Opinion ID: 1969619
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Vicki Schantlos

Text: After Patricia returned to South Dakota, Fast Horse allegedly began dating Vicki. However, in a letter Vicki sent to the Rapid City Police, she complained that Fast Horse bilked her out of money and left her emotionally and financially distraught. Overall, the letter painted a poor picture of the petitioner. She provided a list of her losses, which included covering a hotel bill he had skipped out on and $1,200.00 in airfare. Despite these statements, Fast Horse put an innocent gloss on his relationship with Vicki, claiming that Vicki paid Dale for the tickets and the camcorder. On the contrary, the letter makes no mention of payment for the camcorder. Regardless of the fact that Fast Horse conceded this at the habeas hearing, his brief repeatedly claims that the letter confirms that Vicki paid for the camcorder. Thus, he also asserts that the $1,200.00 included both the tickets and the camcorder. Simple arithmetic says otherwise. A camcorder valued at $1,100.00 plus $962.00 in airfare still equals embezzlement under these facts. Nevertheless, Fast Horse maintains that Vicki would have provided favorable testimony. In the alternative, he believed that the letter should have been admitted into evidence. We agree with the habeas court's observation that placing Vicki before a jury probably would have given rise to ineffective counsel; at a minimum, it would have been highly damaging. Stonefield did his client a favor by keeping the letter and Vicki from the jury. Walker, 287 N.W.2d at 707.