Garland v. State

• Decision Date: 19 November 1999
• Docket Number: No. 75S00-9704-CR-00229.,75S00-9704-CR-00229.
• Citation: 719 N.E.2d 1236
• Parties: Allen GARLAND, Defendant-Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Plaintiff-Appellee.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

719 N.E.2d 1236

Allen GARLAND, Defendant-Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Plaintiff-Appellee.

No. 75S00-9704-CR-00229.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

November 19, 1999.

David A. Brooks, Lyons, Sullivan & Brooks, Valparaiso, Indiana, Attorney for Appellant.

Jeffrey A. Modisett, Attorney General of Indiana, Janet Brown Mallett, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellee.

DICKSON, Justice.

The defendant, Allen Garland, appeals from his conviction for the January 24, 1996, murder¹ of his father, David Garland.

The defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he either shot his father or aided another in shooting his father.² The State asserts that the defendant's own statement shows his complicity, citing the defendant's descriptions of conversations with substance abuse counselor James Lloyd regarding the intended killing, the defendant's failure to warn his father, his presence and conduct at the scene of the murder, and his subsequent concerns about an alibi to give police.

In reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses; rather, we consider only the evidence that supports the verdict and the resulting reasonable inferences; and we will affirm if a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Riley v. State, 711 N.E.2d 489, 494 (Ind.1999); Jackson v. State, 709 N.E.2d 326, 329 (Ind.1999). An appellate claim of insufficient evidence will prevail if, considering the probative evidence and reasonable inferences that support the judgment, and without weighing evidence or assessing witness credibility, we conclude that a reasonable trier of fact could not find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Case v. State, 458 N.E.2d 223, 226 (Ind.1984); Loyd v. State, 272 Ind. 404, 407, 398 N.E.2d 1260, 1264 (1980).

To prove murder, the State must show that the defendant knowingly or intentionally killed another human being. IND.CODE § 35-42-1-1 (1993). Under the accomplice liability statute, a person "who knowingly or intentionally aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense commits that offense." IND.CODE § 35-41-2-4 (1993).³ Factors considered by the fact-finder to determine whether a defendant aided another in the commission of a crime include: "`(1) presence at the scene of the crime, (2) companionship with another engaged in a crime, (3) failure to oppose the commission of the crime, and (4) the course of conduct before, during, and after the occurrence of the crime.'" Edgecomb v. State, 673 N.E.2d 1185, 1193 (Ind.1996) (quoting Johnson v. State, 490 N.E.2d 333, 334 (Ind.1986)). While the defendant's presence during the commission of the crime or his failure to oppose the crime are, by themselves, insufficient to establish accomplice liability, the jury may consider them along with other facts and circumstances tending to show participation. Burkes v. State, 445 N.E.2d 983, 987 (Ind.1983); Harris v. State, 425 N.E.2d 154, 156 (Ind.1981).

In this case, the defendant, who was 23 or 24 years old at the time of the offense,⁴ did not testify at trial. The evidence most favorable to the judgment derives almost exclusively from his videotaped interview with police. Prior to the murder, pursuant to the disposition ordered in an earlier case charging the defendant with possession of marijuana, he began a series of sessions with Lloyd, a substance abuse counselor. He was accompanied by his mother, Sharon Garland, and, over the course of time, Sharon and Lloyd also developed a relationship, which continued after the defendant's counseling ended. It is clear from the defendant's description of his parents' marriage that it was troubled. He reported frequent arguments and accusations of infidelity. According to the defendant, his father was aware of Sharon's frequent counseling and friendship with Lloyd, but did not suspect a sexual relationship. A week before the murder, Lloyd advised the defendant that the defendant's father, David, had molested a boy family member. Describing his conversation with Lloyd, the defendant told police:

And he [Lloyd] goes, well, your dad should ... something should be done with your dad. And I said, why doesn't my mom just leave him? ... And he kept telling us ... something should be done. And I said yeah, there should, you know, there should be something done.... And I didn't, you know, he goes, well, the son-of-a-bitch should be killed. And I said well, yeah, if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. I said I don't know. And I don't know.

