Opinion ID: 2085891
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of Prior Uncharged Misconduct

Text: On February 14, 1991, one month before the murders in this case, Wesley Crandall Jr. was shot to death in his home in New Castle, Indiana. In brief, Percy testified that he and Thompson went to Crandall's house that day to purchase marijuana and that Thompson assaulted and shot Crandall. [6] Thompson then stole several of Crandall's guns, one of which Percy identified at trial as the same handgun recovered in the car search in Illinois in June 1991, and ballistics tests confirmed to be the weapon used to kill Hillis and Beeler. Percy's testimony about the Crandall murder was thus introduced to prove an important element of the State's casethat Thompson had access to the murder weapon before the killings at Hillis Auto Sales. Indiana Evidence Rule 404(b) provides that [e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.... Citing Evidence Rules 402 (relevance) and 403 (balance of probative value and prejudice), Thompson argues that the State elicited far more evidence about Crandall's death than was necessary to prove this aspect of its case. He contends that a drumbeat of prejudicial and irrelevant evidence related to Crandall's killing induced the jury to draw the forbidden inference, at the core of Rule 404(b), that Thompson killed once, so must have done so again. The State responds that a portrayal of the Crandall murder was not prohibited by Rule 404(b) because it helped prove Thompson's identity as the killer. The State also claims that any prejudice to Thompson was offset by a limiting instruction to the jury to constrain its consideration of prior acts to the issue of identity. Ultimately this case turns on whether the jury's exposure to the Crandall incident exceeded permissible bounds. We first examine what went on in the trial court.
The admissibility of the Crandall murder evidence was contested from the outset. Thompson filed a motion in limine before trial objecting to the admission of any evidence related to Crandall's death, including the fact of Thompson's conviction for that murder. The State indicated its intent to offer evidence related to the Crandall murder to establish Thompson's identity, and that it might offer evidence of Thompson's previous felony convictions possibly as rebuttal to any attacks on the credibility of witness Douglas Percy ... in the event that any such attack may open the door to the use of such evidence. In a second motion in limine, Thompson responded that this evidence was not admissible under the identity exception because the Indianapolis killings and the Crandall murder were not signature crimes. However, Thompson conceded in his second motion that the State was entitled to show that Thompson had access to or control over the weapon used to commit the murders of Hillis and Beeler. He claimed this was sufficiently proved by the undisputed evidence that the murder weapon was found when Percy and Thompson were stopped by Illinois state police three months after Hillis and Beeler were killed. The trial court denied Thompson's motion, ruling that the State could show how a weapon of the crime was obtained. I don't think a signature, in quotes, is a required. I don't think [Rule] 404 precludes the obtaining of the weapon, so the State will be allowed to introduce evidence of the obtaining of the weapon. In sum, the parties and the court concluded before trial that Thompson's access to the murder weapon was relevant to proving that he was the killer. The issue is whether evidence beyond that appropriate to establish access to the gun was admitted and, if so, whether it was harmless error.
The State emphasized the details of Crandall's killing from the beginning. In its opening argument, the State outlined the events surrounding the Hillis and Beeler murders, and then explained Percy's delayed decision to come forward to tell police what he knew about Thompson's involvement. This discussion of the Crandall murder followed: [W]hen [Percy] came forward to the Police he insisted that he needed to tell them about something that happened in New Castle, Indiana.... In February of 1991, [Thompson and Percy] went to New Castle, Indiana, to meet a man by the name of Wesley Crandall. Wesley Crandall was a small time marihuana dealer; they went there in a pick-up truck, and Jerry Thompson took his shotgun along. They met Mr. Crandall in his home in New Castle; they conducted their business, and when it came time to leave, they didn't leave. Instead what happened, was Jerry Thompson took his shotgun and he blew part of Wesley Crandall's head off, and killed him. And, he took Wesley Crandall's money that was there, and the marihuana. And, he took Wesley Crandall's guns.... Mr. Thompson was ultimately convicted of the murder of Wesley Crandall in February of 1991. The jury therefore knew from the outset that Thompson had been a killer and a thief in the past. The prosecutor referred not only to Percy's allegations, but also to their validation in the form of Thompson's murder conviction. The State did not refer at this stage, however, to the point for which evidence of the Crandall murder was originally held to be admissibleto show that Thompson had access to the murder weapon before the crimes. At oral argument in this Court, the State contended that these details, which were partially corroborated by other witnesses as explained below, were admissible to show Percy's credibility. There is no doubt that Percy's credibility was critical to the State's case. As the defense's opening statement put it: Who does [the State] say was with Mr. Thompson in New Castle? Douglas Percy. Who does [the State] say was with Jerry Thompson on March 14th of 1991, at Hillis Auto Sales? Douglas Percy. And, who does [the State] say was in Illinois in June of 1991, when [Thompson] was stopped by [Illinois police]? Douglas Percy. The defense asked jurors to think about what somebody's got to gain when they testify. Far more importantly what somebody has to lose. What does Mr. Percy have to lose? ... Pay particular attention to Mr. Percy.... [W]hen you retire to that Jury Room after evaluating the credibility of Mr. Percy, listening to all the Evidence, you're going to have doubts.
