Court Opinion

ID: 9897276
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-14 19:09:34.464951+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:15:42.361196
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                  Sep 28 2023, 9:15 am

                                                                        CLERK
                                                                   Indiana Supreme Court
                                                                      Court of Appeals
                                                                        and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT                                     ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Deborah Markisohn                                          Theodore E. Rokita
Marion County Public Defender Agency                       Indiana Attorney General
Appellate Division                                         Sierra A. Murray
Indianapolis, Indiana                                      Deputy Attorney General
                                                           Indianapolis, Indiana

                                            IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Elijah Colon Cruz,                                         September 28, 2023
Appellant-Defendant,                                       Court of Appeals Case No.
                                                           22A-CR-383
        v.                                                 Appeal from the Marion Superior
                                                           Court
State of Indiana,                                          The Honorable Angela Dow
Appellee-Plaintiff                                         Davis, Judge
                                                           Trial Court Cause No.
                                                           49D27-1910-F4-41255

                                  Opinion by Judge Crone
                               Judges Brown and Felix concur.

Crone, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                      Page 1 of 14
      Case Summary
[1]   Elijah Colon Cruz appeals his conviction for level 4 felony unlawful possession

      of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Because the trial court did not abuse its

      discretion when it admitted certain evidence, and because sufficient evidence

      supported the conviction, we affirm.

      Facts and Procedural History
[2]   On the afternoon of October 22, 2019, Morgan Flanagan called 911 to report a

      man in front of her house on Stuart Street in Indianapolis. She stated to the 911

      operator that when she went outside, the man exited his black SUV and

      approached her. The man began talking about “some light-skinned dude” who

      he believed lived in her house and was texting the man’s girlfriend. State’s Ex.

      11 at 00:25-00:40. Flanagan relayed that the man was “talking about how he

      [was] going to shoot [her] house up.” Id. at 00:30-00:45.

[3]   The 911 operator asked if the man had threatened Flanagan with a weapon.

      She replied that he pulled his gun out, showed it to her, and stated that he had

      “all kinds of guns in his car”. Id. at 01:10-01:25, 05:30-05:40. Flanagan

      described the gun that he showed her as “a small pistol, like a handgun.” Id. at

      03:30-03:45. The man told Flanagan that he had been watching her go in and

      out of her house “for days.” Id. at 01:25-01:35. Further, he had tried to speak

      with her neighbors about who lived in Flanagan’s house.

[4]   While on the phone with Flanagan, the 911 operator communicated to police

      the information about the disturbance, including the reference to multiple guns

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023       Page 2 of 14
      in the car. Police were en route. Still connected to the 911 call, Flanagan

      observed the man beginning to drive away from her house, heading north, and

      then making a right turn. She conveyed his actions to the operator and stated

      that the man was wearing a red jacket and had braids and facial hair. The

      operator asked if he was a white male, and Flanagan stated that he was black.

      She also reiterated that the SUV was black and looked similar to a Durango.

[5]   Meanwhile, Officer Mitchel Farnsley had responded to the initial dispatch,

      which erroneously indicated that the driver of the black SUV was white. Officer

      Farnsley observed a black SUV near the reported location and stopped it.

      However, seeing that the driver was black, Officer Farnsley stated, “I’m sorry. I

      didn’t mean to stop you. You can be on your way.” Tr. Vol. 3 at 126. Upon

      returning to his marked police vehicle, Officer Farnsley heard the updated

      dispatch, which described the driver as a black male with braids. Realizing that

      the driver matched that description, Officer Farnsley “reinitiated the traffic

      stop” of the black SUV. Id at 127. By then, two other officers had arrived, and

      they worked together to conduct a “felony stop.” Id. at 129. 1 Accordingly, the

      officers drew their firearms and ordered the driver to turn off the vehicle, show

      his hands, and exit the SUV.

      1
       Officer Farnsley explained that police “do felony stops when [they] believe a firearm is involved,” which
      prompts concern for officer safety. Tr. Vol. 3 at 129. Here, the 911 dispatch noted the possibility of multiple
      weapons.

