Wright v. State

801 N.E.2d 742, 2004 WL 67881
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 14, 2004
Docket49A05-0304-CR-188
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 801 N.E.2d 742 (Wright 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
Wright v. State, 801 N.E.2d 742, 2004 WL 67881 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant, Robert Wright (Wright) appeals his convictions for Count I, burglary, a Class C felony, Ind.Code § 35-48-2-1 and Count II, theft, a Class D felony, .C. § 35-48-4-2.

We affirm, in part, and reverse and remand, in part.

ISSUES

Wright raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as follows: whether the evidence presented by the State was sufficient to support Wright's conviction.

On cross-appeal, the State raises one issue, which we restate as follows: whether the trial court erred in merging Wright's convictions for theft and burglary for sentencing purposes.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 13, 2002, at approximately 2:20 a.m., Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) Officer William Sluder (Officer Slu-der) was dispatched to the Puff-N-Chew tobaceo store (tobacco store) located at 1702 Southeastern Avenue in Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana. Officer Sluder was responding to the alarm system that was activated minutes earlier inside of the tobacco store. As the IPD dispatch broadcasted the alarm activation, IPD. Officer Hartman (Officer Hartman) was driving southbound on State Avenue, passing Southeastern Avenue, where the tobacco store is located. Officer Hartman observed the window on the south side of the building was missing.

A few minutes prior to the alarm run, Officer Hartman also saw two black males on the railroad tracks in the area just north and east of the tobaceo store. Thus, Officer Hartman alerted other IPD officers in the vicinity of the description of the two males he saw in that area. In particular, Officer Hartman testified that he observed one male wearing a blue jean jacket with white sleeves, which was later determined to be Wright; and another male wearing a red jacket, who was later determined to be Joseph Walker (Walker).

IPD Officer Jason Edwards (Officer Edwards) was in the same area and responded to the broadcast. Officer Edwards observed two men near the railroad tracks who matched the description. Officer Edwards, along with IPD Officer Jamie Guil-foy (Officer Guilfoy), approached the two men and questioned them. Officer Guilfoy spoke with the two men separately, and noticed that the men told conflicting stories about where they had previously been. Further, when Officer Guilfoy questioned Wright, he told the IPD officers his name was Bobby Burton.

While searching the area where Walker and Wright were earlier seen, Officer Guil-foy found a trash bag and a box full of cartons of Newport News and Camel cigarettes. In the meantime, David Cooper (Cooper), the owner of the tobaceo store, arrived at the tobacco store and noticed [744]*744that a window was removed and approximately 50 cartons of Newport News and Camel cigarettes were missing. Wright's fingerprints were later recovered from one of the cartons of Newport News cigarettes found in a bag near the railroad tracks. Videotape surveillance from inside the to-baceo store shows a person inside wearing a dark hooded jacket with white or tan sleeves. On the night of the burglary, Wright wore a hooded, blue denim jacket with tan sleeves.

On November 14, 2002, the State filed an information against Wright, charging him with Count I, burglary, a Class C felony, I.C. § 35-48-2-1; and Count II, theft, a Class D felony, I.C. § 85-48-4-2. On January 8, 2003, the State filed an Amended Information to correct a clerical error in the prior Information. In particular, the State added the words "knowingly or intentionally" to Count I, burglary, a Class C felony.

On February 13, 2008, a bench trial was held. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court found Wright guilty of Count II, theft, a Class D felony. The trial court took under advisement Count I, burglary, a Class C felony. On February 14, 2008, the trial court entered its conviction against Wright for Count I, burglary, a Class C felony.

On March 25, 2008, a sentencing hearing was held. The trial court merged Count II, theft, a Class D felony, into Count I, burglary, a Class C felony. At the hearing, the trial court sentenced Wright to five years at the Department of Correetion, with 138 days credit for time served.

Wright now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Wright contends that the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to support his conviction for burglary. Specifically, he argues that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he broke into the tobacco store with the intent to steal the cigarettes.

Our standard of review for sufficiency claims is well settled. In reviewing sufficiency of the evidence claims, this court does not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Cox v. State, 774 N.E.2d 1025, 1028-29 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). We consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment, together with all reasonable and logical inferences that can be drawn therefrom. Alspach v. State, 755 N.E.2d 209, 210 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), trans. denied. The conviction will be affirmed if there is substantial evidence of probative value to support the conclusion of the trier of fact. Cox, 774 N.E.2d at 1028-29. A judgment may be sustained based on cireumstantial evidence alone if that circumstantial evidence supports a reasonable inference of guilt. Maul v. State, 731 N.E.2d 488, 439 (Ind.2000).

Indiana Code section 35-43-2-1, in pertinent part, provides:

A person who breaks and enters the building or structure of another person, with intent to commit a felony in it, commits burglary, a glass C felony.

Thus, in order to conviet Wright for burglary, a Class C felony, the State was required to prove that Wright broke and entered into the tobacco store with the intent to commit a felony therein, specifically, theft, which is exercising unauthorized control of the property of another with the intent to deprive the other of any part of the property's value or use. I.C. § 35-48-2-1; 1.0. § 85-48-4-2.

In the instant case, Wright argues that his conviction of this charge cannot stand because there is insufficient evidence to establish that he broke and entered into [745]*745the tobacco store with the intent to steal cigarette cartons found near the railroad tracks. In support of his argument, Wright directs this court's attention to a copy of the videotape surveillance cameras inside the tobacco store. In particular, Wright claims that the videotape is insufficient to establish that he was inside the tobaceo store during the burglary.

Our review of the record indicates otherwise. Specifically, the videotape surveillance shows a man inside the tobaceo store wearing a hooded jacket with white or tan sleeves. The record also reveals that Wright wore a hooded blue jean jacket with white sleeves on the night of the burglary. Nevertheless, Wright argues that because the color of the sleeves on the jacket of the person inside the tobacco store is unclear on the videotape, there is no way to positively identify Wright as the person on the videotape. However, Wright is merely asking this court to reweigh the evidence. This is an invitation that we must decline. See Cox, 774 N.E.2d at 1028-29.

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Related

Wright v. State
828 N.E.2d 904 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2005)
Wright v. State
801 N.E.2d 742 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)

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801 N.E.2d 742, 2004 WL 67881, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-state-indctapp-2004.