When Percy began to testify about the events surrounding the Crandall murder, the defense objected and renewed its contention that this evidence was irrelevant and inadmissible under Rule 404(b). Observing that Thompson had challenged Percy's credibility in opening arguments, the State maintained that some detail was needed to give the jury sufficient context in which to understand, and therefore credit, Percy's testimony about how Thompson acquired the gun used to kill Hillis and Beeler. The defense responded that the State was limited by Rule 404(b) to the least prejudicial way of proving access to the murder weapon and that Thompson could not be retried for the Crandall murder. The trial court ruled that the State would be allowed to simply explain presence and then cut it off and let's get on. Percy gave the following account. On February 14, 1991, he and Thompson went to Crandall's house to buy marijuana. Percy carried Thompson's sawed-off shotgun into the residence. As Percy waited nearby in the living room, Thompson and Crandall spoke in the kitchen. On a prearranged signal, Percy gave the gun to Thompson, who knocked Crandall down and stated that he thought he had broken Crandall's neck. Thompson pointed the gun at Crandall, but it made a clicking sound and would not fire. Thompson retrieved a pillow from another room, placed it over Crandall's head, and fired. Percy testified that Thompson shot Crandall. Percy did not see the location of the shot, but assumed that Thompson had shot Crandall in the head. Thompson and Percy each grabbed a large trash bag and drove back to Indianapolis. The bag Thompson carried contained several guns and Percy's bag contained marijuana and shell casings. In the next few weeks, Thompson used Percy's garage to grind the serial numbers off the weapons taken from Crandall's residence. When shown the handgun allegedly used to kill Hillis and Beeler, Percy testified that it looks like the `one' [Thompson] always carried, and that it resembled one of the guns that was taken from Crandall's house. The serial numbers on the handgun were ground off. In April 1991, Thompson destroyed all the guns taken from Crandall except the handgun, a second gun also admitted in evidence, and a .22 derringer that was sold to a third party. Thompson and Percy had the first two guns with them when they were detained by Illinois police in June 1991. [7] On cross-examination, the defense did not directly challenge Percy's account of what happened in New Castle. Rather, the defense elicited from Percy that he had not been charged with any crime related to those events and that his charge for altering a vehicle identification number was dismissed in exchange for his cooperation in this case. Although Percy's account of the Crandall murder in its particulars was uncontradicted and largely unchallenged, the State offered further detailed evidence about those events. A forensic pathologist who testified as to the causes of death of Hillis and Beeler was coincidentally the same doctor who performed Wesley Crandall's autopsy. After testifying as to the Indianapolis victims, he also testified that Crandall had died of a gunshot wound to the head. A friend of Percy's, Mike Featheringill, testified that Percy told him that [Percy] went over to this drug dealer's house, and they were going to purchase some marihuana, and ... Jerry shot the drug dealer with a shotgun, execution style. [8] These witnesses actually added to Percy's account, rather than merely corroborating it, because Percy testified only that he assumed Thompson had shot Crandall in the head. Percy did not assert his knowledge of that fact or whether Crandall died from the shot. Next, an evidentiary dispute arose over whether the court's pretrial ruling on Thompson's motion in limine, allowing the State to introduce evidence of the obtaining of the weapon, permitted the State to introduce the fact of Thompson's conviction for the Crandall murder. In a hearing outside the presence of the jury, the State asserted that proof of the conviction was relevant to show identity and because Percy's credibility had been attacked. The State maintained that it understood the pretrial ruling on Rule 404(b) to allow evidence of the conviction itself, and that it relied on this interpretation in referring to the conviction in opening arguments. The defense responded that the conviction