Edwards v. State

• Decision Date: 28 February 2000
• Docket Number: No. 79A02-9901-CR-64.,79A02-9901-CR-64.
• Parties: Pamela EDWARDS, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

724 N.E.2d 616

Pamela EDWARDS, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 79A02-9901-CR-64.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

February 28, 2000.

Transfer Denied April 12, 2000.

Harold E. Amstutz, Lafayette, Indiana, Attorney for Appellant.

Jeffrey A. Modisett, Attorney General of Indiana, J.T. Whitehead, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Pamela Edwards appeals her conviction for Exploitation of an Endangered Adult,¹ a Class A misdemeanor. Specifically, Edwards argues that: (1) the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of uncharged misconduct; (2) the trial court improperly allowed the State's expert witness to render an opinion that was speculative and prejudicial to Edwards; (3) the jury verdicts are inconsistent and, therefore, the trial court erred by not granting her motion for final judgment on the evidence; and, (4) the evidence is insufficient.

FACTS

The facts most favorable to the verdict reveal that Edwards was raised by Marion Harris as her daughter. Following a stroke in 1993 and subsequent health problems, Edwards and her husband, co-defendant Leslie Edwards, acted as Harris' primary caregivers and were in contact with her daily.

In May 1996, Sherry Smitz, a nurse, referred Kimberly Baunach, a medical social worker, to Harris. Smitz was concerned that Harris, who was in her eighties, might need to be placed in a nursing home, as she was not properly taking her medication, her vision was poor, she was not eating as an insulin dependent diabetic should, she was a fall risk, and she had periods of confusion. Record at 346. Thereafter, Baunach met with Harris on May 22, 1996. During their meeting, Harris' primary concern was with her failing eyesight. However, they also discussed obtaining assistance with her finances through the Area IV Agency on Aging and Community Services (Area IV), which offers assistance to the disabled, frail and elderly who have difficulty managing their money or may be victims of exploitation or fraud.

Baunach's concerns regarding Harris' finances arose after speaking with Edwards over the telephone on May 28, 1996. In that conversation, Edwards informed Baunach that Harris did not need assistance writing her checks, as she did that for her. However, Edwards was unaware of how much income was actually deposited into Harris' checking account. Edwards further informed Baunach that Harris appeared confused at times and kept changing her mind about going into a nursing home. R. at 350. Finally, Edwards told Baunach that Harris had signed over her house to Edwards approximately a year earlier. R. at 351.

On June 17, 1996, upon Baunach's request, Baunach and Smitz met with Harris and Edwards at Harris' home. Prior to Edwards' arrival, Harris expressed concern about "being kicked out of the house." R. at 350. The meeting appeared to focus on whether Harris needed to enter a nursing home and how her property would affect her qualification for Medicaid. At some point, Edwards commented to Harris that she was going to bring papers over the next day for Harris to sign over the house to her and Leslie. Edwards explained to Harris that she wanted her to do this in order to protect the house from Medicaid and keep it in the family. R. at 353. Baunach explained to Edwards that there may be penalties through Medicaid for conveying the property. On June 22, 1996, Baunach further detailed the possible penalty in a letter to Harris, of which a copy was sent to Edwards, noting that if Harris were placed in a nursing home within thirty-six months of the conveyance, the value of the home would be credited against her and she would not receive full Medicaid benefits. R. at 559.

However, on June 18, 1996, Harris conveyed her home to Edwards and Leslie in their presence and in front of a notary. Interestingly, Edwards' sister was present but was unaware of what was occurring. Leslie obtained the deed from a local attorney and requested the presence of the notary. At the signing, the notary simply looked over the document and then told Harris that "this was a deed from you to the Edwards and here's where you sign it." R. at 398. Leslie then handed the document to Harris for her to sign. Harris had difficulty signing the deed because of her poor eyesight. Therefore, the notary printed her name below the signature line and then Leslie put the pen in Harris' hand and placed it on the line. Harris then signed the deed.

