State v. Conner

2009 WI App 143, 775 N.W.2d 105, 321 Wis. 2d 449, 2009 Wisc. App. LEXIS 673
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 27, 2009
Docket2008AP1296-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2009 WI App 143 (State v. Conner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Conner, 2009 WI App 143, 775 N.W.2d 105, 321 Wis. 2d 449, 2009 Wisc. App. LEXIS 673 (Wis. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

BRIDGE, J.

¶ 1. Janet A. Conner appeals from the judgment of conviction entered against her and the order denying her motion for postconviction relief. Following a jury trial, Conner was convicted of one count of stalking with a previous conviction within seven years of a prior conviction in violation of Wis. Stat. § 940.32(2m)(b) (2007-08). 1 She contends that: (1) the circuit court improperly interpreted § 940.32(2m)(b) when it admitted evidence of her "course of conduct," which included acts that preceded her prior conviction for violating a harassment injunction obtained by the victim in the present matter; (2) the circuit court improperly admitted other acts evidence relating to the acts underlying her conviction for violating the injunction, as well as to acts underlying her conviction for criminal damage to the property of a victim other than the victim in the present matter; and (3) the criminal information did not provide her with adequate notice of the charged stalking offense. We disagree with each contention and affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. Janet Conner was charged on December 7, 2005, with two counts of stalking with a previous conviction within seven years, in violation of Wis. Stat. § 940.32(2m)(b), 2 and one count of causing criminal damage to property, in violation of Wis. Stat. *454 § 943.01(1). 3 Counts one and two were charged as repeaters under Wis. Stat. § 939.62(l)(b) and count three was charged as a repeater under sub. (l)(a) of the statute. 4 All three counts arose from an incident on November 30, 2005, which involved Conner's "keying" *455 (scratching with a key or similar object) a vehicle owned by James and Rhonda Gainor. 5

¶ 3. With respect to counts one and two, the criminal information alleged that on or about November 30, 2005, Conner intentionally engaged in a course of conduct directed at James (count 1) and Rhonda (count 2) that would cause "a reasonable person to fear bodily injury or death" and that Conner did in fact cause James and Rhonda to fear bodily injury or death. With respect to the "previous conviction within seven years" component of the two stalking charges under Wis. Stat. § 940.32(2m)(b), the information alleged that in June 2003, Conner was previously convicted of three counts of violating a harassment restraining order and that the victims in that matter were the Gainors. In count three, the information alleged that on or about the same date, Conner caused physical damage to a vehicle owned by the Gainors without the Gainors' consent.

¶ 4. Prior to trial, the State filed a motion pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 904.04(2) to introduce evidence of, and the facts underlying, four prior convictions involving Conner. 6 Of these, only one related to the Gainors *456 —the June 2003 conviction for violating the Gainors' restraining order. Over Conner's objection, the court admitted evidence related to this conviction. The court ruled that the evidence went to the issue of motive, provided context to the situation leading to the criminal charges, provided background to the relationships of the parties, was relevant, and was not unduly prejudicial.

¶ 5. The court also admitted evidence of, and the facts underlying, Conner's prior conviction for criminal damage to property stemming from an incident in which she used a key to scratch a vehicle belonging to Joy Stolz. The court noted that this crime was very similar to count three, which charged Conner with causing criminal damage to property by using a key to scratch the Gainors' vehicle. The court ruled that this evidence was admissible to show modus operandi, and ruled further that the evidence was relevant and not unduly prejudicial.

¶ 6. At trial, James testified that he and Conner had been involved in a brief relationship that ended in May 2000, and that shortly thereafter he began seeing Rhonda, whom he married in 2001. He testified that in September 2000, Conner began a pattern of harassing behavior involving him as well as Rhonda, and that this activity continued for several years thereafter. The *457 Gainors, as well as other witnesses, testified to the following events, which we have summarized for ease of understanding:

• James received numerous phone calls from Conner on about September 14, 2000.
• Conner entered James's home on October 4, 2000, and used his phone to call James, who was at Rhonda's home.
• Conner and her sister appeared at James's home on October 5, 2000, and stated that she wanted to talk to Rhonda, who was inside, because she had "bad things" to say about James.
• James received many "crank phone calls" at his home, Rhonda's home and his place of work during October and November 2000.
• Conner called James during the first week of December 2000 and stated that she was going to cause problems with Rhonda when the couple attended James's work Christmas party.
• .When James left work a few days after his work Christmas party in December 2000, he discovered that the tires on his vehicle had been flattened.
• On December 15, 2000, James discovered upon leaving work that the windshield on his vehicle had been shattered.
• On December 25, 2000, James received a voicemail message from Conner warning him to watch where he parked so that Conner "wouldn't be tempted to do something to it since she's so psychotic."
• Conner confronted James at his place of employment on December 27, 2000, and secretly recorded their conversation.
*458 • During January 2001, the Gainors received magazine subscriptions they had not ordered, received "crank phone calls" at work, and had someone call twice to cancel their reservation at the facility hosting their wedding reception.
• A harassment injunction was issued on February 16, 2001, and was effective until February 16, 2003.
• The Gainors received numerous "crank phone calls" at home and at work between February 2001 and June 2003.

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Related

State v. Price
2018 WI App 62 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2018)
State v. Conner
2011 WI 8 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2009 WI App 143, 775 N.W.2d 105, 321 Wis. 2d 449, 2009 Wisc. App. LEXIS 673, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-conner-wisctapp-2009.