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                               Page 3 of 14
[6]   Cruz, the driver, did not initially comply with police commands. Rather, Cruz

      was “digging around in the vehicle[.]” Id. Officer Farnsley, who saw Cruz

      reaching around in both the center console and passenger side of the SUV,

      commanded him to stop reaching. Cruz “would occasionally look at the

      window, stick his head out the driver’s window, look at [the officers], and go

      back to reaching around in the vehicle as if he was trying to hide something or

      grab something[.]” Id. at 130. About a minute after the police commands first

      started, and after the commands became louder, Cruz exited the SUV. He was

      ordered to crawl toward the officers and then placed in handcuffs.

[7]   Officers opened the SUV’s doors to ensure that no one was hiding inside the

      vehicle. During this protective sweep, Officer Lane Cooper saw a clear knotted

      plastic baggie containing an orange pill on the front passenger seat. Suspecting

      that it was illegal drugs, the officers called a narcotics detective, Andrew Girt,

      to the site. Detective Girt, who likewise suspected narcotics, had Cruz

      Mirandized and ultimately applied for a search warrant. Cruz inquired about

      what was going on and quietly asked “if this is all over an X [ecstasy] pill.” Tr.

      Vol. 4 at 32. Soon, Laquisa Sinclair, Cruz’s girlfriend, “showed up on scene

      and she wanted to get into the” SUV to remove her belongings. Tr. Vol. 3 at

      133. Officers prohibited her from entering the SUV because they had not

      finished processing the scene.

[8]   Around that time, Cruz, who at first had been argumentative, stopped

      responding to questions, became “unalert,” and began “sloping down into a

      laying position as if he were exhibiting signs of an overdose.” Id. at 135, 137.

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023      Page 4 of 14
       Officers grew concerned about Cruz’s health and called an ambulance to assist.

       As the officers dealt with Cruz’s medical episode, Sinclair opened the door and

       attempted to enter the SUV. Officers immediately grabbed her and placed her in

       handcuffs.2 Medical personnel arrived and transported Cruz to a nearby

       hospital.

[9]    Due to the suspected narcotics, a warrant was issued, and a search of the SUV

       ensued. In the rear seat area on the driver’s side of the SUV, beneath a seat

       cushion, officers found a black Smith & Wesson M&P .40 Shield

       semiautomatic handgun. Id. at 178, 180. Until an officer flipped up the rear seat

       cushion, the handgun had not been visible. Id. at 180.

[10]   Days later, the State charged Cruz with level 4 felony unlawful possession of a

       firearm by a serious violent felon and level 6 felony possession of a controlled

       substance. Because Flanagan failed to appear for several hearings and

       depositions, the trial court granted a defense motion to exclude her testimony.

       The State filed a motion for a pretrial ruling on the admissibility of the 911 call.

       Cruz filed a motion in limine requesting the exclusion of the 911 call and a

       memorandum in support of his motion. Following a hearing on the matter, the

       trial court determined that the 911 call was nontestimonial and denied Cruz’s

       motion.

       2
        The State charged Sinclair with level 6 felony attempted obstruction of justice. She was tried as a co-
       defendant of Cruz and found guilty.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                              Page 5 of 14
[11]   At the conclusion of a bifurcated trial held in December 2021, Cruz was found

       guilty of the level 4 felony firearm charge and not guilty of the level 6 felony

       controlled substance charge. In January 2022, the court issued a six-year

       sentence, none of which was to be served in the Department of Correction.

       Instead, the court suspended four years and ordered one of those four years to

       be served on probation. In addition, the court required two years of executed

       home detention. Cruz appeals.

       Discussion and Decision

       Section 1 – The trial court did not abuse its discretion in
       admitting evidence regarding the 911 phone call.
[12]   Cruz contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted

       evidence concerning Flanagan’s 911 call. He characterizes the 911 call as

       testimonial. Thus, he maintains that because Flanagan did not testify, the

       admission of evidence regarding the 911 call violated the Confrontation Clause

       of the Sixth Amendment. For support, he cites Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S.

