State v. Jacob JP Banas

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 8, 2023
Docket2021AP000828-CR
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Jacob JP Banas (State v. Jacob JP Banas) 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. Jacob JP Banas, (Wis. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS DECISION NOTICE DATED AND FILED This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. February 8, 2023 A party may file with the Supreme Court a Sheila T. Reiff petition to review an adverse decision by the Clerk of Court of Appeals Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10 and RULE 809.62.

Appeal No. 2021AP828-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2018CF333

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT II

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

JACOB JP BANAS,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from judgment of the circuit court for Ozaukee County: TODD K. MARTENS, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Gundrum, P.J., Neubauer and Grogan, JJ.

Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent

or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3). No. 2021AP828-CR

¶1 PER CURIAM. Following a jury trial, Jacob JP Banas was convicted of administering a stupefying drug to Sarah1 while she was a patron in his bar. On appeal, Banas contends the circuit court erred by admitting expert testimony and other-acts evidence at trial. We reject Banas’s arguments and affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 In 2014, Sarah reported to law enforcement that she believed Banas drugged her while she was a patron in his bar. The complaint alleged, in part, that Banas provided Sarah with a shot of brown liquid. After consuming the shot, Sarah became very ill, her ears started ringing, and she could not remember anything from that moment on. Sarah provided law enforcement with a sample of her hair to test for drugs. The State ultimately charged Banas with administering a stupefying drug to Sarah, pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 941.32.

¶3 Prior to trial, the State moved to introduce other-acts evidence. The State argued the nature of the crime rendered Sarah incapable of accurately describing what happened. The State offered that between 2007 and 2017, multiple women reported incidents substantially similar to Sarah’s that occurred after Banas provided the women with a drink. The State planned to introduce the testimony of the women as well as testimony from witnesses who could corroborate the accounts to help identify Banas as the source of the drugs, Banas’s modus operandi, his plan,

1 Pursuant to the policy underlying WIS. STAT. RULE 809.86(4) (2019-20), we use a pseudonym when referring to the victim in this case. We also use pseudonyms when referring to the victim’s friend (“Alice”) and the victim’s husband (“David”). Finally, we use pseudonyms when referring to all the other-acts witnesses (“Amy D.,” “Ashley K.,” “Zoe,” “Ian,” “Megan,” “Lynn R.,” “Carly,” “Jane,” “Steve,” “Ken,” and “Lindsey H.”).

All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2019-20 version unless otherwise noted.

2 No. 2021AP828-CR

intent, and opportunity. The State made an offer of proof as to each other-acts witness, detailing each witness’s proposed testimony. Banas opposed the motion.

¶4 At the other-acts motion hearing, the circuit court observed the charge of administering a stupefying drug had three elements: (1) that Banas administered a substance to Sarah; (2) that “[t]he substance was poisonous, stupefying, overpowering, narcotic, or anesthetic”; and (3) that Banas “acted with the intent to facilitate the commission of a crime.” See WIS JI-CRIMINAL 1352 (2008); see also WIS. STAT. § 941.32. Given the allegations in the complaint, the court believed the State could prove Sarah consumed a stupefying substance. However, the court recognized that, given the nature of the case, the State would need to rely on circumstantial evidence that Banas administered the stupefying substance to Sarah with intent to facilitate a crime. The court summarized the other-acts evidence as: each woman knew what it took for them to be intoxicated; each was with Banas on a certain date; Banas gave each a drink; each woman did not consume a lot of alcohol that date; each began to feel ill; each lost her memory; and each one engaged in acts that she would not normally engage in.

¶5 Under the three-part Sullivan2 framework, the circuit court admitted most, but not all, of the State’s proposed other-acts evidence. The court concluded the witnesses’ testimony relating to whether Banas gave a stupefying substance to Sarah as well as their testimony relating to whether he did so with the intent to facilitate a crime were admissible to show Banas’s modus operandi, identity, intent, and plan. Next, the court determined the proposed testimony was relevant and probative in nearness in time, place, circumstances, similarity of acts, and the distinct traits of the victims. Finally, the court concluded the probative value of the

2 State v. Sullivan, 216 Wis. 2d 768, 576 N.W.2d 30 (1998).

3 No. 2021AP828-CR

evidence substantially outweighed the danger of unfair prejudice. The court engaged in an analysis for each proffered other-acts witness.

¶6 The State also notified Banas that, at trial, it planned to introduce expert testimony from Dr. Pascal Kintz, a forensic toxicologist, regarding hair analysis he conducted that found Sarah had consumed doxylamine and diphenhydramine. Doxylamine (a sleeping medication) and diphenhydramine (a motion-sickness medication) are found in over-the-counter medications. Both drugs are also used to treat allergies. Kintz would explain the impairing effects these drugs have on individuals. Additionally, Kintz performed a hair analysis on one of the other-acts witnesses, Zoe, and would testify Zoe consumed diphenhydramine. Banas moved to exclude Kintz’s testimony, pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 907.02(1) and Daubert,3 on the basis that his testimony was speculative and unreliable—Kintz could not say who gave the drugs to Sarah or Zoe, how much was given, or exactly when the drugs were given.

¶7 At the Daubert hearing, the circuit court observed Banas had no objection to Kintz’s qualifications as a forensic toxicologist, the reliability of the analyses and methods used by Kintz, or the conclusions contained in Kintz’s reports. The court reasoned Banas’s objections went to the evidence’s weight, not its admissibility, and Banas was free to explore the limitations of Kintz’s opinions on cross-examination. The court denied Banas’s motion.

¶8 At trial, following the testimony of an FBI analyst who testified the FBI currently does not offer a hair analysis for doxylamine and diphenhydramine because it has not yet validated a testing method, Banas renewed his Daubert

3 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993).

4 No. 2021AP828-CR

motion. Banas argued that, because the FBI did not have a validated method, Kintz should be prohibited from testifying about his testing method. The circuit court denied Banas’s renewed motion. It reasoned the mere fact the FBI did not have a validated testing method did not mean Kintz’s method was invalid.

¶9 Sarah testified that on April 8, 2014, she went to dinner at the August Weber Haus in Cedarburg with her best friend Alice. During dinner, Banas, whom Sarah knew professionally, approached their table. Banas was drinking a vodka red bull and offered Sarah a sip when she told him it was her favorite drink. Sarah and Alice ordered two bottles of wine during dinner and a Baileys to share during dessert. During dessert, Banas approached their table with three shots of brown alcohol. Sarah drank the shot.

¶10 After the shot, Banas left. The women finished their dessert and split the bill. Sarah signed the check and then lost her memory.

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State v. Jacob JP Banas, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jacob-jp-banas-wisctapp-2023.