was: (1) impermissible bolstering of Percy; (2) irrelevant to proving what happened at Hillis Auto Sales on the day of the murders; and (3) too prejudicial to be outweighed by any probative value. The defense argued that the court's pretrial ruling permitted evidence that the gun allegedly used to kill Hillis and Beeler had been taken from Crandall when he was killed, and nothing more. Without explanation, the trial court ruled that the conviction was admissible. Accordingly, over Thompson's objection, an officer with the New Castle Police Department was allowed to testify that he attended Thompson's trial in Henry County for Crandall's murder, thirty to forty witnesses were called (including Percy), and that the jury convicted Thompson. The charging information, witness list, and verdict form from Henry County were admitted into evidence at that point.
The State lauded Percy in its closing argument as the man who helped solve both the Indianapolis killings at issue here and Crandall's murder a month earlier: [I]n the process of telling the Police Department and other Law Enforcement authorities those things that he knew, [Percy] solved 3 murders. On February 14th, 1991, Wesley Crandall, Junior, was murdered in his home in New Castle. Sometime after that 2 retarded men were coerced into admitting that they killed Wesley Crandall, were convicted; they went to prison, and but, for Doug Percy coming forward, they would probably still be there. Although the State conceded that Percy had some culpability in both crimes, Percy's role was distinguished from Thompson's: All of us know Doug Percy is not blameless in this, and at the very least, he assisted Jerry Thompson, after these horrible murders were committed.... [T]he Evidence shows that [Percy] did nothing to kill either of those 3 men. He did not break 5'10, 130 pound Wesley Crandall's neck. He didn't stomp on him; he didn't take a shotgun and nearly blow his head off. The State's closing argument was replete with references to the Crandall murder, to the extent that an uninformed reader would assume that Thompson was being tried for the Crandall murder in this case. Despite the fact that Percy's description of Crandall's killing was largely uncontradicted and unchallenged, the State pointed to the testimony of several witnessesthe gun dealer who sold Crandall the murder weapon that Thompson eventually stole, the forensic pathologist who concluded that Crandall died of a gunshot wound to the headto corroborate Percy's account. The defense closed by cautioning the jury that the State wants to try and `bootstrap' the events of February 14th, 1991, into scaring you into convicting Jerry Thompson for the events of March 14th. Pointing to Percy's own testimony that he was not always truthful, the defense urged that Percy was a liar who implicated Thompson to avoid prosecution for altering a vehicle identification number and possible culpability for his role in the three killings. Counsel contended that the evidence was entirely consistent with Percy's having committed the murders and that his testimony has been bought and paid for, a number of ways and as such is suspect. In rebuttal, the State replied that the events surrounding the Crandall murder were relevant: The reason it's relevant is because it proves [Thompson's] identity. This [is] the gun that came from there. That's what identifies him with being associated with that gun. Is proof of that conviction in New Castle, proof of his guilt in this case? In and of itself, no. But, the acts that [Thompson] committed up there, as they related to his case are proof of his guilt here; that's the whole reason you were able to hear it. The State then suggested that because the jury in the Crandall murder trial had apparently credited Percy's testimony, the same should be done here: [Percy] was scrutinized in New Castle and in Henry County, by that Jury; and they returned a conviction... for the killing of the man from whom this gun was taken. The State again argued that Percy's decision to come forward led to Thompson's conviction for Crandall's murder and the release from jail of two men who had initially pleaded guilty to that crime. In closing, the State described the undoing of the apparently wrongful conviction of the two men as the beginning of a circle of justice that could be closed if the jury returned with a conviction in this case.