       36 (2004), Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (2006), and Hammon v. Indiana,

       547 U.S. 813 (2006).

[13]   “Although a trial court generally has broad discretion in ruling on the

       admissibility of evidence, when a defendant challenges the admission as a

       constitutional violation of his rights, we review the issue de novo.” Cardosi v.

       State, 128 N.E.3d 1277, 1286 (Ind. 2019). When testimonial evidence is at issue,

       “the Sixth Amendment demands what the common law required: unavailability

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023     Page 6 of 14
       and a prior opportunity for cross examination.” Crawford, 541 U.S. at 68.

       Because Cruz had no opportunity to cross-examine Flanagan, her statements

       during the 911 call were admissible at trial only if they were nontestimonial.

[14]   In Davis, the Supreme Court considered whether responses to questions asked

       by a 911 operator were testimonial statements. 547 U.S. at 826. In answering

       this question, the Court initially observed:

               When we said in Crawford … that “interrogations by law
               enforcement officers fall squarely within [the] class” of
               testimonial hearsay, we had immediately in mind (for that was
               the case before us) interrogations solely directed at establishing
               the facts of a past crime, in order to identify (or provide evidence
               to convict) the perpetrator. The product of such interrogation,
               whether reduced to a writing signed by the declarant or
               embedded in the memory (and perhaps notes) of the
               interrogating officer, is testimonial. It is, in the terms of the 1828
               American dictionary quoted in Crawford, “‘[a] solemn declaration
               or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving
               some fact.’”… The solemnity of even an oral declaration of
               relevant past fact to an investigating officer is well enough
               established by the severe consequences that can attend a
               deliberate falsehood. … A 911 call, on the other hand, and at
               least the initial interrogation conducted in connection with a 911
               call, is ordinarily not designed primarily to “establis[h] or
               prov[e]” some past fact, but to describe current circumstances
               requiring police assistance.

       Id. at 826-27 (alterations in Davis, citations omitted).

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023        Page 7 of 14
[15]   The Court then made the following observations concerning the differences

       between the testimonial statements in Crawford and the answers elicited by the

       911 operator in Davis:

               In Davis, [the victim] McCottry was speaking about events as
               they were actually happening, rather than “describ[ing] past
               events[.]” Sylvia Crawford’s interrogation, on the other hand,
               took place hours after the events she described had occurred.
               Moreover, any reasonable listener would recognize that
               McCottry (unlike Sylvia Crawford) was facing an ongoing
               emergency. Although one might call 911 to provide a narrative
               report of a crime absent any imminent danger, McCottry’s call
               was plainly a call for help against bona fide physical threat.
               Third, the nature of what was asked and answered in Davis, again
               viewed objectively, was such that the elicited statements were
               necessary to be able to resolve the present emergency, rather than
               simply to learn (as in Crawford) what had happened in the past.
               That is true even of the operator’s effort to establish the identity
               of the assailant, so that the dispatched officers might know
               whether they would be encountering a violent felon. And finally,
               the difference in the level of formality between the two interviews
               is striking. Crawford was responding calmly, at the station house,
               to a series of questions, with the officer-interrogator taping and
               making notes of her answers; McCottry’s frantic answers were
               provided over the phone, in an environment that was not
               tranquil, or even (as far as any reasonable 911 operator could
               make out) safe.

       Id. at 827 (emphasis and citations omitted). The Court concluded that the

       primary purpose of the 911 operator’s interrogation of McCottry was to “enable

       police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. [McCottry] simply was not

       acting as a witness; she was not testifying.” Id. at 828 (emphasis omitted). For

       this reason, the Davis Court held that the admission of McCottry’s statement
       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023     Page 8 of 14
       did not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Id. at

       829, 834.

