Trevino v. State

428 N.E.2d 263, 1981 Ind. App. LEXIS 1753
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 30, 1981
Docket3-581A136
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 428 N.E.2d 263 (Trevino 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
Trevino v. State, 428 N.E.2d 263, 1981 Ind. App. LEXIS 1753 (Ind. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

HOFFMAN, Presiding Judge.

Domingo Trevino is appealing his conviction by a jury of battery and rape. The charges arose from an incident which occurred in a remote area of northern Newton County.

On the evening of August 3, 1979, after her mother had gone to work, thirteen year old K. B. left her home accompanied by two of her girlfriends. The girls went to a campground nearby where one of them returned a tennis ball to a friend. They proceeded to a restaurant for something to eat, after which they joined some people they knew at an amusement area in a shopping center. K. B. took a motorcycle ride with a friend and about 10:00 P.M. she returned to the beach at the campground where the rest of the group had migrated. Domingo Trevino, whom K. B. did not know prior to this evening, was among the group both at the shopping center and the beach. They remained at the beach until they were asked to leave at about 10:30 P.M.

At this point, the group went to Birdland, a bird sanctuary with a lake, trees, and picnic area. The group of about forty to sixty people, including K. B. and Trevino, “partied” into the wee hours of the next morning. Earlier in the evening K. B. and approximately five other people had gone to Shelby, Indiana where some of them had purchased seven cases of beer for consumption that evening. K. B. was among those individuals drinking beer and “partying.”

K. B. became ill and vomited on her shirt while in a friend’s car. She removed her shirt and borrowed Trevino’s shirt to wear. Her friend refused to give her a ride home because she had vomited in his car. Trevino and some of his friends said they would see that she got home.

The majority of the group left Birdland, and the remaining individuals, including K. B. and Trevino, went to the lake located on that property. As they approached the *266 lake, K. B. was struck by Trevino. Trevino and several others had sexual intercourse and oral sex with K. B. In a taped statement to the police, Trevino admitted having sexual intercourse with K. B. but stated he thought she was willing even though he also stated that for about an hour she wanted to quit and resisted.

K. B. and a male companion left Birdland on foot and were given a ride to K. B.’s home by people they met along the road. She was later taken to a hospital.

Trevino raises the following issues on appeal:

(1) whether the trial court erred in denying Trevino’s motion for change of venue;
(2) whether the trial court erred in giving preliminary and final instructions on the element of “intentionally” when the indictment charged Trevino with “knowingly” committing rape;
(3) whether the trial court erred by allowing a witness to testify regarding photographs when the photographs had not been admitted into evidence;
(4) whether the trial court erred in granting the State’s motion in limine pursuant to Indiana’s Rape Shield Law; and
(5) whether the totality of the alleged errors denied Trevino a fair trial.

Indiana Rules of Procedure, Criminal Rule 12 provides:

“Upon the filing of a properly verified application, a change of venue from the county shall be granted in all cases punishable by death and may be granted in all other cases when in the court’s discretion cause for such change is shown to exist after such hearing or upon such other proof as the court may require.”

Therefore, the granting of a change of venue in all criminal cases, except those punishable by death, is discretionary with the trial court. The reviewing court will not reverse the trial court’s ruling unless there is a clear showing of an abuse of discretion. Comstock v. State (1980), Ind., 406 N.E.2d 1164; Pallett v. State (1978), 269 Ind. 396, 381 N.E.2d 452.

In order for a defendant to establish good cause for a discretionary change of venue, he must produce evidence of community bias or prejudice sufficient to convince the trial court that he cannot obtain a fair trial in that county. Dorton v. State (1981), Ind., 419 N.E.2d 1289; Dickens v. State (1973), 260 Ind. 284, 295 N.E.2d 613.

Trevino moved for a change of venue, alleging that:

1) He was ethnic (Mexican/American).
2) Newton County has a minority population of less than 1%.
3) The incident had been reported in a newspaper in general circulation in the county naming him as an alleged rapist.
4) Newton County is small in terms of population.
5) He is a resident of Gary, Indiana and there is a belief throughout Northwest Indiana that anyone from Gary must be guilty.

Absolutely no evidence to show community bias or prejudice because he was a minority was presented other than the affidavit signed by Trevino. The mere possibility of prejudice or bias is not sufficient to entitle a defendant to a change of venue. Swininger; Thomas v. State (1976), 265 Ind. 136, 352 N.E.2d 473.

Trevino alleged the pre-trial publicity of the case also entitled him to the change of venue. The only evidence of any pre-trial publicity was the exhibits attached to the motion, which were newspaper clippings reporting the original event. Pre-trial publicity in the form of newspaper articles must show a necessary degree of pervasive and inflammatory sentiments to entitle such a change. Mendez v. State (1977), 267 Ind. 67, 367 N.E.2d 1081. The articles at issue here consisted of typical newspaper coverage which merely referred to the defendant’s name, address, and the crime with which he was charged. In no way were they inflammatory. Furthermore, these reports appeared in the newspaper a year before the case went to trial.

*267 In his brief, Trevino argues that the transcript contains sufficient “indications” that the defendant did not receive a fair and impartial trial. Yet, he fails to point out any of these “indications.” Trevino did not establish that there was community bias or prejudice sufficient to warrant a change of venue and thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion.

The second issue raised by Trevino is whether the trial court erred in giving preliminary and final instructions on “intentionally” when the indictment charged Trevino with “knowingly” committing rape. Any alleged error, however must be deemed waived because the issue was not properly preserved for appeal.

No objection was made to the instruction either when the court offered it as a preliminary instruction or as a final instruction.

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Bluebook (online)
428 N.E.2d 263, 1981 Ind. App. LEXIS 1753, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trevino-v-state-indctapp-1981.