13 N.E.3d 951 (Ind.App. 2014), 82A05-1305-CR-240, Mueller v. State
| Judge | RILEY, Judge. ROBB, J. and BRADFORD, J. concur. ROBB, J. and BRADFORD, J. concur |
| Citation | 13 N.E.3d 951 |
| Docket Number | 82A05-1305-CR-240 |
| Date | 10 June 2014 |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Indiana |
| Parties | TED MUELLER, JR., Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-. |
Page 951
Editorial Note:
These opinions are not precedents and cannot be cited or relied upon unless used when establishing res judicata or collateral estoppel or in actions between the same party. Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure 65(D).
APPEAL FROM THE VANDERBURGH SUPERIOR COURT. The Honorable Robert J. Pigman, Judge. Cause No. 82D02-1209-MR-1148.
OPINION
MEMORANDUM DECISION -- NOT FOR PUBLICATION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellant-Defendant, Ted A. Mueller, Jr. (Mueller), appeals his conviction for Count I, murder, Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1; and Count II, conspiracy to commit robbery, a Class C felony, I.C. § § 35-41-5-2; 35-42-5-1.
We affirm.
ISSUES
Mueller raises five issues on appeal, which we restate as the following four issues:
(1) Whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting and excluding certain evidence;
(2) Whether the State failed to present sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support Mueller's conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery; (3) Whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Mueller; and (4) Whether Mueller's sentence is inappropriate.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
During the early morning hours of September 17, 2012, a twenty-four-year-old man from Henderson, Kentucky was murdered outside of an abandoned house in Evansville, Indiana. The events leading up to the fatal shooting of Cedric Watt (Watt) began the previous evening when Watt made plans to visit his friend, Shawn Kohlmeyer (Kohlmeyer). As neither Watt nor Kohlmeyer had a vehicle, Kohlmeyer contacted his friend, Mueller, and asked if he would be willing to drive to Henderson to pick Watt up and bring him to Evansville. Kohlmeyer informed Mueller that, in exchange for the ride, Watt had offered to provide gas money and some marijuana.
At the time, Mueller was temporarily living with his sister, Angie Mueller (Angie), in an apartment located at 601 East Chandler Avenue in Evansville. Angie's boyfriend, Christopher Bell (Bell), and their two children also lived in the apartment, along with three other roommates. Mueller and Bell arranged to meet Kohlmeyer outside of his girlfriend's apartment, and they would drive to Henderson together. Bell also asked Kohlmeyer if he knew where Bell could obtain a gun, and Kohlmeyer stated that he did not. Following their conversation with Kohlmeyer, Mueller and Bell made several phone calls. In addition to calling a third party--supposedly Watt himself--to inquire about marijuana prices, Bell phoned Mueller's half-brother " to find more out about [Watt]." (Transcript p. 153). Mueller's half-brother articulated that Watt was " a bitch ass" and a " nigga." (Tr. pp. 173-74). Their roommate (who is Mueller's cousin), Dylan Knott (Knott), overheard as Mueller and Bell made these calls. According to Knott, it sounded as though Mueller and Bell were discussing plans to execute a robbery.
As Mueller and Bell were preparing to leave, Angie asked if she could accompany them. Driving Angie's minivan, Mueller picked up Kohlmeyer before crossing over the Ohio River into Kentucky. They arrived in Henderson after midnight, retrieved Watt, and immediately journeyed back to Evansville. Along the way, the four men smoked some of the " dro" ( i.e., marijuana) that Watt had procured from his supplier earlier that evening. (Tr. p. 368).
When they reached Evansville, Mueller drove to Timothy Rice's (Rice) house on New York Street. Angie and Watt waited in the minivan as Mueller, Bell, and Kohlmeyer spoke with Rice about whether he knew anyone who might want to purchase marijuana. Kohlmeyer waited on the porch while Mueller and Bell went inside the house with Rice for a few minutes. The three returned to the minivan, and Mueller drove to a house on Denby Avenue. There, Bell told Watt to measure out " a few grams of weed." (Tr. p. 404). Watt weighed and packaged the marijuana and accompanied Mueller and Bell to the house. Watt returned a few minutes later, telling Kohlmeyer that the buyer " wanted to see it on the scales." (Tr. p. 405). Watt then stated that " something didn't feel right" and asked Kohlmeyer to take the scales inside for him, but Mueller and Bell had already returned to the vehicle. (Tr. p. 405).