[16]   Here, Flanagan called 911 to report a man who approached her in front of her

       home, talked about shooting up her house, showed her a handgun, stated that

       he had multiple guns in his car, revealed that he had been watching her for

       days, and seemed to be upset because he believed that her housemate was

       contacting his girlfriend. Flanagan dialed 911 while Cruz was still in front of

       her house. Her statements and responses to the 911 operator were made not to

       establish past facts for trial but to obtain emergency assistance to safely deal

       with an upset, gun-wielding, threatening person at her house. Likewise, the 911

       operator’s questions were not designed to preserve evidence for a criminal case

       but to ascertain the nature of the peril (multiple guns, threatening

       statements/behavior, plus identifying features) to Flanagan and the community

       at large in order to enable the police to end a dangerous situation. Thus, the 911

       call was nontestimonial, and the admission of evidence regarding the call did

       not violate the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. See Collins v.

       State, 873 N.E.2d 149, 155 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007) (concluding that statements to

       911 dispatcher had primary purpose of assisting police to meet ongoing

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023      Page 9 of 14
       emergency thus were not testimonial, and therefore admission did not violate

       Sixth Amendment rights), trans. denied. 3

[17]   In addition, Cruz now attempts to make a state constitutional argument. On

       appeal, he claims that the admission of evidence regarding the 911 call violated

       his “face-to-face” rights under Article 1, Section 13 of the Indiana Constitution.

       Appellant’s Br. at 25. However, an appellant “may not add to or change his

       grounds for objections in the reviewing court.” Treadway v. State, 924 N.E.2d

       621, 631 (Ind. 2010). Grounds not raised at trial are not properly preserved and,

       therefore, are waived. Id.

[18]   In Cruz’s memorandum in support of his motion in limine, he requested

       exclusion of the 911 call evidence. He initially cited both the Sixth Amendment

       to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 13 of the Indiana

       Constitution. Yet, his memorandum’s analysis covered only the Sixth

       Amendment, with no discussion of, or citations to, a state constitutional

       argument. At the final pretrial hearing, the defense raised the Sixth Amendment

       in support of its motion in limine. Tr. Vol. 2 at 95. The trial court denied the

       defense’s motion and explained that the 911 call was admissible because when

       Flanagan made the call, there was an “ongoing emergency.” Id. at 94-96. At

       3
         In reaching this conclusion, we distinguish Hammon, 547 U.S. at 832 (concluding that declarant’s
       identification of defendant as her abuser after alleged attack occurred was testimonial because declarant's
       “statements were neither a cry for help nor the provision of information enabling officers immediately to end
       a threatening situation”). Flanagan’s statements provided information that enabled officers to immediately
       end a potentially threatening situation. The fact that Cruz left Flanagan’s house after police were dispatched
       yet before the 911 operator ended the call did not eliminate the emergency nature of the situation.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                            Page 10 of 14
       trial, the defense asked the court to incorporate its objections from the final

       pretrial hearing. Tr. Vol. 3 at 122. The defense did not raise, and the trial court

       did not decide, a separate state constitutional argument regarding the 911 call.

       Thus, Cruz has waived any Article 1, Section 13 argument. Cf. Ward v. State, 50

       N.E.3d 752, 756 (Ind. 2016) (concluding that defendant preserved Article 1,

       Section 13 argument where he specifically cited provision during objection and

       explicitly referenced its “face-to-face” requirement); see also Griffin v. State, 16

       N.E.3d 997, 1006 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (noting that waiver rule protects

       integrity of trial court, which cannot be found to have erred regarding issue not

       presented).

[19]   In sum, Cruz has not established that the trial court abused its discretion when

       it admitted evidence of the 911 call. 4

       Section 2 – The State presented sufficient evidence to support
       the conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious
       violent felon.
[20]   Cruz also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction.

       In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we do not reweigh the evidence or

       judge the credibility of witnesses, and we consider only the evidence that

       supports the judgment and the reasonable inferences arising therefrom. Bailey v.

       State, 907 N.E.2d 1003, 1005 (Ind. 2009). It is “not necessary that the evidence

       4
           Cruz does not challenge, and we express no opinion on, the validity of the traffic stop.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                          Page 11 of 14
       ‘overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.’” Drane v. State, 867

       N.E.2d 144, 147 (Ind. 2007) (quoting Moore v. State, 652 N.E.2d 53, 55 (Ind.

