Hall v. State, 49A04-0606-CR-287.

• Citation: 870 N.E.2d 449
• Decision Date: 18 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 49A04-0606-CR-287.,49A04-0606-CR-287.
• Parties: Lonnie HALL, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

870 N.E.2d 449

Lonnie HALL, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49A04-0606-CR-287.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 18, 2007.

Elizabeth A. Gabig, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, George P. Sherman, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

MATHIAS, Judge.

Lonnie Hall ("Hall") was convicted in Marion Superior Court of two counts of murder, two counts of robbery, two counts of criminal confinement, two counts of burglary, and one count of theft. Hall appeals, raising the following issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as:

I. Whether the juvenile court abused its discretion when it waived jurisdiction to the adult criminal court;

II. Whether the trial court erroneously denied Hall's motion to suppress his statement to the police;

III. Whether the trial court erroneously denied Hall's request to sever Counts Ten and Eleven;

IV. Whether there is sufficient evidence to support the alleged burglary that occurred on January 29, 2004; and,

V. Whether Hall's sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and character of the offender.

We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

The facts most favorable to the convictions demonstrate that Hall broke into a duplex at 152 South Villa on January 12, 2004, and stole a DVD player, a camera, and $500. The owner of the home was Yairam Aguiar Gonzales ("Yairam"). Manuel and Mayra Gonzales ("Manuel" and "Mayra") had also been living at the duplex with their son, Yairam, since they moved to the United States from Cuba the summer of 2003. Hall told Linden Cornewell ("Cornewell"), his cousin's boyfriend, about his exploits, and they decided to return to steal more valuable items.

They returned to the duplex on January 29, 2004, and knocked on the door. Manuel and Mayra were at home and answered the door. Hall pulled out a gun and told them to get on the floor. The couple complied, and Cornewell pulled out a roll of duct tape and some rope that they had brought along to tie them up. Hall took Manuel's wallet and split the cash in it with Cornewell. Hall also picked up the downstairs phone to take with him. Hall went upstairs and placed everything of value in a bag. According to Hall, at that time Cornewell said "[T]hey seen us," and Cornwell "just started stabbing them, and stabbing them, and [Hall] was just standing there," but "really couldn't do anything." Ex. Vol., State's Ex. 127 p. 8. After they left the house, Hall said that Cornewell disassembled the knife and threw it in the grass. Hall placed the jeans and a trench coat he had been wearing at the time of the murders in his cousin's basement.

When Yairam returned to the house, he found his parents bound with rope and duct tape and lying on the floor in a pool of their blood. They were obviously dead. He looked for the phone to call the police, but the phone was missing. He then ran back to his car to use his cell phone.

On January 30, 2004, Hall and Cornewell were detained by the police pursuant to a Crime Stopper's tip. The police found a black nine-millimeter handgun in Hall's waistband. Detective Roy West ("Detective West") observed a red stain on one of Hall's boots. He also noticed that there were scratch marks and bruises on Hall's knuckles. Because Hall was a juvenile, Detective West followed the usual procedure of collecting any items with which Hall could harm himself while in custody. As Hall was wearing two layers of clothing, Detective West collected Hall's boots, his belt, and his outer layer of clothing. Hall was left in the interrogation room wearing a red plaid shirt, blue sweat pants and socks. Detective Jesse Beavers ("Detective Beavers") obtained a search warrant for the articles of clothing that had been collected from Hall.

Hall's mother and stepfather, Shelli and Tim Hall, were brought to the Homicide Office where Hall was being detained. Detective Beavers read Hall and his parents a list of Hall's rights. Detective Beavers then left Hall and his parents alone for twenty-five minutes to discuss whether Hall wanted to give a statement. After consulting, Hall and his mother signed a waiver of rights form. Hall then gave a recorded statement to Detective Beavers, while his parents remained in the room. In his statement, Hall admitted to the burglaries on January 12th and 29th. Hall admitted to stealing some liquor from the Gonzalez residence and storing it in his cousin's freezer. Hall also told Detective Beavers that he had left his jeans and trench coat that he had been wearing at his cousin's house.

