstantial evidence alone if that evidence supports a reasonable inference of guilt. Maul v. State, 731 N.E.2d 438, 439 (Ind.2000).

We note that Indiana Code section 29-1-7-23 provides that a decedent’s property passes to those individuals devised in a will and through intestate succession if there is no will. Additionally, our intestate succession statute provides that the estate of a deceased individual is generally distributed to the surviving parents, brothers, and sisters if the individual does not have a surviving spouse or children. I.C. § 29-1-2-1(d)(3). Also, the term “heir” is defined by Indiana Code section 29-1-1-3 as a person entitled to property under the intestacy statutes.

*643 In this case, the evidence showed that Dycus was survived by his mother, sister, and half-sister. Tr. .p. 105-06. Through a stipulation signed by the parties prior to tidal, it was established that Markland “DID NOT have permission” from any of “William Dycus’s heirs or any other relatives” to possess or have control over Dy-cus’s property. Appellant’s App. p. 89. In essence, it is apparent that Markland attempted to use the stipulation as a shield at trial to preclude testimony from Dycus’s family and now as a sword on appeal to assert that the State failed to prove the offense.

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Bluebook (online)
865 N.E.2d 639, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 868, 2007 WL 1240288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/markland-v-state-indctapp-2007.