By this time, it was nearly 3:00 AM on September 17, 2012, and Mueller and Bell agreed to drive Kohlmeyer and Watt to Kohlmeyer's girlfriend's apartment. Mueller parked near a vacant property on Delaware Street, approximately one block away from the girlfriend's home. Although the precise details are indeterminate, it is apparent that a scuffle ensued after the men exited the vehicle. Mueller suddenly withdrew a heretofore concealed gun from his waistband and aimed it at Watt. When Watt took off running, Bell instructed Mueller to " shoot" and Mueller pulled the trigger. (Tr. p. 78). After Watt fell to the ground, Mueller used the gun to strike Watt's head.
Residents on Delaware Street heard the gunshot. The sound woke Mercedes Jackson, who looked out her window to see " [a] light colored van speed off and a white male running down the alley." (Tr. p. 291). When Ronald (Ronald) and Rebecca (Rebecca) Motteler heard the gunshot, Rebecca went to her window and observed the silhouettes of four individuals huddled together on the sidewalk. She heard laughing and someone with a " higher pitched voice" say, " [S]erves you right for ripping me off." (Tr. p. 266). Rebecca also witnessed as " the most slender one of the four" individuals pulled Watt's pants down. (Tr. p. 266). The group drove off, and Rebecca called the police. Ronald went outside to find Watt face down on the ground, with his pants pulled down to expose his buttocks. Watt had lacerations on his face and hand, and there was an apparent bullet hole in his back. Although Ronald initially heard " death rattle" breathing, he was unable to detect Watt's pulse. (Tr. p. 202). While investigating the crime scene, detectives discovered a small bag of marijuana clutched in Watt's hand.
Following the shooting, Kohlmeyer had fled on foot through an alley to his girlfriend's apartment. When Mueller, Bell, and Angie returned to their apartment, they were frantic. Mueller and Bell poured bleach over their clothing and destroyed their cell phones. They then dumped everything in various alleys.
Having retrieved information from Watt's cell phone, the police took Kohlmeyer into custody later that same morning. The police arrested Mueller and Bell on September 20, 2014. Bell waived his Miranda rights and identified Mueller as Watt's killer. Bell also claimed that Mueller had tossed the gun out of the minivan's window either near a bakery or into a creek. Police searched both areas, but the gun was never recovered. On September 21, 2012, the State filed an Information, charging Mueller with Count I, murder, I.C. § 35-42-1-1(1); and Count II, conspiracy to commit robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class A felony, I.C. § § 35-41-5-2; 35-42-5-1(1).
A four-day jury trial commenced on March 11, 2013. During the trial, the pathologist who performed Watt's autopsy testified that Watt died as the result of " a gunshot wound to the heart." (Tr. p. 226). Although several witnesses testified that Mueller shot Watt in the back, the autopsy revealed that the bullet entered Watt's chest, went directly through his heart, and exited from his lower back. When the State rested its case-in-chief, Mueller moved for a directed verdict on the conspiracy charge, which the trial court denied. At the close of the evidence on March 14, 2013, the jury found Mueller guilty as charged.1 On April 16, 2013, the trial court held a sentencing hearing and entered a judgment of conviction for both Counts, but it reduced the conspiracy charge to a Class C felony on double jeopardy grounds. Thereafter, the trial court sentenced Mueller to serve sixty years for murder and five years for conspiracy to commit robbery in the Indiana Department of Correction. The trial court ordered that Mueller's sentences run consecutively for an aggregate term of sixty-five years.
Mueller now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Evidentiary Rulings
Mueller first claims that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting three " highly prejudicial" photographs into evidence and by excluding evidence of his co-conspirator's pending criminal charges. (Appellant's Br. p. 8). The admissibility of evidence is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court. Jackson v. State, 973 N.E.2d 1123, 1127 (Ind.Ct.App. 2012), trans. denied . We review the trial court's evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. Id. It is an abuse of discretion if " the trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and effects of the facts and circumstances before it." Id.
In general, evidence is admissible if it is relevant--that is, if it tends to make the existence of any consequential fact more or less probable. Ind. Evidence Rules 401-402. The trial court may, however, exclude relevant evidence " if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice." Corbett v. State, 764 N.E.2d 622, 627 (Ind. 2002). Any " [e]rrors in the admission or exclusion of evidence are to be disregarded as harmless error unless they affect the substantial rights of the party." Swingley v. State, 739 N.E.2d 132, 134 (Ind. 2000). In determining whether an error is harmless, we " must assess the probable impact of that evidence upon the...
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