Boney v. State

Decision Date29 January 2008
Docket NumberNo. 22A01-0607-CR-310.,22A01-0607-CR-310.
PartiesCharles D. BONEY, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
CourtIndiana Appellate Court
880 N.E.2d 279
Charles D. BONEY, Appellant-Defendant,
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
No. 22A01-0607-CR-310.
Court of Appeals of Indiana.
January 29, 2008.

[880 N.E.2d 282]

John Pinnow, Greenwood, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Joby D. Jerrells Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.


Appellant-defendant Charles Boney appeals his convictions for three counts of Murder,1 a felony, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder,2 a class A felony, and the finding that he was a habitual offender.3 Specifically, Boney argues that his convictions must be reversed because: (1) the trial court erred in permitting the State to exercise a peremptory challenge regarding a prospective juror who was African American; (2) certain pretrial statements that Boney gave to police officers were improperly admitted into evidence; (3) the trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion for a mistrial based on comments made by two of the State's witnesses regarding Boney's previous incarceration; (4) the trial court erred in refusing to give his proffered instruction on accomplice liability; and (5) the trial court should have granted his motion to correct error based on juror misconduct. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTS

The facts, as reported in Camm v. State, 812 N.E.2d 1127 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), are as follows:

On the evening of September 28, 2000, [David] Camm shot and killed his wife Kim and their children, seven-year-old Brad and five-year-old Jill, at their home in Georgetown. The shooting took place in the Camms' garage, apparently sometime after 7:30 p.m., when Kim and the children would have been

880 N.E.2d 283

due to arrive home from Brad's swimming practice. Camm's version of events was that he was playing basketball at a nearby church from 7:00 p.m. until approximately 9:20 p.m., after which he drove home and found. Kim, whom he immediately thought was dead, lying on the ground next to her Bronco. He then claimed to have looked inside the vehicle and found Jill and Brad. Calm thought Brad might still be alive, so he reached in over Jill, removed him from the Bronco, placed him on the garage floor next to Kim, and began performing CPR. When this proved futile, Camm said he called the Sellersburg Indiana State Police post for help, then ran across the street to his grandfather's house to tell his uncle, who was staying there, what had happened. Camm had been a State Police trooper for many years, but had quit the force several months earlier to work for a family business that, among other things, waterproofed basements.

Police showed the t-shirt Camm was wearing on the night of the 28th to a blood spatter expert. The expert believed certain blood droplets, which were later confirmed to be from Jill, found on one corner of the shirt were high velocity impact spatter resulting from a gunshot. Based in part on this evidence, on October 1, 2000, the State charged Camm with three counts of murder.

On January 7, 2002, a jury trial began . . . . The trial continued in Floyd County until March 15, 2002, when the jury retired to deliberate. The key physical evidence against Camm was the purported high velocity blood spatter on his t-shirt, which was challenged by Camm's forensic expert. The State also presented extensive evidence of Camm's personal life, specifically, evidence that he had had several sexual encounters with or propositioned women other than Kim during his time with the State Police. On March 17, 2002, the jury informed the trial court that it was deadlocked; the trial court instructed the jury to continue deliberating. Later that day, the jury returned with guilty verdicts on all three counts. Camm was sentenced to a total of 195 years.

Id. at 1129-30. Camm appealed his convictions, and this court reversed, determining, among other things, that evidence of Camm's history of marital infidelity, which had been admitted at trial, was prejudicial and that the "tie between such evidence and motive, or anything other than simply portraying Camm as `bad,' is too strained and remote to be reasonable." Id. at 1134.

Following Camm's appeal, Detective Gary Gilbert and Sergeant Mike. Black of the Indiana State Police were assigned to reinvestigate the murders. On February 14, 2005, Detective Gilbert learned that DNA found on a collar of the sweatshirt, which had been tucked underneath Bradley's body, matched that of Boney. Additionally, fibers discovered on the sweatshirt were consistent with carpeting in the Camms' residence.

On February 17, 2005, Louisville Metro Police Officers located Boney. Detective Gilbert and Wayne Kessinger, an investigator with the prosecutor's office who was retired from the Louisville Police Department, were notified. Detective Gilbert and Investigator Kessinger informed Boney that they needed to speak with him about a "serious matter." Tr. p.1948. As a result, Boney agreed to go to the Floyd County Prosecutor's office and speak with the detectives. At approximately 4:00 p.m. that day, the police officers advised Boney of his Miranda4 rights, at which time Boney

880 N.E.2d 284

acknowledged that he understood those rights.

Boney was then shown the sweatshirt and identified it as his. Boney stated that he had deposited the garment at a Salvation Army drop box in July or August 2000. Boney then told the officer that he had never met Camm and that he never had any weapons. Boney also denied being at the crime scene and claimed that he did not assist Camm in killing the victims.

Boney agreed to take a polygraph examination regarding his involvement in the murders. Boney stipulated to the admissibility of the results in court and signed a consent form at approximately 7:55 p.m. Following the test, the polygraph examiner concluded that Boney was deceptive in answering whether he had shot anyone in Indiana, whether he was present during the shootings of the Camms, and whether he had seen the person who shot them.