After this conveyance, Baunach referred Harris to Judy Davis, a money manager for Area IV. Davis subsequently met with Harris on July 18, 1996. When reviewing Harris' bank statement from recent months, she observed what she described as improprieties. R. at 124. For example, on the previous month's statement, she noted that in a twenty-six-day period, there appeared $988.00 worth of checks written to PayLess Supermarket. Moreover, on the back of many of the cancelled checks was a notation that $25.00 cash had been provided. Actually, one of the checks was written for $26.06 and, therefore, only $1.06 worth of groceries was purchased in addition to the cash received. R. at 125. Davis further noted that Harris had very few groceries at the time of her visit. Following their visit, Baunach and Davis suspected exploitation and agreed to report the situation to Adult Protective Services (APS).

Davis encountered Edwards and Leslie as she was leaving and explained to them what she had discovered and her plan to notify APS. Edwards responded that she suspected her sister. However, soon after Davis arrived home she received a phone call from Edwards. Edwards admitted that she had written some of the checks and asked Davis, "what is going to happen to me." R. at 128. Thereafter, fearing the presence of severe exploitation, Davis quickly contacted social security and assumed control of Harris' checking account through Area IV's bill payer program. R. at 128. Further, she contacted a lawyer at Legal Services to determine the ownership of Harris' house. As of July 1996, the property was still recorded under Harris' name. Davis was concerned because, while Harris emphatically insisted that the house was still hers and had not been turned over to anyone, she said that she did remember having to sign some papers. R. at 130, 132.

On July 22, 1996, Davis organized a meeting at Harris' home with Harris, Leslie and Edwards, as she was suspicious that something had happened with the house. Leslie responded to Harris' insistence that the house was still hers by saying, "you told us you wanted us to have the house." R. at 132. Harris retorted, "I do when I die, it is still my house." R. at 132. Leslie then remarked, "you knew what you were signing when you signed it." R. at 132. Leslie told Harris that they wanted to sell the house in order to take care of her. However, Davis then explained the possibly severe repercussions through Medicaid if they attempted to sell the house, especially considering Harris' potential need to enter a nursing home in the near future.

Despite these warnings, Edwards and Leslie recorded the deed on July 27 and then sold the property to David Bonham on August 5, 1996. Harris was present but took no part in the negotiations. Bonham purchased the property with cash, on an as is basis, and without having the property appraised. The property was subject to a mortgage and real estate taxes. Further, clear title could not be had until two judgments pending against the Edwards had been settled. These liens were for $1612.75 to M & M Motors and $2429.06 to Lafayette Bank and Trust. After these costs, in addition to $600.00 for Harris to live in the home for one year, were taken out of the $25,000 purchase price, Edwards and Leslie received $13,163.55 in cash from the sale of the house.

On the day of the sale, Edwards proceeded to purchase a car for $3000.00 cash. Soon thereafter, Edwards and Leslie went on vacation in Georgia. They also used the money to pay some of their debt, including money to their landlord and $700.00 to Leslie's uncle. In sum, they failed to save any of the proceeds for the sale of the house to take care of Harris' rent beginning in September 1997. R. at 543.

Harris continued to live in her home rent-free until September 1997. Sometime near the end of the one-year term, Leslie contacted Bonham and asked him not to evict Harris, offering to pay her rent. However, Bonham received no money from the Edwards. Thereafter, Harris paid Bonham $300.00 per month, an amount negotiated between Bonham and Legal Services, until May 1998. Within thirty-six months of the sale of the home, Harris was forced to enter a nursing home.

On September 24, 1997, the State charged Edwards with theft, a Class D felony, and exploitation of an endangered adult, a Class A misdemeanor. A jury trial commenced on October 7, 1998 and the following day, Edwards was found not guilty of theft but guilty of exploitation of an endangered adult. On October 26, 1998, Edwards filed a Motion for Final Judgment on the Evidence, which the trial court subsequently denied on November 18. The trial court similarly denied Edwards' Motion to Correct Errors on December 23, 1998. Edwards now appeals. Additional facts will be provided below as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Evidence of Prior Bad Acts

Edwards argues that the trial court erred in allowing into evidence checks written on Harris' account, as they were not part of the charged offenses.² Specifically, she asserts that these checks constituted evidence of uncharged misconduct in violation of Ind. Evidence Rules 404(b) and 403.

The admissibility of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court. Dumes v. State, 718 N.E.2d 1171, 1174 (Ind.Ct.App.1999),clarified on reh'g, 723 N.E.2d 460 (2000). Thus, we will not reverse the trial court's decision absent a showing of manifest abuse of that discretion resulting in the...