       1995)). “We will affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could

       find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hall v. State,

       177 N.E.3d 1183, 1191 (Ind. 2021).

[21]   For Cruz’s conviction to stand, the record must contain proof beyond a

       reasonable doubt that he, while being a serious violent felon, knowingly or

       intentionally possessed a firearm. See Ind. Code § 35-47-4-5(c). Cruz does not

       dispute that he qualified as a serious violent felon. Instead, he asserts that the

       State failed to establish that he actually or constructively possessed a firearm.

[22]   “A conviction for possession of a firearm may rest upon proof of either actual

       or constructive possession.” Smith v. State, 113 N.E.3d 1266, 1269 (Ind. Ct.

       App. 2018), trans. denied (2019). Actual possession occurs “when a person has

       direct physical control over [an] item.” Sargent v. State, 27 N.E.3d 729, 733 (Ind.

       2015). Constructive possession requires a showing that the defendant had “both

       the intent and capability to maintain dominion and control over the

       [handgun].” Bradshaw v. State, 818 N.E.2d 59, 62-63 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

[23]   Here, the evidence revealed that a black man, with braids and facial hair and

       wearing a red jacket, showed a handgun to Flanagan and spoke of multiple

       guns and shooting up her house, just minutes before driving away in a black

       SUV. Cruz is a black male, who had braids and facial hair and was wearing a

       red jacket when police stopped him as he drove in a black SUV not far from

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023     Page 12 of 14
       Flanagan’s house. At the time of the police stop, Flanagan was still on the

       phone with the 911 operator. Rather than exiting the SUV when police

       repeatedly asked, Cruz reached around in the vehicle for about a minute as if

       trying to hide or grab something. A handgun was found beneath the seat

       cushion behind Cruz’s driver’s seat. No other occupants were in the SUV.

       Given the aforementioned properly admitted evidence, the jury could easily

       determine that Cruz had direct physical control over the handgun and therefore

       actually possessed it.

[24]   Having concluded that the State presented sufficient evidence of actual

       possession, we need not address whether it also proved constructive possession.

       That said, we briefly point out that constructive possession “of items found in

       an automobile may be imputed to the driver of the vehicle.” State v. Emry, 753

       N.E.2d 19, 21-22 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). Moreover, imputation of constructive

       possession in Cruz’s situation is particularly compelling because he was not just

       the driver of the SUV but its sole occupant. Cf. B.R. v. State, 162 N.E.3d 1173,

       1177 n.5 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) (deeming driver of vehicle to have non-exclusive

       control due to presence of passenger). Cruz’s alternative scenario, that the

       handgun belonged to Sinclair and that she came to retrieve it despite the

       presence of several officers, constitutes an invitation to reweigh evidence. Our

       standard of review precludes us from accepting this invitation. See Morris v.

       State, 114 N.E.3d 531, 537 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018) (concluding that defendant’s

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023   Page 13 of 14
       argument was improper invitation to reweigh evidence), trans. denied (2019). 5

       Cruz’s conviction is affirmed.

[25]   Affirmed.

       Brown, J., and Felix, J., concur.

       5
         We note that in his reply brief, Cruz attempts to raise new evidence and a related argument as to his
       whereabouts on the afternoon in question. Reply Br. at 8 n.3. He directs us to one of his other criminal cases
       (49G01-1905-F4-19929), which he now claims necessitated that he be at a 1:30 p.m. final pretrial hearing on
       October 22, 2019. He insinuates that his identity as the driver of the black SUV that Flanagan estimated had
       been at her house for an hour and a half or more would be in doubt, given that the 911 call began around
       3:11 p.m.. Stated otherwise, Cruz asserts that he was denied the opportunity to address a potential
       discrepancy in timing. We find his argument waived. See Curtis v. State, 948 N.E.2d 1143, 1148 (Ind. 2011)
       (citing Appellate Rule 46(C) and explaining that party “may not raise an issue ... for the first time in a reply
       brief”). Further, to the extent that such evidence might be characterized as alibi evidence, we have no
       indication that Indiana Code Section 35-36-4-1’s requirements were followed.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-383 | September 28, 2023                              Page 14 of 14