Oldham v. State

779 N.E.2d 1162, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 2139, 2002 WL 31831702
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 18, 2002·No. 49A04-0203-CR-123·Published·Cited by 59 cases

Opinions

OPINION

BAILEY, Judge.

Case Summary

Robert Oldham appeals his convictions of Murder and Carrying a Handgun Without a License.1 We reverse.

Issues

Oldham raises seven issues, which we consolidate and restate as:

I. Was Oldham's Murder conviction supported by sufficient evidence?
II. Was Oldham subjected to fundamental error when an investigating police officer testified that he obtained a warrant to search Old-ham's home because he thought Oldham committed the 'crimes in question, and when the State introduced evidence of items found during the search of the home?
Is Oldham entitled to a new trial on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct? tost IIL.
Did the trial court ‘abus'e its discretion when it replaced an ill juror? Iv.
V. Do Oldham's convictions violate the double jeopardy clause of the Indiana Constitution? °

Facts and Procedural History

On August 29, 1999, at about 2:00 in the morning, George Brown was out looking for 'his girlfriend Latonya Jones when he observed a blue four-door Plymouth Colt occupied only by its driver pass by a group of people that included Oldham near the intersection of 36th Street and Kenwood Avenue in Indianapolis. Several minutes later, Jones, who was out for a walk, saw. the Colt pass her on 86th Street. This time, there was one passenger, seated in the back. Seconds later, Jones heard gunshots from the direction the car had traveled. Russell and Carol Phelps, who lived on the southwest corner of 86th Street and Graceland Avenue, were awoken by the gunshots. Mr:=and Mrs. Phelps looked out their window and saw that the Colt had crashed into her fence. Mrs. Phelps saw a black male with a stocky build wearing a short-sleeved red and white-checkered short-sleeved shirt leaning into the vehicle. Mr: Phelps heard the man say, "I thought I'd get you." The man then walked away on 36th Street from Graceland Avenue toward Capitol Avenue. Jones, who had heard the gunshots but did not see the shooting or the crash, observed Oldham running back on 36th Street away from Graceland Avenue toward Capitol Avenue.

[1168] Police officers were called to the seene, and found a man later identified as Benjamin Brownlow with gunshot wounds to his side and the back of his neck. Brownlow was taken to a nearby hospital where he died. Officers recovered two palm prints on the exterior of Brownlow's vehicle, which were later determined to belong to Oldham, and which were quite fresh. The police took the vehicle to a secure location, where the car was thoroughly searched. On September 1, 1999, police officers searched Oldham's residence pursuant to a warrant and found a recently dry-cleaned short-sleeved red and white-checkered shirt. On September 2, 1999, Brownlow's sister Deborah retrieved the Colt from the police department's secure location. When she opened the front passenger door, a pager fell out. Police officers later determined that the pager belonged to Oldham.

On October 6, 1999, the State filed a delinquency petition against Oldham, who was fifteen years old at the time of Brown-low's murder, alleging that Oldbam had committed acts which, if committed by an adult, would have constituted Murder and Carrying a Handgun Without a License. At the request of the State, the trial court waived its juvenile jurisdiction, and the State charged Oldham with Murder and Carrying a Handgun without a License as an adult. A jury trial began on January 14, 2002. During its deliberations, the jury sent the trial court two notes. One note told the judge that the jury was deadlocked and the other indicated that one juror wished to be excused because the stress of deliberations was aggravating the juror's hypertension. The judge addressed the juror's health concerns first, because he suspected that settling that matter might resolve any issues regarding the jury's ability to continue. The juror stated that he wasn't feeling well and was uncomfortable, and the trial court released the juror with the agreement of the parties. After the ill juror was dismissed, the jury advised the court without further discussion that they were ready to continue their deliberations and believed that their time would be "well spent." Oldham was convicted of both charges. On February 14, 2002, the trial court sentenced Oldham to fifty years on the Murder count and to one concurrent year on the gun charge. Oldham now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

A. Standard of Review

Oldham claims that the State failed to prove his guilt with adequate evidence. When we review a claim that a conviction is not supported by sufficient evidence establishing the defendant's guilt, we generally may not reweigh the evidence or question the credibility of witnesses. Doty v. State, 730 N.E.2d 175, 180 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). That is the function of the fact finder. Id. We must affirm a conviction if the finder of fact heard evidence of probative value from which it could have inferred the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Graham v. State, 713 N.E.2d 309, 311 (Ind.Ct.App.1999), trans. denied. When making this determination, we consider only the evidence, and all reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence, favorable to the verdiet. Id.

B. Analysis

To convict Oldham of Murder, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Oldham knowingly or intentionally killed Brownlow. See Inv. Cope § 85-42-1-1(1). Oldham argues that there was not enough evidence to prove that he was the person who killed Brown-low. A murder conviction may be based entirely on cireumstantial evidence. Franklin v. State, 715 N.E.2d 1237, 1241 [1169] (Ind.1999). Such circumstantial evidence will be deemed sufficient if inferences may reasonably be drawn that enable the trier of fact to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. A defendant's mere presence at the crime seene, with the opportunity to commit these crimes, is not a sufficient basis on which to support a conviction. See Fry v. State, 748 N.E.2d 369, 3783 (Ind.2001). However, the defendant's presence at the seene in connection with other cireumstances, such as companionship with the one engaged in the crime, and the course of conduct of the defendant before, during, and after the offense, may raise a reasonable inference of guilt. Hampton v. State, 719 N.E.2d 803, 807 (Ind.1999).

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Oldham v. State, 779 N.E.2d 1162, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 2139, 2002 WL 31831702 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

779 N.E.2d 1162 (Oldham v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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