Detective Gilbert and Investigator Kessinger resumed their questioning of Boney. Boney again denied that he knew Camm or that he was present at the crime scene. The questioning ceased at approximately 6:30 a.m. on February 18, 2005. Boney was then released, but the police placed a tracking device on his vehicle.

The next day, Boney's vehicle was tracked to the vicinity of the cemetery where the victims were buried. Boney went to the funeral home and inquired about a mausoleum for himself, his mother, and his sister. A representative from the cemetery quoted Boney a price of $201,000 for the mausoleums. Boney responded that he could make an $80,000 down payment on the mausoleums, although he acknowledged that he was working three part-time jobs and earning minimum wage. The tracking device also showed that Boney's vehicle traveled within one-half mile of the location where Camm had been working.

On March 4, 2005, a latent print examiner matched Boney's palm print to a print that was found on the Bronco's exterior. Later that day, Boney again agreed to speak with the detectives. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Detective Gilbert again advised Boney of the Miranda warnings. During questioning, Boney initially gave statements that were consistent with his previous interview. However, after Detective Gilbert told Boney about the palm prints, Boney mentioned Camm and requested an attorney. Investigator Kessinger continued the questioning for another minute or so, and Boney stated, "All I know is David Camm was the shooter" and "that's all I'm gonna say until I get an attorney." Tr. p. 180, 226, 359. Detective Gilbert and Investigator Kessinger then left the room.

Boney was arrested and charged in the Camm murders. A short time later, a police officer contacted Detective Gilbert and informed him that Boney wanted to see him. As a result, at 4:45 p.m. on March 4, Boney signed a form stating that he had once requested the presence of counsel, but no longer desired an attorney and wanted to speak to police. Boney informed the detectives that he wanted to issue a written statement. After Boney had written two sentences, the detectives left the interrogation room at Boney's request. Boney then completed a five-page statement, indicating that he first met Camm in July or August 2000. Boney saw Camm again at a grocery store in September, at which time Camm asked Boney if he had a "clean gun." Id. at 2208. Boney wrapped a Lorcin .380-caliber handgun in a sweatshirt and gave it to Camm in exchange for $250. Boney stated that Camm did not tell him what he was going to do with the gun. However, it was determined that a Lorcin .380 was used to kill the Camms. Boney then explained to the investigators

880 N.E.2d 285

that he had purchased the gun for Camm and that he must have placed his palm on the Bronco when he delivered it to Camm. Boney then stated that he had purchased the gun from another individual who had had it in his trunk. Boney initially wrapped the gun in a plastic bag and explained that some of the oil from the gun must have spilled onto his sweatshirt when he wrapped the gun in it. A short time later, the interview ceased and Boney was returned to jail.

On March 7, 2005, Indiana State Police Sergeant Myron Wilkerson went to the jail and spoke with Boney at approximately 3:45 p.m. Sergeant Wilkerson, who was a friend of the Boney family, had previously talked with Boney's mother. As a result of that conversation, Sergeant Wilkerson believed that Boney wanted to see him. Sergeant Wilkerson advised Boney of his Miranda rights and Boney signed a waiver of rights form. Sergeant Wilkerson and Boney talked for approximately two and one half hours. Approximately forty minutes into the interview, Boney told Sergeant Wilkerson that he had followed Camm to the residence, waited outside, and waved to Kim Camm when she arrived. Boney claimed...

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38 cases
  • Camm v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Indiana
    • June 26, 2009
    ...... Id. at 1142. .         The State reinvestigated the killings and soon connected a man named Charles Boney. The State discovered Boney's DNA on a sweatshirt that had been tucked under the son's body. Because Boney had not figured in the first trial, this ......
  • Ind. State Police v. The Estate of Damore
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • August 26, 2022
    ...N.E.3d 240, 252 (Ind.Ct.App. 2015) (citing Clay City Consol. School Corp. v. Timberman, 918 N.E.2d 292, 295 (Ind. 2009); Boney v. State, 880 N.E.2d 279, 294 (Ind.Ct.App. 2008)). Still, "pattern jury instructions are given preferential treatment during litigation, and the preferred practice ......
  • Ind. State Police v. Damore
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • August 26, 2022
    ...240, 252 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (citing Clay City Consol. School Corp. v. Timberman , 918 N.E.2d 292, 295 (Ind. 2009) ; Boney v. State , 880 N.E.2d 279, 294 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) ). Still, "pattern jury instructions are given preferential treatment during litigation, and the preferred practice......
  • Harrison v. State, 74A01–1407–CR–328.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • April 21, 2015
    ...not be a correct statement of the law. See Clay City Consol. School Corp. v. Timberman, 918 N.E.2d 292, 295 (Ind.2009) ; Boney v. State, 880 N.E.2d 279, 294 (Ind.Ct.App.2008). Still, pattern jury instructions are given preferential treatment during litigation, and the preferred practice is ......
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