Robert W. Evans v. State of Indiana

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 1, 2014
Docket79A04-1308-CR-386
StatusUnpublished

This text of Robert W. Evans v. State of Indiana (Robert W. Evans v. State of Indiana) 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
Robert W. Evans v. State of Indiana, (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of May 01 2014, 8:58 am establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:

TIMOTHY P. BRODEN GREGORY F. ZOELLER Lafayette, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

RYAN D. JOHANNINGSMEIER Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

ROBERT W. EVANS, ) ) Appellant-Defendant, ) ) vs. ) No. 79A04-1308-CR-386 ) STATE OF INDIANA, ) ) Appellee-Plaintiff. )

APPEAL FROM THE TIPPECANOE SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Thomas H. Busch, Judge Cause No. 79D02-1211-FA-16

May 1, 2014

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

VAIDIK, Chief Judge Case Summary

Robert Evans appeals his conviction for Class A felony dealing in

methamphetamine. He argues that the trial court improperly admitted evidence regarding

the results of a Draeger pump instrument test, which tests for the presence of ammonia,

without first establishing the test’s reliability. Additionally, Evans claims that the trial

court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on his proposed jury instruction on constructive

possession. We find that the test results were properly admitted and the court did not err

in refusing to give Evans’s tendered jury instruction. We therefore affirm the trial court.

Facts and Procedural History

On an evening in November 2012, Pam Smith and Evans decided to make

methamphetamine together. Evans and Pam went to Evans’s mother’s house to gather

ingredients and tools to make methamphetamine. Tr. p. 231. The items were gathered and

placed inside two backpacks, a black1 backpack and a pink backpack. There was a green

two-liter bottle inside the black backpack. Id. at 189.

After Evans’s mother’s house, Pam and Evans went to Kelley Brickey’s house. The

group ingested methamphetamines before deciding to take a taxi cab to Pam’s house, which

was located at 1533 N. 17th Street in Lafayette, Indiana (“the Smith Residence”), to make

methamphetamine. Evans, Pam, and Brickey went into the house through the back door.

Charles Hill, who lived directly behind the Smith Residence, saw Pam walking around the

1 There is conflicting testimony as to whether the backpack carried by Evans was green or black. Compare Tr. p. 50 with Tr. p. 235. However, it is undisputed that Evans was carrying a dark-colored backpack when he entered the Smith Residence. 2 side of her house with a man and a woman that he did not recognize. Id. at 41. Pam and

the man were carrying backpacks on their shoulders. Id. at 41, 50.

Once inside the house, Brickey, Pam, and Evans went down into the basement. Pam

and Evans gathered all of the supplies to begin the process of making methamphetamine.

Brickey saw Evans putting pills in the green two-liter bottle. Meanwhile, Pam lit incense

and hung blankets on the windows and at the basement entrance to prevent the smell from

traveling into the other parts of the house.

Meanwhile, Hill went to the Smith Residence to retrieve four movies that he had

lent to one of the occupants of the house. He noticed that the smell inside was a “deadly

chemical smell.” Id. at 44. He grabbed his movies and ran out of the house. Id. at 45.

Once outside, he fell to the ground because he could not stop coughing. Id. After he

returned to his house, he called the police because he “knew [the odor] was something

dangerous.” Id.

Lafayette Police Department Officers Bernard Myers and Ryan French were

dispatched to the Smith Residence in response to Hill’s call. When the officers arrived,

they walked around the house, and Officer Myers noticed that a vent pipe was emitting

exhaust from the furnace that smelled like ammonia—a common smell during the process

of making methamphetamine. The officers then knocked on the door and spoke to

Elizabeth Smith, the primary leaseholder of the house. Elizabeth allowed the officers into

the house to investigate.

The officers asked if there was anyone else in the house, and Elizabeth responded

that her father was upstairs but she did not think anyone else was home. She then checked

3 the basement door, but it was locked. Elizabeth called out to ask if anyone was in the

basement. Pam, Elizabeth’s daughter, responded, and Elizabeth told Pam that the police

were in the house. About a minute later, Pam emerged from the basement.

Officer Myers noticed that the smell of ammonia was coming from the basement.

Both officers went into the basement to investigate. Before going into the basement, the

officers asked if anyone else was there. No one responded. As the officers walked down

the basement stairs, Officer Myers noticed a blanket covering the threshold of the

basement. Once he pushed aside the blanket, he experienced an overwhelming smell of

ammonia. The smell was so overpowering that it was nearly impossible to breathe. Both

officers coughed and their throats burned from the smell. The police saw Evans sitting on

a chair and Brickey sitting on the bed.

Officer Myers asked both Evans and Brickey to come to him because the odor of

ammonia was so overwhelming. Officer Myers handcuffed Evans, and Officer French

escorted Brickey up the stairs. Pam was also handcuffed. The officers did not search the

basement or collect any evidence because it was unsafe to do so. Id. at 65. After exiting

the basement, the officers called the fire department, emergency medical services, and the

Indiana State Police Lab Team. Evans, Brickey, and Pam were arrested that evening for

their involvement in the production of methamphetamine.

Indiana State Police Trooper Ryan Royer, a member of the Indiana State Police

Clandestine Laboratory Response Team, was dispatched to the Smith Residence and

arrived around 1:00 a.m. with Troopers Sean Schaffer and Kent Wainscott. Trooper Royer

found several items that were associated with manufacturing methamphetamine, including

4 Rooto drain opener, lithium batteries, aluminum foil, coffee filters, Coleman camp fuel,

salts, and cold packs containing ammonium nitrate. Id. at 120, 124-125, 139.

Trooper Royer also found a green soda bottle that he believed was the reaction

vessel used to produce methamphetamine. He performed a Draeger test2 to confirm that it

was used to produce methamphetamine,3 and the bottle tested positive for ammonia or

another basic amine.4 According to Trooper Royer, one can distinguish between ammonia

and other basic amines based on differences in odor and temperature. Although Trooper

Royer was not able to observe these differences because he was wearing gloves and a mask,

Trooper Schaffer removed his personal protection equipment just as Trooper Royer was

completing the Draeger test on the green bottle and noticed that it smelled like ammonia.

Trooper Royer also examined a bottle cap from the basement and found methamphetamine

residue on it. Id. at 171. Based on the items found, his observations in the basement, and

the tests performed, Trooper Royer concluded that methamphetamine was being produced

in the basement.

The State charged Evans with Class A felony dealing in methamphetamine, Class

C felony possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, and Class B felony possession

of methamphetamine.5 Appellant’s App. p. 82-84.

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