DeHart v. State
| Decision Date | 20 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 20A-PC-2277 |
| Citation | 175 N.E.3d 354 (Table) |
| Parties | Kyle DEHART, Appellant-Petitioner, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Respondent. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Attorneys for Appellant: Amy E. Karozos, Public Defender of Indiana, Kevin Hewlate, Deputy Public Defender, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee: Theodore E. Rokita, Attorney General of Indiana, Jesse R. Drum, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana
[1] Following the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing on a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, the petitioner, Kyle DeHart, appeals from the court's order denying him relief from his convictions of two counts of felony-murder and one count of obstruction of justice, resulting in a 110-year sentence. He argues that the post-conviction court erred by failing to find ineffective assistance of both trial and appellate counsel. We affirm.
[2] DeHart asks the following restated questions:
[3] The facts placing DeHart at the scene of the murders and describing DeHart's conduct before, during, and after the murders were largely testified to at trial by co-defendant Thomas Hursey, a person DeHart became friends with while in prison in 2013 and 2014. Hursey had prior convictions for theft, possession of methamphetamine, and at the time of trial had four pending felonies, including a pending charge for burglary. At trial, he testified that he had worked as a confidential informant to receive reduced sentences in some of his cases and, had even admitted that he asked law enforcement to arrest the mother of his child, "so she'll actually think about being a mother to her daughter." Trial Tr. Vol. III, p. 91. Hursey was released from prison on January 16, 2015. Because he knew that he would likely be returning to prison soon on other criminal matters, he spent most of his time smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, and texting girls. He was doing just that when the events leading up to the commission of the instant crimes resulting in convictions of DeHart occurred.
[4] On February 17, 2015, DeHart texted Hursey at his home. Hursey responded, went outside, and got into DeHart's Ford Taurus, which was registered in DeHart's mother's name. They left to purchase some beer using Hursey's ID. After purchasing the beer at the Lassius Handy Dandy, they placed the beer in DeHart's black bag in the car. DeHart then drove to a Comfort Inn Hotel in Warsaw. Brandon Woody came downstairs from the hotel room and the three carried partying items, including DeHart's black bag with beer, up to the room where Woody's girlfriend and her friend were waiting. Hursey was at the hotel for a short period before he drove home in DeHart's car, which the group considered to be a "community car." Id. at 111. Woody, DeHart, and the girls drank alcohol and smoked marijuana most of the night. The friend of Woody's girlfriend left the hotel room later that night.
[5] The next morning, Hursey drove DeHart's car back to the hotel after DeHart texted him to return. Woody and Hursey joined DeHart in the downstairs breakfast area of the hotel. Detective Joshua Spangle of the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, who was also a member of the Kosciusko County Major Crime Scene Task Force, later obtained surveillance video from the Comfort Inn Hotel showing Woody, DeHart, and Hursey downstairs together at the hotel that morning. DeHart's black bag was also seen in that surveillance video along with screen shots taken from that surveillance video. Woody's girlfriend remained upstairs in the hotel room, which had been reserved in her name.
[6] DeHart, Woody, and Hursey left the hotel and drove to the BMV because DeHart possessed only a prison-issued ID and needed to get a regular ID.1 They then spent time at DeHart's parents’ house, texting girls, signing on to Facebook, drinking alcohol, and smoking marijuana. Hursey unpacked DeHart's black bag, placing the beer in a mini fridge below the bar or in a closet behind the bar in the lower level of the house.
[7] DeHart picked up his friend and co-worker Jacob Larkin, and Larkin spent some time with the trio at DeHart's house smoking some of the "really good" medicinal marijuana Larkin had purchased from Woody's former girlfriend, Tara Thornburg. Trial Tr. Vol. V, p. 132. Woody and his current girlfriend texted throughout the day. As far as his current girlfriend knew, Woody and DeHart were together and had plans later that evening to go to Mishawaka to take some money to DeHart's ex-girlfriend ("DeHart's Ex-Girlfriend"), the mother of DeHart's young daughter. Woody sent his girlfriend a picture text of himself at DeHart's home that evening.
