Blair v. State
Decision Date | 11 December 2014 |
Docket Number | No. 03A01–1403–CR–132.,03A01–1403–CR–132. |
Citation | 25 N.E.3d 825 (Table) |
Parties | Angela L. BLAIR, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff. |
Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
James A. Shoaf, Columbus, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Eric P. Babbs, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Angela Blair appeals her convictions for two counts of possession of paraphernalia, as Class A misdemeanors, and conversion, as a Class A misdemeanor, following three separate bench trials. Blair presents the following issues for our review:
We affirm.
On July 19, 2012, Columbus Police Department Officer Angie Owens saw Blair driving a vehicle and, after confirming her suspicion that Blair's driver's license was suspended, Officer Owens initiated a traffic stop to investigate. At the conclusion of the traffic stop, Officer Owens arranged to have the vehicle Blair had been driving towed from the scene. Blair told Officer Owens that she had left her purse in the car, and, as Officer Owens retrieved the purse, which was open at the top, Officer Owens observed a syringe in plain view inside the purse. Unprompted, Blair said, “Oh, I haven't used today, there's no needle in there, I took the needle out.” Tr. at 8. Officer Owens knew that Blair was a drug user, and Officer Owens arrested Blair. The State charged Blair with possession of paraphernalia, as a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court found Blair guilty as charged and entered judgment and sentence accordingly.
On September 9, 2012, Blair's mother called the Columbus Police Department to report that Blair was missing “and was possibly murdered earlier in the morning.” Id. at 11. Police officers searched for Blair all day, and at one point Officer Troy Love saw Blair walking across a downtown street. Blair had a warrant for her arrest, so Officer Love arrested her. During a search incident to that arrest, Officer Love found “some syringes on her person.” Id. at 12. The State charged Blair with possession of paraphernalia, as a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court found Blair guilty as charged and entered judgment and sentence accordingly.
On October 18, 2012, a loss prevention officer at Walmart in Columbus detained Blair after she “had stolen lice medication and a flashlight.” Id. at 15. Columbus Police Department Officer Julie Quesenberry responded to the scene and identified Blair, who had lied to the Walmart loss prevention officer and stated that her name was Amy Baker. Blair told Officer Quesenberry that “she tried to take [the lice medication] because she had a lice issue[.]” Id. Officer Quesenberry arrested Blair, and the State charged her with conversion, as a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court found Blair guilty as charged and entered judgment and sentence accordingly. These consolidated appeals ensued.
Blair contends that she did not knowingly or intentionally waive her right to be present at her trial in CM–5866. We review such questions for an abuse of discretion. See Brown v. State, 839 N.E.2d 225, 231 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. A trial court abuses its discretion if its decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court or if the court misapplies the law. See Speybroeck v. State. 875 N.E.2d 813, 818 (Ind.Ct.App.2007).
As our supreme court has stated:
A defendant in a criminal proceeding has a right to be present at all stages of his or her trial. U.S. Const. amend. VI ; Ind. Const. art. I, § 13 ; Fennell v. State, 492 N.E.2d 297, 299 (Ind .1986). A defendant may waive this right and be tried in absentia if the trial court determines that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived that right. Freeman v. State, 541 N.E.2d 533, 535 (Ind.1989) ; Fennell, 492 N.E.2d at 299. The best evidence that a defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his or her right to be present at trial is the “defendant's presence in court on the day the matter is set for trial. ” Fennell, 492 N.E.2d at 299 (citing Brown v. State, 181 Ind.App. 102, 390 N.E.2d 1058 (1979) ).
Lampkins v. State, 682 N.E.2d 1268, 1273 (Ind.1997) (emphasis added).
Blair does not make cogent argument in support of this contention, nor does she support her contention with citations to the record or legal authority. Accordingly the issue is waived. Waiver notwithstanding, Blair was present in court on the day that the matter was set for trial. Thus, Blair knowingly and voluntarily waived her right to be present at trial, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it tried her in absentia. See id.
When the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction is challenged, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses, and we affirm if there is substantial evidence of probative value supporting each element of the crime from which a reasonable trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Wright v. State, 828 N.E.2d 904, 905–06 (Ind.2005). It is the job of the fact-finder to determine whether the evidence in a particular case sufficiently proves each element of an offense, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorably to the trial court's ruling. Id. at 906.
Blair first contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to support her possession of paraphernalia convictions in CM–3882 and CM–4883. In particular, Blair maintains that the State's evidence was insufficient because “it did not produce the alleged instrument itself or any testimony or photographic evidence to establish that the instrument was capable or intended to introduce a controlled substance into the body.” Appellant's Br. at 9. We cannot agree.
Here, in CM–3882 the State presented evidence that, after Officer Owens saw a syringe in plain view in Blair's open purse, Blair stated, “I haven't used today[.]” Tr. at 8. And Officer Owens testified that she knew Blair “as being a user.” Id. That evidence of Blair's past drug use is sufficient to prove her intent to use the syringe to introduce into her body a controlled substance. See Sluder, 997 N.E.2d at 1181. The State presented sufficient evidence to support her conviction in CM–3882.2
In CM–4883 the State presented evidence that, during a search of Blair's person incident to her arrest, Officer Love found “some syringes on her person.” Tr. at 12. And the State introduced into evidence photographs depicting the following: three syringes, one of which had a needle attached; what appears to be a crack pipe; a spoon; and a small baggie containing a white, powdery substance. We hold that that circumstantial evidence is sufficient to prove Blair's intent to use the syringes to introduce into her body a controlled substance. See, e.g., Sluder, 997 N.E.2d at 1181 ( ). The State presented sufficient evidence to support her conviction in CM–4883.3
Blair contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to support her conversion conviction. To prove conversion, the State was...
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