Carter v. State
| Docket Number | 22A-CR-2437 |
| Decision Date | 30 June 2023 |
| Parties | Reginald Joseph Carter, Appellant-Defendant, v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.
Appeal from the Lake Superior Court The Honorable Salvador Vasquez Judge Trial Court Cause No. 45G01-1910-MR-31
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Sean C. Mullins Appellate Public Defender Crown Point, Indiana
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana Steven J. Hosler Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
[¶1] Reginald Carter was convicted of three counts of murder, a felony, and arson, a Level 4 felony. Carter appeals and argues that the trial court erred by excluding Evidence Rule 404(b) evidence regarding a previous arson committed by another person against one of the victims. We are not persuaded and, accordingly, affirm.
[¶2] Carter raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as whether the trial court committed fundamental error by excluding Evidence Rule 404(b) evidence.
[¶3] Yolanda Mitchell had four daughters: Yoasha, Yoshesha, Yomesha, and Yokeca. Yolanda owned a Honda Odyssey, which contained a bottle of bleach for cleaning and doing laundry.
[¶4] In 2019, Yoasha was dating Carter. Yoasha and Carter lived with Yolanda; Yoshesha; Yokeca; Yoasha's, Yoshesha's, and Yokeca's children; Nefertiri Jones; and Nefertiri's son, Dwayne Jones, in a house in Gary, Indiana.
[¶5] Yoasha and Carter had a "toxic" relationship. Tr. Vol. IV p. 161. The two frequently fought, and Carter previously strangled Yoasha to the point of unconsciousness on at least two occasions. When confronted regarding his strangling of Yoasha, Carter said, "[A]t least I brought her back." Id. at 38. In mid-October 2019, Yoasha and Carter had an argument, and Carter pushed Yoasha into the wall, which damaged the drywall.
[¶6] Yoasha owned a nine-millimeter handgun, to which Carter had access. On or about October 23, 2019, Carter made an announcement to Yoasha and her family that "the next time [Carter and Yoasha were] arguing and she reach [sic] for that gun . . . it's either going to be me or Yoasha . . . and it's definitely not going to be me." Id. at 174. Additionally, at some point during 2019, Carter told members of Yoasha's family, Id.
[¶7] On October 25, 2019, at approximately 8:15 a.m., Carter drove Yolanda's Honda to pick up Yokeca in Illinois, and he dropped Yokeca off at a gas station. During the car ride, Carter and Yoasha argued over the phone regarding Yoasha's need for the vehicle. Carter returned to the house, and at approximately 9:30 a.m., he and Yoasha had another argument, which the next-door neighbor and her home health aid overheard. According to the neighbor and her aid, Carter accused Yoasha of leaving with another man, and Yoasha "was pleading no, I didn't" and "whimpering and begging and crying." Id. at 99, 117.
[¶8] Sometime after 10:00 a.m., the house was on fire. Word spread, and the family began gathering outside the house; however, they were unable to locate Yoasha, Nefertiri, and Dwayne.
[¶9] Carter drove Yolanda's Honda to the house and arrived over an hour after everyone else. He was also wearing different clothing than he had worn that morning. When he arrived, Carter "jumped on the hood, rolled over, [and] slid down," which observers described as a "performance." Id. at 167. Carter's demeanor was "antsy," "aggravated," and "dramatical," and he did not demonstrate "any grief or sorrow." Id. at 169; Tr. Vol. VII p. 26. Law enforcement confronted Carter and told him that there "[m]ight be kids in" the house. Tr. Vol. IV p. 135. Carter responded, "[A]in't no kids in there." Id. Yolanda asked Carter where Yoasha was, and Carter told her that Yoasha "ran off with a n****r." Id. at 41. At some point, Carter removed his boots and, despite wearing socks, washed his head, hands, and feet with a water bottle.
[¶10] Several members of Yoasha's family noticed a "strong odor of bleach" in the Honda, which they had not previously noticed. Tr. Vol. VI p. 11. Subsequent DNA testing of the bleach bottle in the Honda revealed "very strong support" that Carter had touched the bottle. Id. at 76. Additionally, after law enforcement removed items from the Honda, Yolanda observed a used pair of gloves in a waste bag and saw that Carter's backpack contained a folded towel, which, she claimed, bore the impression of a handgun.
