Opinion ID: 2222169
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Criminal Confinement Instruction

Text: The criminal confinement charge alleged violation of Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a): (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally: (1) Confines another person without his consent; or (2) Removes another person, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, from one (1) place to another; commits criminal confinement, a Class D felony. However, the offense is a Class C felony if the other person is under fourteen (14) years of age and is not his child, and a Class B felony if it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon or results in serious bodily injury to another person. It is evident that the above statute, framed in the disjunctive, includes two distinct types of criminal confinement by encompassing both confinement by non-consensual restraint in place and confinement by removal. Addis v. State (1980), Ind. App., 404 N.E.2d 59, 60. In Addis, Judge Chipman persuasively reasoned as follows: Under section one of the statute, the act of nonconsensual confinement is prohibited, irrespective of any intent to remove the individual to another location; thus, the elements of the first type of confinement would be: (1) knowingly or intentionally, (2) confining another person, (3) without their consent. But lack of consent is not an element of confinement under section two. Instead, it would be necessary to show the accused: (1) knowingly or intentionally, (2) removed another person from one place to another, (3) by fraud, or enticement, force, or threat of force. Clearly different acts and elements are required to be proven in each section, and the defensive posture would not be the same under the respective sections since the prosecution would necessarily proceed under different theories and proof... . ... In view of the dissimilarity between the elements of proof under IC XX-XX-X-X(a)(1) and (2), we believe the two sections present two separate crimes. 404 N.E.2d at 61 (citation omitted). We agree that the statutory sections define two separate criminal offenses. The information alleging the criminal confinement for which the defendant was eventually convicted charged that on August 14, 1985, the defendant did knowingly confine Todd Gates without his consent and while armed with a deadly weapon. The information did not charge the offense of confinement by removal. The trial court, over the defendant's timely objection, gave the following instructions: Final Instruction No. 1 A person who knowingly confines another person or removes another person, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, while armed with a deadly weapon, commits criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon. The term confine means to substantially interfere with the liberty of another person. Final Instruction No. 3 To sustain the charge of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, the State must prove the following propositions: First: (a) That the Defendant knowingly confined Todd Gates; or (b) Removed Todd Gates, by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, from one place to another; and Second: When the Defendant did so he was armed with a deadly weapon. If you find from your consideration of all the evidence that each of these propositions has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt then you should find the defendant guilty. However, if you find from your consideration of all the evidence that any of these propositions has not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should find the Defendant not guilty. The defendant argues that the giving of these instructions erroneously enabled the jury to convict him of the offense of confinement by removal under Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(2), even though he had been charged only with non-consensual confinement under Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(1). The State argues that the error, if any, was harmless. Article 1, Section 13 of the Constitution of Indiana entitles a criminal defendant to be advised the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have copy thereof. The information which must be included in an indictment or information alleging a criminal offense is delineated in Ind. Code § 35-34-1-2. Among other requirements, an information must state the name of the offense in the words of the statute or any other words conveying the same meaning and must set forth the nature and elements of the offense charged in plain and concise language without unnecessary repetition. Ind. Code § 35-34-1-2(a)(2), (4). In Abner v. State (1986), Ind., 497 N.E.2d 550, 553, we recently stated: In a criminal action, the facts upon which the action is claimed to exist are those facts which constitute the essential elements of the crime charged. These elements and the nature of the offense must be set out in the information. Deference for an accused's constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and sufficient detail is required to enable him to prepare his defense, to prepare in the event of double jeopardy, and to define the issues so that the court will be able to determine what evidence is admissible and to pronounce judgment. Manna v. State (1982), Ind., 440 N.E.2d 473, 475. If there is a reasonable doubt as to what offenses are charged, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the defendant. Belcher v. State (1974), 162 Ind. App. 411, 319 N.E.2d 658. The information charged the defendant with confin[ing] Todd Gates without his consent and while armed with a deadly weapon. The final instructions informed the jury that if the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant: 1) confined Todd Gates, or 2) removed Todd Gates by fraud, enticement, force, or threat of force, from one place to another; then the jury should find the defendant guilty of confinement. The jury's general verdict indicates that they did find the defendant guilty of confinement, but does not indicate whether the conviction was based upon a violation of Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(1), non-consensual confinement, as charged in the information, or Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(2), confinement by removal, as allowed by the instructions but not charged by information. The evidence, although conflicting, could have permitted the jury to infer the following facts. Sometime in the early morning hours of August 14, 1985, the defendant, a 5'10, 135 pound, twenty-year old male, who walked with a limp because of an earlier partial left leg amputation, approached Todd Gates, a 6'3, over 200 pound, seventeen-year old male, and at knifepoint, ordered Gates to accompany him to a nearby party to ascertain Gates's true identity. After entering the party with Gates, the defendant determined that Gates was in fact Gates and not one Russell Decker, and then forced Gates at knifepoint to drive a vehicle to Decker's house. After arriving at the Decker residence, Gates sought and gained the protection of the Decker family inside their home. The trial court's error in giving the contested instruction to the jury makes this case analogous to Shelton v. State (1936), 209 Ind. 534, 199 N.E. 148, and distinguishable from Dixon v. State (1981), Ind. App., 425 N.E.2d 673. In Shelton, the defendant was charged with committing manslaughter while driving under the influence of intoxicants and while driving at a speed greater than was reasonable and prudent. 209 Ind. at 534-35, 199 N.E. at 148. There existed sharp conflicts in the evidence concerning the defendant's intoxication and driving speed, but undisputed evidence indicated the defendant had been operating his truck recklessly. Id. at 536, 199 N.E. at 149. Under the instructions, the jury was permitted to find the defendant guilty if it concluded he had been driving while under the influence or at an unlawful speed or in a reckless manner. Id. at 537-38, 199 N.E. at 149. We reversed the defendant's conviction, concluding: Under the Bill of Rights, appellant was entitled to know the character of the charge against him. ... The jury may have been convinced appellant was guilty of reckless driving, ... and, under the instruction of the court, returned its verdict of guilty solely upon this ground. It cannot be said therefore that the erroneous instructions above referred to did not prejudice appellant's rights and bring about a verdict of guilty upon a theory for which there is no basis in the affidavits upon which he was tried. 209 Ind. at 539-40, 199 N.E. at 150. In Dixon, the Court of Appeals upheld a conviction in the face of an erroneously given instruction. The information there charged the defendant with attempted child molesting by attempting to perform sexual intercourse, and did not charge him with attempting to perform deviate sexual conduct. 425 N.E.2d at 677. However, the jury was instructed that engaging in deviate sexual conduct was a form of child molesting as charged in the ... [i]nformation. Id. The instruction was held erroneous, but harmless in light of the other instructions given to the jury and that, unlike Shelton, the proof was not tendered in this case to support the charge set forth in the erroneous instruction. Id. at 678. Just as in Shelton, the defendant here was entitled to know the character of the charge against him. Unlike Dixon, where proof was not tendered to support the erroneous instruction, the jury in the instant case may well have concluded that the defendant was guilty only of the uncharged offense of confinement by removal rather than non-consensual confinement as charged, because of the great difference in size between the two, and the defendant's physical handicap. Defense counsel continually stressed to the jury the differences in size between Gates and the defendant. The jury could also have concluded that while the defendant never confined Gates to any one place at any one time, he did remove Gates from the party and force Gates to drive him to the Decker residence. Thus, we cannot say that the erroneous instructions in this case did not prejudice the defendant's substantial rights and bring about a verdict of guilty upon an uncharged offense. We find that the defendant is entitled to a new trial on the charge of non-consensual confinement.