Ramsey v. State

853 N.E.2d 491, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1794, 2006 WL 2521460
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 1, 2006
Docket14A02-0509-CR-912
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 853 N.E.2d 491 (Ramsey 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
Ramsey v. State, 853 N.E.2d 491, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1794, 2006 WL 2521460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Danny Ramsey appeals from his convictions for Dealing in Methamphetamine, 1 a class A felony, Possession of a Narcotic Drug, 2 a class C felony, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, 3 a class D felony, Possession of Marijuana, 4 a class A misdemeanor, and'being a Habitual Offender. 5 Specifically, he contends that there was insufficient evidence to support the habitual offender finding, that the habitual offender and aggravating circumstances phases of the trial should not have been combined, that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial based on prosecutorial misconduct, and that the trial court erred in admitting evidence obtained from controlled buys and during the execution of a search warrant. Finding that the habitual offender finding was well supported by the evidence, that the trial court did not err in combining the hearings, that the prosecutor did not commit misconduct, and that the evidence was properly admitted, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

Between January and May 2002, Penny Drake knew Ramsey through her then-boyfriend. Drake had been to Ramsey’s apartment in Washington and had seen a large amount of methamphetamine openly displayed there. Drake contacted the Da-viess County Sheriffs Department and informed the Department that Ramsey was dealing methamphetamine and other illegal drugs. Detective Ron Morgan instructed Drake to continue her normal activities and to arrange a. purchase from Ramsey.

On May 1, 2002, Drake arranged a buy with Ramsey. Before purchasing the methamphetamine, Detective Morgan *496 searched Drake and her residence to ensure that no illegal drugs were present. Detective Morgan found no drugs or other people inside Drake’s residence, and he maintained visual surveillance of the house in order to ensure that no one other than Drake and Ramsey were inside. Detective Morgan also placed a transmitter inside the house to hear the conversation between Ramsey and Drake, but he did not record the conversation. After Drake met with Ramsey in her house, she gave Detective Morgan 3.01 grams of methamphetamine that she had just purchased from Ramsey. Drake and Detective Morgan followed similar procedures in making several more buys from Ramsey throughout May 2002. These later conversations were recorded.

During late 2003 and early 2004, Molly Haag often visited Ramsey’s residence, and she saw illegal drugs there every time that she visited. On February 18, 2004, Haag drove Ramsey to obtain a handgun that she later observed in a room of Ramsey’s home.

The Indiana State Police began a separate investigation of Ramsey after obtaining information from a confidential informant about Ramsey’s drug dealing activities. On February 18, 2004, the Indiana State Police executed a search warrant at Ramsey’s residence. The police found Ramsey in the home as well as plant material, rolling paper, and cocaine. Ramsey had $1,760.21 on his person. In an upstairs bedroom, the police recovered a baggie corner, which is commonly used for packaging illegal drugs for sale, marijuana cigarettes, foil, and a light bulb. The police also found a handgun, two digital scales, 59.29 grams of methamphetamine under the sink floorboard, 8.12 grams of marijuana, and 82 grams of methamphetamine inside a jacket that Ramsey admitted was his.

On February 20, 2004, the State charged Ramsey with dealing in methamphetamine, possession of a narcotic drug while in possession of a firearm, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of marijuana, and being a habitual offender; all of the charges were based on the evidence obtained from the 2004 arrest. On April 26, 2004, the State charged Ramsey with eight counts of dealing methamphetamine based on evidence obtained from Drake in 2002. On May 17, 2005, Ramsey moved for and was granted the consolidation of the two cases for trial, and the State dismissed a possession of paraphernalia count. Ramsey moved to suppress the warrant obtained by Detective Morgan and all evidence obtained as a result of the warrant from the 2002 events because of staleness and lack of control of the buys. The trial court denied the motion to suppress.

The jury trial was held on May 17-20, 2005. During the trial, Detective Morgan testified that the reasons for his delay in filing the charges were that he wanted to allow time to pass from Drake’s last contact with Ramsey, that he was working in Indianapolis from September 2002 through July 2003 on a complex case that took much of his time, and that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had been investigating Ramsey for possible involvement in a federal drug conspiracy with which Detective Morgan did not want to interfere. Ramsey objected to the DEA statement and requested a mistrial. The trial court sustained the objection, stating, “The jury will be instructed to disregard the answer that was given to that question with regard to those matters. Court will overrule the motion for mistrial.” Tr. p. 379.

During the closing statement, the following exchange occurred:

State: I want to address another thing. Molly Haag. I addressed that politely in my first close, and perhaps Mr. Majew- *497 ski [Ramsey’s counsel] didn’t hear it, but he keeps referring to her as Molly Haag [pronounced “hag”], and I think that should tell you something about the strength of our case.
Mr. Majewski: I object, Your Honor. That’s the way I pronounce that name. There’s a drug store in Terre Haute that was known as Haag Drugs or Haag Drugs, and it’s H-A-A-G, and I pronounced it Haag [“Hag”]. And, any implication that I would defame a witness or make fun of her name is just beyond bounds of propriety, and I ask the jury to be instructed that they are to disregard that.
The Court: I don’t know that that’s necessarily pertinent to what the argument’s about here.

Tr. p. 931-32. Ramsey later moved for mistrial, and the trial court denied that motion. The jury ultimately found Ramsey guilty on all counts.

On May 20, 2005, the trial court began the habitual offender/aggravating circumstances phase of the trial. Ramsey objected to the two being combined, but the trial court overruled the objection. The jury found Ramsey to be a habitual offender and found the existence of all four proposed aggravating circumstances. The trial court sentenced Ramsey to an aggregate term of seventy-five years, and Ramsey now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Ramsey argues that the evidence is insufficient to support the habitual offender finding, that his trial should have been trifurcated, that the prosecutor committed misconduct, and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress.

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Bluebook (online)
853 N.E.2d 491, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1794, 2006 WL 2521460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramsey-v-state-indctapp-2006.