[¶11] After the fire was extinguished, law enforcement began investigating the cause of the fire. An accelerant-sniffing dog alerted to the presence of accelerants at several locations in the home, which laboratory analysis later revealed to contain gasoline and other flammable substances. Additionally, an accelerantsniffing dog alerted to the presence of accelerants on Carter's shoes, socks, and boxer shorts. Law enforcement determined that the fire was "intentionally set." Tr. Vol. V p. 71.
[¶12] Inside the house, law enforcement located the bodies of Yoasha, Nefertiri, and Dwayne, all of whom had gunshot wounds. Police recovered: (1) a spent bullet from the .35 caliber family, which "include[s] . . . 9 millimeter" bullets, from Nefertiri's body; (2) a "9 millimeter caliber" bullet fragment in the room where Nefertiri's body was located; (3) a "spent copper jacket fragment[,] which is the outer jacketing of a bullet," outside of the northwest corner of the house; and (4) a "mutilate[ed]" piece of metal consistent with copper and lead in the Honda's glove compartment. Tr. Vol. VI pp. 134-36. Law enforcement did not recover Yoasha's nine-millimeter firearm.
[¶13] The coroner determined that Yoasha, Dwayne, and Nefertiri died from gunshot wounds before the fire was set. Yoasha and Dwayne were shot in the head from close range, and Nefertiri was shot twice in the back. Yoasha's and Nefertiri's bodies smelled like "fuel." Tr. Vol. V p. 163.
[¶14] On October 28, 2019, the State charged Carter with three counts of murder, a felony, and one count of arson, a Level 4 felony. On June 24, 2022, Carter filed a notice of intent to introduce, pursuant to Evidence Rule 404(b), evidence regarding an arson that occurred on December 23, 2016, at the apartment of Yoasha and her then-husband, Willie Carter[1] ("Willie"). Yoasha and Willie were both determined to be suspects in the 2016 arson; however, the case was never solved.
[¶15] The trial court held a pretrial conference on August 12, 2022. The trial court ruled that evidence regarding the 2016 arson would be inadmissible at trial and stated:
[I] see nothing [] that would suggest to me that the fire of [] December 23rd, 2016, is [in] any way connected with the fire in this instance .... With this lack of nexus or connection[,] that would lead to presenting this jury with highly prejudicial information that really lacks the probative value necessary to allow it to come in, I think [Evidence Rule] 403 keeps it out.
[¶16] The trial court held a jury trial on August 15 through 19, 2022. Carter did not attempt to submit evidence of the 2016 fire at trial. The jury found Carter guilty on all four counts. The trial court entered judgments of conviction on the same and sentenced Carter to consecutive sentences totaling 205 years. Carter now appeals.
[¶17] Carter argues that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding evidence regarding the 2016 arson. We disagree.
[¶18] Trial courts have broad discretion to admit or exclude evidence, and we review the trial court's determination for an abuse of that discretion. Combs v. State 168 N.E.3d 985, 990 (Ind. 2021). We will reverse only where the trial court's determination is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances and the error affects a party's substantial rights. Clark v. State, 994 N.E.2d 252, 259-60 (Ind. 2013). Moreover, even when the trial court's evidentiary ruling is erroneous, "[i]f the conviction is properly supported by other independent evidence of guilt, the error is harmless." Williams v. State, 43 N.E.3d 578, 581 (Ind. 2015).
[¶19] Here, at the pretrial conference, the trial court ruled that evidence regarding the 2016 arson would be inadmissible at trial pursuant to Evidence Rule 403 because the risk of prejudice substantially outweighed the evidence's probative value. As a threshold matter, we agree with the State that Carter waived his challenge to the trial court's exclusion of the evidence by failing to make an offer of proof at trial. See, e.g., Angulo v. State, 191 N.E.3d 958, 969 (Ind.Ct.App. 2022) .
[¶20] Because Carter failed to make an offer of proof at trial, he is required to show that the trial court's exclusion of the evidence constitutes fundamental error. See Tibbs v State, 59 N.E.3d 1005, 1015 (Ind.Ct.App. 2016) (citing Young v. State, 746 N.E.2d 920, 924 (Ind. 2001)), trans. denied. "A fundamental error is a substantial, blatant violation of basic principles rendering the trial unfair to the defendant [] and applies only when the actual or potential harm cannot be denied." Wilson v. State, 4 N.E.3d 670, 676 (Ind.Ct.App. 2014) (citing Carter v. State, 754 N.E.2d 877, 881 (Ind. 2001)). Carter, however, fails to argue fundamental error in his brief. Any argument as to fundamental error, therefore, is...
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