Shouse v. State

849 N.E.2d 650, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1154, 2006 WL 1678834
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 20, 2006
Docket15A05-0505-CR-287
StatusPublished
Cited by90 cases

This text of 849 N.E.2d 650 (Shouse 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
Shouse v. State, 849 N.E.2d 650, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1154, 2006 WL 1678834 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

VAIDIK, Judge.

Case Summary

Anthony Shouse (“Shouse”) appeals his convictions for auto theft and two counts of resisting law enforcement arising from his actions in stealing a truck and then leading several law enforcement agencies on a 100-mile-per-hour chase. Shouse is not entitled to a new trial based on the deputy prosecutor’s conduct toward an attorney of a defense witness, which resulted in the witness invoking the Fifth Amendment and refusing to testify at trial. Any error is harmless because of the overwhelming evidence of Shouse’s guilt. Shouse was not entitled to an instruction on conversion as a lesser-included offense of auto theft because there is no serious evidentiary dispute that Shouse acted with intent to deprive the victim of the truck’s value or use. Shouse’s two convictions for resisting law enforcement do not violate federal double jeopardy principles because one conviction is for fleeing and the other is for forcibly resisting or interfering, which are different species of resisting law enforcement. Although the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury during the habitual offender phase of trial that it is the judge of both the law and the facts, the error is not reversible. Finally, in light of the nature of the offenses and Shouse’s extensive criminal history, his eight and one-half year sentence is not inappropriate. We therefore affirm the trial court in all respects.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts most favorable to the verdict reveal that on December 8, 2004, Shouse and his sister, Melissa Chandler (“Melissa”), walked from their Dillsboro, Indiana, apartment to J & J Liquor Store, which was across the street, to use the pay phone. In the meantime, Kenneth Wagner (“Kenneth”) left work and decided to stop at the liquor store before heading home. Kenneth, who was driving his silver 1998 Chevrolet 4-wheel-drive truck, *653 pulled into the parking lot and turned off his truck, leaving the keys inside. On his way into the liquor store, Kenneth noted a woman and a man, later identified at trial as Shouse, standing at the pay phone. Kenneth had never seen or spoken to them before.

Once inside the liquor store, Kenneth walked to a cooler and took a beer. One of the store employees yelled, “hey Kenny, your truck’s leaving.” Tr. p. 73. Kenneth proceeded to the door and saw two people driving away in his truck. Kenneth instructed the store employee to call 911 and ran outside to see where his truck was going, Kenneth went back inside the store and gave the 911 dispatcher a description of his truck. The dispatcher then put out an all-county broadcast of the truck.

Dillsboro Police Department Officer Ryan Brandt was the first officer to locate the truck. Shouse was driving the truck, and Melissa was sitting in the passenger seat. Officer Brandt was off duty, in plain clothes, and driving a marked police car with his eleven-month-old daughter in a car seat. Officer Brandt pulled in behind the truck and radioed his location to dispatch. Officer Brandt, who did not activate his lights or siren because his infant daughter was in the car, continued to follow the truck until other officers could arrive and take over for him. Officer Brandt activated his radar and clocked the truck at over 100 miles per hour.

While Officer Brandt was still following the truck, Shouse activated the right turn signal. However, the truck came to a complete stop in the middle of the turn lane. Not knowing what Shouse was going to do, Officer Brandt exited his police car and drew his side arm on Shouse. Officer Brandt identified himself as a police officer and repeatedly instructed Shouse to turn off the truck. Shouse then “peeled tires” on the truck and sped off. Id. at 88. Officer Brandt returned to his car and continued following the truck.

Soon thereafter, Aurora Police Department Chief of Police Dana Cotton, Aurora Police Department Officer William Nail, Indiana State Police Trooper Vance Patton, and Dearborn County Sheriffs Deputy Jon Evans joined the pursuit, and Officer Brandt fell back. During this time, Shouse was driving the truck up to 100 miles per hour. All the police vehicles had their emergency lights and sirens activated, and all the civilian vehicles were pulling off to the side of the road, except the truck. Eventually, Chief Cotton was able to pull alongside Shouse and motioned for him to pull over. Shouse looked over at Chief Cotton, smiled, held up a can of beer, and continued driving. Then, the officers tried to box in Shouse between their vehicles. However, Shouse swung the truck into Chief Cotton’s vehicle and attempted to push him off the road. Shouse then rammed into Deputy Evans, who was traveling in front of him. Deputy Evans slowed down, and Shouse rammed into him again. Deputy Evans applied his brakes, finally forcing Shouse to stop the truck. Deputy Evans and Chief Cotton drew their weapons, approached the truck, and ordered Shouse to show his hands and to exit the truck. Shouse looked at the officers, reached over, and locked the door. Deputy Evans tried to open the door, but it was locked. Shouse then grabbed a beer, turned nonchalantly to Melissa, and the two of them talked and laughed. Deputy Evans screamed for Shouse to open the door, but he refused. Shouse then looked directly at Deputy Evans, took a sip of his beer, and smiled. At this point, Deputy Evans shattered the window with the butt of his gun. Shouse began moving away from Deputy Evans, so Deputy Evans grabbed him by the hair. Deputy *654 Evans and Chief Cotton attempted to remove Shouse from the vehicle, but Shouse continued resisting. Officer Nail yelled TASER several times before firing his TA-SER at Shouse’s chest. Deputy Evans and Chief Cotton were then able to remove Shouse from the truck, and he was arrested.

Shouse was transported to the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center. Dear-born County Sheriffs Deputy William Wagner advised Shouse of his rights, and Shouse signed a written waiver of his rights. Deputy Wagner and Officer Nail then interviewed Shouse. Shouse said that he took the truck and that the truck did not belong to him. Shouse did not claim that he borrowed the truck or that he knew Kenneth. Shouse also said that he knew the police were behind him and that he had plenty of opportunities to stop the truck but did not. When asked to elaborate, Shouse explained that he and his sister went to the liquor store and that he saw the truck sitting in the parking lot with the keys in it. Shouse then entered the truck, started it, and yelled for his sister to get in. Shouse said that when he saw the police following him, he “tromped it.” Id. at 205. Deputy Wagner also interviewed Kenneth, who said that he did not know Shouse.

The State charged Shouse with Count I: Auto Theft, a Class D felony; Count II: Conspiracy to Commit Auto Theft, a Class D felony; Count III, Resisting Law Enforcement, a Class D felony; and Count IV, Resisting Law Enforcement, a Class D felony. The State later added a habitual offender charge against Shouse. The State charged Melissa with Conspiracy to Commit Auto Theft, a Class D felony, and Reckless Possession of Paraphernalia, a Class B misdemeanor.

Two days before Shouse’s trial, a deputy prosecutor deposed Melissa, and Melissa’s attorney, Leslie Votaw, was present during that deposition. Shouse’s attorney was also present.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
849 N.E.2d 650, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 1154, 2006 WL 1678834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shouse-v-state-indctapp-2006.