Record at 7212-13. Later in the interview, when again asked regarding this discussion, the defendant claimed that Lloyd said, "[M]y dad should be dead. I remember him saying, that all child molesters have a price to pay." Record at 7316. At another point in the police interview, the defendant, describing this conversation, reported that Lloyd said, "[C]hild molesters should be killed, and I said yeah, I said, that's true. I said somethin' should be done with everybody." Record at 7301. The defendant also spoke about a conversation Lloyd had with the defendant and his mother during an automobile ride the next day:

So we took a ride around the lake. And I drove. Mom let me drive her car over there. And we were driving around. And as I started to say, he said, well, what do, what do you think that should be done with your dad? And I said, James, I really don't know what should be done....

He kept on telling us, or told me, not to say anything. And if I do, something was gonna happen.... And he said well, I have an appointment with your dad, and he said that I need somebody to be like the off man, like in the back seat, get you dad's, you know, like, not aware of what he was gonna do and probably, you know, shoot him. And he was saying that he was gonna get an unmarked gun from ... and everything was going to be taken care of. And I said, where are you going to get this gun? I said this ain't even a well thought-out plan. I said, have you flipped fucking out? This is all fucking crazy. And it is. It was all crazy.

Record at 7215-17. When the interviewing officer asked him if Lloyd wanted the defendant to participate in the shooting, he answered:

Yeah. And I told him I couldn't.... He said beforehand, though, before that, I said, he says, that he was gonna make it look like a burglary, or like somebody came in the house and was trying to steal something, if he could not get somebody to go with him and ride, and I said, what are you supposed to do with the body even, James? When you shoot, there's gonna be blood all over the car. What was he, you know, is he crazy? And then he goes, I said, well, what, what, where am I supposed to be? He said, well, I'll set you up in the Culver Cove. And I said, and he said well, I said what if the cops ask me questions about it? It's going to be looking like I did it. And he was like just say that you were with somebody, like one of your lovers or something from the past. And I said no, this is all crazy. I said I cannot do this.... [H]e said, well, if you don't want any part of it, just leave, on my voice mail, just say no. And I said James, I said I can't do this....

Record at 7217-18. See also Record at 7320-21. After further questioning, the defendant continued:

And so we just sat there for awhile, and he kept on saying, well, if you don't want no part of it, just call the voice mail and say no. And I said well, it just doesn't all make sense. I said none of this all makes sense. I said, I think it's all fucking crazy. I said you just do what you want to do, I said, because I'm not going to have no part of it. He goes, well, no, if you ... if you can't handle it, just don't ever repeat this to anybody, or you're gonna be done in just like your dad is gonna be done in. And I said all right. I said, and he said, all right, you swear that you won't say anything? And I said, yeah, I swear. And, and I was scared of him already.

Record at 7219. Later in the defendant's police interview, he again described this conversation, stating in part:

He said well, if you want a part of it, you can be a part of it. I just thought that you would want to be a part of it because of the fact that he, [Lloyd], I think, thought that my dad molested me. My dad didn't molest me. My dad never touched me. Just, you know, hit me. You know? But he never molested me. Whatsoever.... And he [Lloyd] kept on saying well, if you don't want no part of it, don't say anything about it, or you can, I have brothers, it will get back to me if you say anything. Then I'll do you in and do your family in, just like your dad's going to be done in. And, he said why don't you want a part of it? And I kept on saying, I don't know. I said I don't know. I said you are flipping me out. I said, this is crazy. I said can't you think of a better plan to do anything with? ...

And so ... he kept on saying well, if you don't want a part of it, just leave it on my voice mail, just say no.... And then we got back to the office and we sat there, and he knew that I was like really scared and nervous about the whole deal, because I was shakin' and, he said just, don't even leave a message on my thing, he said, I'll take care of it myself.

Record at 7321-23. A friend of the defendant, Melissa Collins Boller, testified that, during the week before the murder, he told her that Lloyd wanted to kill his father. Record at 3110. She further testified that the defendant later reported a further conversation with Lloyd: "Allen [the defendant] had told me that he had went to see James [Lloyd] and that, uh, he was, that James had told him, had asked Allen, well, do you wanna be there when I kill your dad?" Record at 3119. Asked what the defendant replied, she testified:

Allen said, "no." He wanted nothing to do with any of this. He, James had said something to Allen to the effect of, "well, we might need you

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