[8] Larkin testified that the four of them left DeHart's house at around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. and they met DeHart's Ex-Girlfriend at the One-Stop Gas Station down the street from her grandparents’ home after arriving in Mishawaka. DeHart got into DeHart's Ex-Girlfriend's car and Larkin drove DeHart's car, following them to a McDonald's where they waited. After a while, DeHart rejoined the three in the car and they drove back to DeHart's house.
[9] After arriving at DeHart's home, they stood around a table, smoking marijuana and were having a good time in "the man's room"2 when DeHart asked Larkin if he was ready to go home. Id. at 133. Larkin said "yeah" that he was ready and retrieved some tools he had left in DeHart's garage because he needed them for work the next day. Id. at 137. Larkin, Hursey and Woody got into the car and waited for about five minutes for DeHart to come out of the house. While they were waiting, Larkin, who was in the driver's seat, detected that the mood of the men had changed, describing it as being "tense," and "weird." Id. at 139. Because DeHart was the only one Larkin really trusted, he kept his tools in his lap in case he was "jumped" by the others, who were riding in the back. Id. When DeHart came out of the house, he was carrying his black bag. Id. at 140. They left Larkin at his home around 11:37 or 11:47 p.m., before returning to DeHart's home.
[10] After their arrival, Hursey went to the man's room, while Woody and DeHart went upstairs in the house for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. When Woody and DeHart rejoined Hursey, DeHart told him that they were "trying to go pick up some weed." Trial Tr. Vol. III, p. 47. DeHart then said to Hursey, "[J]ust so you know we don't intend on paying for these trees," in other words, the marijuana. Id. at 48. Hursey testified at trial that Id. at 49. And Hursey did not realize at the time that DeHart and Woody planned to tape her up and slit her throat. DeHart had packed a roll of duct tape and a utility knife in his black bag.
[11] Sometime after midnight, they arrived at Thornburg's grandmother's house where Thornburg lived, when DeHart noticed Thornburg's boyfriend Joshua Knisely's vehicle parked outside and said "[O]ld boy's here." Id. Woody replied, "I ain't worried about him." Id. The three walked across an alley to the house. Woody was carrying DeHart's black bag containing a roll of duct tape and a utility knife. Woody knocked on the door and Thornburg let them in, leading them upstairs to her bedroom where she kept her supply of marijuana. Thornburg was very familiar with Woody because they had dated when they were in high school. Knisely was asleep on the bed and Thornburg told them to be quiet because Knisely had to be at work early in the morning. After Woody pushed a dog out of the room and locked the door behind him, he, Thornburg, DeHart, and Hursey sat down and smoked marijuana together. DeHart and Woody sat at the end of the bed, Hursey sat in a chair by the door, and Thornburg sat in another chair.
[12] After they had finished smoking, Thornburg asked the men what they wanted. Woody asked her how much marijuana she had. When she replied that she had about an ounce, Woody told her he wanted all of it. She asked him if he had the money to cover it, and he replied that he did. At some point she checked her ledger and made a notation in it, then weighed the marijuana and handed it to him in a bag. Woody took the bag, and turned and gave the marijuana to DeHart, winking at him when he did so. DeHart took the bag of marijuana and put it inside his coat. When Thornburg asked for the money, Woody responded that it was in the car. Thornburg stuck out her hand, gesturing for the marijuana to be returned, and said "I'm not gonna fall for this." Id. at 51.
[13] Woody then removed a glove from his hand, revealing a latex glove underneath. He then reached into his sweatpants and drew a 9mm caliber pistol as he stood up, pulling back the slide. Thornburg started to scream. DeHart and Hursey both immediately jumped up when they saw the gun and headed for the door. Hursey turned around and saw Woody strike Thornburg in the face Id. at 52.
[14] When Hursey looked back again, he saw a Id. After he saw that Knisely was awake, Hursey opened the door and ran out, stepping on Knisely's dog in the...
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