State v. Edberg

185 S.W.3d 290, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 281, 2006 WL 561493
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 9, 2006
Docket26844
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 185 S.W.3d 290 (State v. Edberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Edberg, 185 S.W.3d 290, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 281, 2006 WL 561493 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

NANCY STEFFEN RAHMEYER, . Presiding Judge.

Sheryl Edberg (“Appellant”) was charged by amended information with arson in the second degree in violation of section 569.050. 1 The information alleged that on or about March 7, 2003, Appellant knowingly damaged a building, consisting of a garage, owned by Ronald Schroeder and located at 405 E. Spencer Street, Cuba, Missouri, by starting a fire. Appellant was tried before a jury on October 22, 2004, and found guilty. The court sentenced Appellant as a prior offender to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. She now appeals, but does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the following evidence was presented at trial. Appellant believed her girlfriend, Heather Shelton, was involved in an affair with Rob Schroeder, who was Shelton’s landlord. Appellant told Helen Fritz prior to the incident that, if Schroeder did not leave her girlfriend alone, she was going to “get” his toys, his home, or his rental properties. When asked what “get” his toys, his home, or his rental properties meant, Fritz explained that Appellant told her, “I’ll burn his toys and his apartment.”

Schroeder stored three of his own motorcycles and a 2001 Harley Davidson owned by his ex-wife in his garage. 2 On the day of the incident, Schroeder rode one of the motorcycles, returned it to the garage and left the garage unlocked. Appellant went to Schroeder’s garage, placed a rag in the gas tank of one of the motorcycles and lit it, igniting a fire in the garage. When Schroeder arrived at the garage later that evening, he saw black around the sliding glass doors of the garage where the smoke had exited; he also found the 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle laid on its side with a rag sticking out of the gas tank. Schroeder testified that the fire had damaged all the other motorcycles and the inside of the garage for a total of $80,000 in damage. 3 The fire marshal determined that the fire was intentionally set and that its origin was the rag placed in the engine of the 2001 Harley Davidson.

After she had set fire to the motorcycle, Appellant arrived at the home of a friend shé had met in prison, Kristine Thomas; and her sister, Erin Davis. Appellant appeared upset and asked the sisters to drop her off at a motel. As they were driving around looking for a motel, Appellant told Davis and Thomas that because she believed her girlfriend was having an affair with Schroeder, Appellant had set his motorcycles on fire. Appellant told them that her girlfriend was going to be the “most expensive piece of [a- — ] that [Schroeder] got because [Appellant had] lit his motorcycles on fire.” Appellant admitted that she put a rag in the gas tank of one of the motorcycles, lit it, used the sleeves of her coat to cover her fingertips, and that the motorcycles were still burning.

Davis and Thomas helped Appellant find a hotel room and then left. Thomas, who *293 was on parole at the time, was afraid that she might be implicated in the arson; she went to her parole officer to relay what she had learned from Appellant. Davis also agreed to make a statement to the authorities explaining what she had learned. Appellant did not testify at trial. Appellant asserts two points on appeal regarding the admission of evidence at the trial.

When reviewing the admission or exclusion of evidence at trial, the reviewing court will not disturb the trial court’s ruling absent a clear abuse of discretion because trial courts have broad discretion in assessing the admissibility of evidence. State v. Robinson, 111 S.W.3d 510, 513 (Mo.App. S.D.2003). A trial court abuses its discretion if the ruling is: (1) clearly against the logic of the circumstances presented to the court, and (2) is so arbitrary and unreasonable as to shock the sense of justice and indicate a lack of careful consideration. Shirrell v. Missouri Edison Co., 535 S.W.2d 446, 448 (Mo. banc 1976). When reasonable minds can disagree as to the action taken by the trial court, then the trial court has not abused its discretion. State v. Tyra, 153 S.W.3d 341, 345 (Mo.App. S.D.2005). Further, a conviction will not be reversed for mere error; the Appellant has to show both error and the prejudice resulting from the error. Id. Prejudice exists when the Appellant demonstrates that in the absence of such error a reasonable probability exists that the verdict would have been different. Id.

First, Appellant alleges that the trial court abused its discretion in overruling Appellant’s objection to Davis’s testimony that her sister met Appellant in prison because it associated Appellant with uncharged crimes, was not probative, and was offered only to portray Appellant as a person of bad character with a propensity to commit crimes in general. At trial, Appellant objected to the question regarding prison time by stating that it was “highly prejudicial.” In contrast, Appellant now specifically argues that the evidence was not admissible because the bad character of an accused is not suitable for inquiry and evidence of prior uncharged misconduct is inadmissible for the purpose of showing the propensity of the defendant to commit such crimes. Appellant is limited to the specific objection made before the trial court. State v. Leivan, 103 S.W.3d 425, 429 (Mo.App. S.D.2003). “A party is not permitted to broaden the objection presented to the trial court and cannot rely on a theory different from the one offered at trial.” Id. Therefore, we are limited to plain error review. Id.

Plain error review as authorized by Rule 30.20 is discretionary. 4 State v. Smith, 979 S.W.2d 215, 217 (Mo.App. S.D.1998). The plain error rule must be used sparingly by appellate courts and should not be used to justify review of allegations of error that have not been properly preserved. State v. Estes, 160 S.W.3d 457, 459 (Mo.App. S.D.2005). Appellant must show prejudicial error and that the error so substantially affected the appellant’s rights that a manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice would inexorably result if the error was to be left uncorrected. Id. at 459-60. Appellant has the burden of proving manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice. Id. at 460. This Court must determine if the claimed plain error facially establishes substantial grounds for believing a manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice has occurred and if we find that facially substantial grounds exist, it then determines whether a manifest injustice or *294 a miscarriage of justice has actually occurred. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. MARTIN J. SYKES
480 S.W.3d 461 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2016)
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. RYAN N. EVANS
517 S.W.3d 528 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. McFadden
391 S.W.3d 408 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2013)
State v. Dean
382 S.W.3d 218 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Williams
375 S.W.3d 920 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Poole
389 S.W.3d 678 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Huffman
374 S.W.3d 382 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Smith
370 S.W.3d 891 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
Secrist v. Treadstone, LLC
356 S.W.3d 276 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2011)
State v. Stewart
343 S.W.3d 373 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2011)
State v. Davies
330 S.W.3d 775 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2010)
State v. White
291 S.W.3d 354 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Michael
234 S.W.3d 542 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. Lloyd
205 S.W.3d 893 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Davis
203 S.W.3d 796 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Fry
197 S.W.3d 211 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
185 S.W.3d 290, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 281, 2006 WL 561493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-edberg-moctapp-2006.