Dennis v. State, 1185S473
| Decision Date | 06 November 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 1185S473,1185S473 |
| Citation | 499 N.E.2d 736 |
| Parties | Leon DENNIS, Appellant (Defendant Below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Michael C. Ice, Anderson, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Richard Albert Alford, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
Leon Dennis appeals his conviction of two counts of burglary as class B felonies. 1 Defendant challenges the sufficiency of evidence and argues that the trial court erred by failing to declare a mistrial or to properly admonish the jury after a newspaper article, published during trial, discussed his criminal history.
Defendant contends that his conviction improperly rested upon the self-serving and uncorroborated testimony of two prosecution witnesses who provided testimony linking defendant as an accomplice to a series of burglaries. The evidence established that defendant provided transportation for his two accomplices, Rhoton and Sartain, to burglarize two residences, one in March and the other in February, 1982. On each occasion defendant let his accomplices out of the car, waited fifteen minutes and returned to pick them up. In both incidents, Rhoton left defendant's vehicle with a pry-bar which was then used to gain entry to both dwellings, and Rhoton returned to the car with the pry-bar. The police discovered pry marks on the doors to both residences. The men stole various items from each dwelling. Each owner's description of their missing property coincided with the accomplices description of the property they had taken. The stolen property was initially left in defendant's possession, and defendant assisted in its subsequent sale.
Our burglary statute specifies the following elements for burglary as a class B felony:
A person who breaks and enters the building or structure of another person, with intent to commit a felony in it, commits burglary, a class C felony. However, the offense is a class B felony if it is committed while armed with a deadly weapon or if the building or structure is a dwelling, and a class A felony if it results in either bodily injury or serious bodily injury to any person other than a defendant.
Defendant was charged with breaking and entering a dwelling to commit theft. A person who aids another person in committing an offense, is guilty of the offense as if he were the principal. Ind.Code Sec. 35-41-2-4. Byrer v. State (1981), Ind.App., 423 N.E.2d 704.
In addressing the issue of sufficiency of evidence, we will affirm the conviction if, considering only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict, without weighing evidence or assessing witness credibility, a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Case v. State (1984), Ind., 458 N.E.2d 223; Loyd v. State (1980), 272 Ind. 404, 407, 398 N.E.2d 1260, 1264, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 881, 101 S.Ct. 231, 66 L.Ed.2d 105. A conviction can be based upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice. Smith v. State (1985), Ind., 475 N.E.2d 1139. An accomplice's credibility is an issue for the jury to resolve. Lowery v. State (1985), Ind., 478 N.E.2d 1214.
Applying our standard of review, there is clearly enough evidence to sustain the convictions.
The second morning of defendant's three-day trial began following voir dire but before any evidence had been introduced. A local newspaper was...
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Garrison v. State
...conviction. Brown v. State (1988), Ind., 529 N.E.2d 328. An accomplice's credibility is an issue for the jury to resolve. Dennis v. State (1986), Ind., 499 N.E.2d 736. Here, where the terms of Daniels' plea bargain were brought out on examination, the jury was properly apprised as to Daniel......