Opinion ID: 2074316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Assisting a Criminal

Text: To sustain a conviction for assisting a criminal, the evidence must show that Shane intended to harbor, conceal, assist, or hinder the apprehension of a person who committed a crime or is a fugitive from justice. See Ind.Code § 35-44-3-2 (1998). Shane clearly intended to assist Hicks and hinder the apprehension of Hicks by helping Hicks dispose of the gun. Hicks pulled a gun out of his pocket the day after the murder and told Shane that he needed to get rid of it. Shane then drove Hicks to a place in the country, where Hicks rolled down the window and threw the gun in a pond. B. Admissibility of Evidence Shane asserts that two items of evidence were erroneously admitted. These include 1) testimony about a discussion between Shane and Hicks about how to accomplish the perfect murder, and 2) a video and photographs of a pool party and a wedding reception. 1. Perfect Murder Evidence Shane argues that Amy Case, a friend of Shane's, should not have been allowed to testify as to a conversation she overheard between Shane and Hicks. This conversation occurred after Shane and Hicks returned from a funeral. Shane and Hicks believed that a man at the funeral had murdered the deceased, and started talking about ways this man had messed up. (R. at 745.) Case heard Shane boast to Hicks that he knew how to accomplish the perfect murder. (R. at 746.) Shane said that he would have worn long sleeves and gloves to avoid gun residue on the skin, and would have disposed of the gloves because fingerprints would be present on the inside of the gloves. This testimony was entered over a relevance objection lodged by Shane's attorney. The trial court has wide discretion to rule on the relevancy of evidence, and we review a trial court's ruling on relevance for an abuse of that discretion. See Sanders v. State, 704 N.E.2d 119, 124 (Ind.1998). Relevant evidence is that evidence which has any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. See Ind. R. Evid. 401. Put simply, relevant evidence is probative evidence. See Sanders, 704 N.E.2d at 124. In the present case, the State claims that the perfect murder evidence was relevant to prove that Shane and Hicks conspired to commit this murder. We fail to see how this discussion evidences a plan to murder Koontz, nor can we think of any other way in which this evidence is probative of an agreement to kill Koontz. The Koontz murder was not accomplished in the way described in the perfect murder scenario. Koontz was not mentioned in this conversation even by inference. It was error for the trial court to have admitted this evidence. However, even erroneously admitted evidence may not require reversal if the error is found to be harmless. See Ford v. State, 704 N.E.2d 457, 460 (Ind. 1998). A harmful error is one which causes prejudice to the appellant's substantial rights. See id. at 460 (citing Martin v. State, 622 N.E.2d 185, 188 (Ind. 1993)). When conducting this inquiry, the appellate court must review the record as a whole to determine the probable impact of the evidence on the jury. See id. (citing Alva v. State, 605 N.E.2d 169, 171 (Ind. 1993)). In the present case, we do not think the jury was swayed by the inadmissible evidence. This testimony was not graphic or detailed. Shane in this testimony did not discuss his feelings towards the victim. In fact, Shane expressed no intent to actually carry out the perfect murder at all. Furthermore, Shane directly expressed animosity towards Koontz on a number of other occasions, a fact which was revealed through admissible evidence. Shane also discussed the idea of murdering Koontz specifically only two nights before the murder, a fact which was also introduced through the admissible testimony of Jessica Daniels. 2. Video Tape and Photographs Shane contends that a video tape and photographs of a pool party and a wedding reception should have been excluded from evidence. He argues that the introduction of this evidence violated a pre-trial agreement between Shane and the State, an agreement which was solidified in a pre-trial order. Shane further contends that by allowing this evidence to be admitted during trial, he was denied the time to prepare an adequate defense. [3] This agreement was negotiated because the State wanted to amend the conspiracy charge but did not want Shane to seek a continuance. To avoid delay, the State agreed to limit their witnesses to those used in Hicks's trial in return for Shane's promise not to demand a continuance after the addition of the conspiracy charge, with the exception of possible rebuttal witnesses. The judge solidified this agreement in a pre-trial order entered on April 24, 1997. The relevant portion read: 3. Defendant has agreed to the amended indictment being filed, in consideration of proceeding with his jury trial scheduled for Monday, May 5, 1997, rather than seek a continuance of the scheduled trial.... 5. Defendant and Prosecuting Attorney stipulate and agree that in consideration of no objection to Amended Indictment, witnesses and evidence submitted by Prosecuting Attorney at Defendant's trial shall be substantially same witnesses and evidence as submitted at jury trial of Robert Hicks in 1996. (R. at 84.) The judge allowed the video tapes to be entered over an objection by Shane's attorney. He stated that: [t]he Court is going to permit the video tapes of the two events and the two pictures of the wedding reception to be admitted, believing that they are somewhat cumulative of prior evidence that has already been admitted in the proceeding or at least the jury has been made aware of even though they perhaps violate the Court Order of April 24th. (R. at 694.) Shane believes that the trial court was bound by this agreement in the same way a court is bound by the terms of a plea agreement. However, a plea agreement is different in nature from a pre-trial agreement regarding evidence to be used at trial. A plea agreement is a final resolution of a charge. It is defined as an agreement between a prosecuting attorney and a defendant concerning the disposition of a felony or misdemeanor charge. Ind. Code § 35-35-3-1 (1998). A plea is contractual in nature, binding the defendant, the state and the trial court. Pannarale v. State, 638 N.E.2d 1247, 1248 (Ind.1994). The agreement between the parties in this case revolves around evidence, and the admissibility of evidence is squarely within the discretion of the trial court. Evidentiary rulings do not resolve the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence. They are not contractual in nature, but are rather discretionary in nature. Even where a pre-trial order governing evidence has been issued, the trial court retains the discretion to add or deny evidence at trial. See Johnson v. State, 580 N.E.2d 670, 672 (Ind. 1991) (adding witnesses to a witness list during the course of the trial is within discretion of trial court). The trial court, when deciding whether to allow evidence to be admitted during the course of a trial, must consider whether the additional evidence would prejudice the defendant. See id. at 672. The videos and photographs simply showed Shane and Hicks interacting on two separate occasions. Shane claims that these videos were entered to inflame the jury by alluding to a homosexual relationship between Shane and Hicks. After reviewing the evidence, however, we find that the videos simply establish that Shane and Hicks were close. This fact was established by numerous witnesses at trial. As noted by the trial court, the admission of this evidence was cumulative, and not prejudicial to Shane. It was well within the discretion of the trial court to allow it into evidence. Finally, Shane was not denied the opportunity to prepare a defense to the videotapes and photographs. If Shane felt that the unexpected addition of evidence rendered him unprepared, he should have motioned for a continuance. Further, Shane was also offered the opportunity to rebut this evidence in his own case-in-chief. However, Shane did not present any evidence beyond that presented in the State's case-in-chief. Finally, as this evidence was cumulative of other evidence presented at trial, Shane's attorney had ample time to prepare a defense against this evidence. His argument must fail.