State v. Podzimek

932 N.W.2d 141
South Dakota Supreme Court·Decided July 17, 2019·No. 28703·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

GILBERTSON, Chief Justice

[¶1.] Gary Podzimek appeals his convictions and sentences for grand theft by deception, attempted grand theft by deception, deceptive act or practice, three counts of failure to pay sales tax, and four counts of making a false or fraudulent tax return. The convictions stem from Podzimek's excessive billing of Don Martin, now deceased, for mechanic work done to Martin's pickup. On appeal, Podzimek contends that the circuit court erred by: (1) admitting certain statements made by Martin to a state investigator; (2) admitting Podzimek's bank records; and (3) denying Podzimek's post-trial motion to set aside his guilty verdicts.

Facts and Procedural History

[¶2.] Podzimek was an auto mechanic who operated in Bristol, South Dakota. Martin, a retired farmer, was one of Podzimek's *144customers. Martin owned a 1976 Chevy half-ton, four-wheel-drive pickup, which he occasionally brought to Podzimek for repairs. Martin first brought his pickup to Podzimek at Horter's Repair and Restoration in Bristol. When Podzimek was terminated from Horter's in 2014, Martin continued to service his pickup at Horter's.

[¶3.] On April 17, 2015, Martin took his pickup to Horter's for an oil change and vehicle inspection. Eric Garrett, a mechanic at Horter's since 2014, performed the oil change and inspection. During the inspection, Garrett noticed nothing wrong with the vehicle. He did not detect any leaks or other mechanical issues and observed that the pickup was in particularly good condition for its age.

[¶4.] About a week and a half later, Martin drove his pickup to Podzimek's new repair shop in Bristol, which Podzimek owned and operated with his wife Brenda, to speak with Podzimek. After Martin left Podzimek's shop, Podzimek called Martin to report that he noticed Martin's pickup was making strange noises and leaking coolant. Podzimek offered to inspect the vehicle. Upon inspection, Podzimek told Martin that the vehicle needed its engine rebuilt or a new engine entirely. Martin left his pickup with Podzimek, who began repairs. Podzimek worked on the vehicle from August of 2015 until April of 2016-and claimed to have fixed a variety of issues. During that period, Martin wrote Podzimek eight different checks for the repairs, totaling $52,595.85. Martin's pickup was valued at only around $6,000.

[¶5.] Martin sought to borrow money from Dacotah Bank in Webster, South Dakota to cover the last two checks written to Podzimek, totaling $12,795.85. Bank President Dan Menking testified that he was "bothered" by the fact that Martin would have to borrow that amount of money considering Martin's finances. This lead Menking to review Martin's bank account. Menking discovered that Martin had already paid Podzimek $39,800 for repairs. Suspecting that Podzimek's charges were fraudulent, Menking met with Martin and the local Sheriff. After the meeting, Martin stopped payment on the last two checks issued to Podzimek. Later on, Podzimek called Menking and asked him to lend Martin the money to pay for the remaining repair charges by using some land owned by Martin as collateral.

[¶6.] Thereafter, Martin filed a complaint against Podzimek with the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, Division of Consumer Protection. Ray Klinger, an investigator and certified law enforcement officer with the Division of Consumer Protection, was assigned to Martin's complaint. As part of his investigation, Klinger spoke with Martin in person and obtained a statement from Podzimek. Klinger received documents from Podzimek attempting to explain the charges to Martin, and invoices for parts and labor in connection to the work done on Martin's vehicle. Finally, Klinger subpoenaed Podzimek's bank records from four different banks pursuant to SDCL 37-24-14. On October 30, 2016, while the investigation of Podzimek was ongoing, Martin passed away at the age of 83.

[¶7.] As a result of Klinger's investigation, Podzimek was indicted by a Day County grand jury on December 9, 2016, for one count each of: grand theft by deception in violation of SDCL 22-30A-1, SDCL 22-30A-3(1), and SDCL 22-30A-17 ; attempted grand theft by deception in violation of SDCL 22-30A-1, SDCL 22-30A-3(1), SDCL 22-30A-17, and SDCL 22-4-1 ; and deceptive act or practice in violation of SDCL 37-24-6(1). Klinger and Special Agent Greg Cleland also reviewed South Dakota Department of Revenue records regarding Podzimek's business. As a result *145of that review, Podzimek was indicted a second time on September 27, 2017, for: two counts of failure to pay sales tax in violation of SDCL 10-45-48.1(2) ; one count of failure to pay sales tax two or more times in a twelve month period in violation of SDCL 10-45-48.1(8) ; and four counts of making a false or fraudulent sales tax return in violation of SDCL 10-45-48.1(1). Because the charges in both indictments stemmed from the same events, the two indictments were joined for trial by order of the circuit court on December 27, 2017.

[¶8.] Prior to Podzimek's trial, the State filed notice of intent to introduce evidence of four statements made by Martin to Klinger. Podzimek moved to suppress evidence of the statements on the basis that the statements constituted inadmissible hearsay, and that admission of the statements would violate his rights under the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment. Podzimek also moved to suppress evidence of his bank statements, claiming the subpoenas used to obtain the documents were improper. The circuit court denied Podzimek's motions to suppress in a memorandum opinion on February 22, 2018.

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State v. Podzimek, 932 N.W.2d 141 (S.D. 2019).

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