Prewitt v. State

761 N.E.2d 862, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 18, 2002 WL 44268
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 14, 2002
Docket10A05-0106-CR-256
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 761 N.E.2d 862 (Prewitt 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
Prewitt v. State, 761 N.E.2d 862, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 18, 2002 WL 44268 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

Russell Lee Prewitt was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to possess cocaine, a Class B felony, and attempted possession of cocaine, a Class C felony. He was convicted and sentenced to sixteen years incarceration for the attempted possession count. 1 He now appeals. We affirm.

Issues

Prewitt raises five issues for our review, which we restate as follows:

1. Whether the trial court properly allowed the State to amend the charging information eight months after the omnibus date;
2. Whether the trial court properly admitted evidence of prior uncharged misconduct;
3. Whether the trial court properly allowed police testimony regarding why they were undercover at the location where Prewitt was arrested;
4. Whether Prewitt was properly charged with attempted possession as a Class B felony for being within 1,000 feet of a family housing complex when the offense occurred; and
Whether there was sufficient evidence to convict Prewitt of attempted possession of cocaine. Ot

Facts and Procedural History

Late one evening, Prewitt and his brother's fiancée, Charlotte Cooper, loaded Cooper's van with steaks and cigarettes that they hoped to trade for drugs. They drove to the Greenwood Apartments, a public housing complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana. There, they saw a man standing in the doorway of an apartment. The man was an undercover police officer, Trooper Shaun Hannon. Cooper parked the van and Prewitt walked to the apartment and spoke to Hannon, asking if he could trade merchandise for crack cocaine. Hannon went into the apartment alone, and told Sergeant Myron Wilkerson and Detective Leslie Kavanaugh, who were inside, that a man was outside asking for cocaine. Wilkerson and Kavanaugh went to the door, where Prewitt indicated that he wanted to trade meat and cigarettes for cocaine. The two followed Prewitt back to the van, and when Cooper began showing them the merchandise, Kavanaugh identified himself and arrested both Cooper and Prewitt.

Prewitt was originally charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine, a Class C felony. The information was eventually amended to include two counts: one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine as a Class B felony for being within 1,000 feet of a family housing unit, and one count of attempted possession of cocaine as a Class B felony, also for being within 1,000 feet of a family housing unit. A jury found Prewitt guilty of both charges; however, the conspiracy verdict was later vacated by the trial court. Prewitt now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

I. Late Amendment of Information

Prewitt contends that the trial court erred when it allowed the State to amend the charging information to add an additional count eight months after the *867 omnibus date and two weeks prior to a scheduled trial date.

Prewitt was charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine as a Class C felony on January 25, 2000. On January 26, 2000, an initial hearing was held and a jury trial was scheduled for May 28, 2000. March 14, 2000, was set as the omnibus date. Prewitt's trial was twice continued and eventually set for November 28, 2000. On November 15, 2000, the State filed a motion to amend the information, seeking to add Count II, attempted possession of co-came as a Class C felony pursuant to Indiana Code section 85-34-1-5(c). A hearing on the State's motion was held on November 22, 2000, at the conclusion of which, the State's motion was granted, the amended information was filed, and an initial hearing was held on Count II. On November 27, 2000, the parties met for a final pre-trial conference and the State orally moved to again amend the information. The substance of the charges was not changed by this second amendment; however, the charges were elevated from Class C felonies to Class B felonies due to the proximity to a family housing unit. The trial scheduled for the next day was continued at Prewitt's request. A hearing was held on December 6, 2000 on the State's request to amend the charges. Prewitt objected. After several more continuances, Prewitt's trial on the two Class B felony counts commenced on January 16, 2001.

At the hearing on November 27, 2000, 2 the State summarized its motion as follows:

The original Information had been a Conspiracy to Possess Cocaine as a Class D[ 3 ] Felony. The Amendment if the Court allows it will be based upon the very same fact circumstances. We're not alleging new facts. We are simply alleging that as an alternative [to] the Conspiracy conviction ... the Jury could also find that it legally fits the definition of an Attempt crime under the Indiana Statute.

[November 27, 2000] Hearing Transcript at 2. Prewitt objected to the filing of the Amended Information "based on the Defendant's [rlights to asic] fair notice of the charges against him in a manner that gives him [time] to prepare for his trial.... [T}his does not give him more than just approximately one week or less [before trial)." Id. at 8. Prewitt did concede that Count II alleged "the same set of facts." Id. at 3-4. The Court allowed the amendment.

Indiana Code section 35-384-1-5 governs the amendment of informations. In relevant part, the statute provides as follows:

(b) The indictment or information may be amended in matters of substance or form ... by the prosecuting attorney, *868 upon giving written notice to the defendant, at any time up to:
(1) thirty (80) days if the defendant is charged with a felony... . before the omnibus date....
(c) Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney, the court may, at any time before, during, or after the trial, permit an amendment to the indictment or information in respect to any defect, imperfection, or omission in form which does not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant.
(d) Before amendment of any indictment or information other than amendment as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the court shall give all parties adequate notice of the intended amendment and an opportunity to be heard. Upon permitting such amendment, the court shall, upon motion by the defendant, order any continuance of the proceedings which may be necessary to accord the defendant adequate opportunity to prepare his defense.

An information may be amended pursuant to this section as to matters of both form and substance. Tripp v. State, 729 N.E.2d 1061, 1064 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). As a general rule, an information may not be amended to change the theory of the case or the identity of the charged offense. Sides v. State, 693 N.E.2d 1310, 1313 (Ind.1998).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
761 N.E.2d 862, 2002 Ind. App. LEXIS 18, 2002 WL 44268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prewitt-v-state-indctapp-2002.