After he gave the statement, Hall and his stepfather went with the police to help them find the knife that Cornewell had discarded after the murders. The police also searched the residence of Amy Ball, Hall's cousin. They confiscated a book bag, two knives, duct tape, ropes, and electrical tape. Hall helped the police locate the phone and the wallet that he had taken from the Gonzaleses' residence. The police also confiscated the items of clothing that Hall said he was wearing on the night of the murders. Subsequent laboratory testing of these items revealed that Manuel and Mayra's blood was on both Hall's pair of jeans and his trench coat.

On May 30, 2004, the State filed two motions requesting the juvenile court to waive its jurisdiction over Hall. After two hearings, the juvenile court granted both motions. On June 22, 2004, the State charged Hall with two counts of felony murder, two counts of murder, two counts of robbery, two counts of criminal confinement, three counts of burglary, and two counts of theft. Upon Hall's motion, two counts regarding the burglary of his uncle's home on January 28th were severed from the remaining eleven charges.

The trial court conducted a jury trial on the first eleven charges on March 13-15, 2006, and Hall was found guilty as charged on all eleven counts. Hall also pleaded guilty to Class B felony burglary, based upon the burglary of his uncle's home on January 28th. In return, the State agreed to dismiss the Class D felony theft charge. Hall was sentenced to ten years for this burglary, to run concurrent to the sentences imposed on the other eleven counts. A sentencing hearing was conducted on April 28, 2006, and the trial court merged the counts for murder and for felony murder, thereby vacating the two felony murder counts. The trial court also reduced the robbery convictions to Class C felonies. The trial court sentenced him to fifty-five years on each murder count, to be served consecutively. The trial court also sentenced him to ten years on the Count Nine burglary conviction to be served consecutively. All other sentences were ordered to run concurrently to these three, for an aggregate term of 120 years. Hall now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

I. Waiver of Juvenile Jurisdiction

Hall first contends that because he was an immature fifteen-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he should have been tried in the juvenile court. When reviewing a claim of the sufficiency of a waiver order, we will not weigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses. K.M. v. State, 804 N.E.2d 305, 308 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), trans. denied (citation omitted). We look only to the evidence most favorable to the State and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, considering both the waiver hearing and the findings of fact given by the court. Id. Unlike criminal proceedings, juvenile proceedings are of a general civil nature, and the burden upon the State is to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that juvenile jurisdiction should be waived. Id. The juvenile court is entitled to give the evidence before it whatever weight it deems appropriate. Id. A juvenile court's decision to waive its jurisdiction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Id.

On May 30, 2004, the State filed two motions requesting that the juvenile court waive its jurisdiction over Hall. The first petition alleged that pursuant to Indiana Code section 31-30-3-4 juvenile jurisdiction should be waived because Hall was charged with an act that would be murder if committed by an adult and there was probable cause to believe that he had committed the crime. Appellant's App. p. 55. This petition pertained to four charges of murder and two charges of robbery. The second petition alleged that pursuant to Indiana Code section 31-30-3-2 jurisdiction should be waived because the act committed was heinous and part of a repetitive pattern of delinquent acts. Appellant's App. p. 373. This petition was in regards to two counts of criminal confinement, three counts of burglary, and two counts of theft. After a hearing on each motion, the juvenile court granted both petitions to waive jurisdiction.

The relevant statute regarding the first motion is Indiana Code section 31-30-3-4 (2004), which provides that:

Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney and after full investigation and hearing, the juvenile court shall waive jurisdiction if it finds that:

(1) the child is charged with an act that would be murder if committed by an adult;

(2) there is probable cause to believe that the child has committed the act; and

(3) the child was at least ten (10) years of age when the act charged was allegedly committed;

unless it would be in the best interests of the child and of the safety and welfare of the community for the child to remain within the juvenile justice system.

The juvenile court issued specific findings on each of these three points.

In its second order, regarding three charges of burglary, two charges of criminal confinement, and two charges of theft, the juvenile court again issued specific findings of fact regarding the statutory elements. The relevant statute for this order is Indiana Code section 31-30-3-2 (1998), which reads as follows:

Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney and after...