Haste v. State
| Decision Date | 24 January 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 03A05–1207–CR–378.,03A05–1207–CR–378. |
| Citation | 982 N.E.2d 30 |
| Parties | E. Paul HASTE, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
E. Paul HASTE, Appellant–Defendant,
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
No. 03A05–1207–CR–378.
Court of Appeals of Indiana.
Jan. 24, 2013.
Appeal from the Bartholomew Superior Court; The Honorable Chris D. Monroe, Judge; Cause No. 03D01–1104–FB–1929.
Jane Ann Noblitt, Columbus, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Richard C. Webster, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
MATHIAS, Judge.
Following a jury trial, E. Paul Haste (“Haste”) was convicted of Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine and ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution. Haste appeals and raises two issues, which we restate as:
I. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support his conviction for Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine; and
II. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in ordering Haste to pay restitution in the amount of $90,000.
We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions.
John Thomas Owens (“Mr.Owens”) and Peggy Owens (“Mrs.Owens”) own a two-story house with a walkout basement apartment in Columbus, Indiana. Prior to January 2011, Mr. and Mrs. Owens lived in the top two floors of the house along with Mrs. Owens's son, Andy Chappell (“Chappell”). Haste rented the basement apartment from Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and his girlfriend, Linda Kennedy (“Kennedy”), lived with him. In January 2011, Mr. and Mrs. Owens left their home for a three-month vacation in Florida. At that time, the interior door separating the basement from the rest of the house was locked. However, Mr. and Mrs. Owens usually left their front door and garage unlocked, as was customary in the area.
On March 31, 2011, while Mr. and Mrs. Owens were still on vacation, Sergeant David Steinkoenig (“Sergeant Steinkoenig”) of the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department received a tip that methamphetamine was being manufactured at the Owens's residence and that Haste was involved. He contacted Mr. Owens by telephone and asked if Haste lived in the house. Mr. Owens answered affirmatively and gave Sergeant Steinkoenig permission to search the property.
Later in the day, Sergeant Steinkoenig and Detective Slate (“Detective Slate”) went to the residence to speak with Haste. Near the entrance to the basement apartment, which was located in the rear of the house, Sergeant Steinkoenig found a discarded coffee filter with a fine white powder and red flakes on it. Both officers recognized the fine white powder on the coffee filter as consistent with either pseudoephedrine or methamphetamine and the red flakes as the binder on pseudoephedrine pills.
When the officers knocked on the basement door, Kennedy answered. The officers asked for Haste, who then came to the door. When the officers informed Haste that they were investigating a possible methamphetamine laboratory, Haste became visibly nervous. He started to pace around, he began sweating profusely and breathing heavily, and he would not make eye contact with the officers. When Sergeant Steinkoenig confronted Haste with the coffee filter, Haste responded that he could not see any powder because he was not wearing his glasses. The officers asked Haste if he would consent to a search of the basement apartment, but Haste refused and told the officers that they could come back later in the afternoon to perform a search. Haste then abruptly stated that he had to use the restroom and went back inside the apartment.
Approximately five minutes later, Haste reemerged from the apartment alone. Haste told the officers that he had “to take her 1 to an appointment,” climbed onto a nearby golf cart, and drove away. Tr. p. 422. The officers then walked back towards their vehicles, and as they did so, they passed a parked pickup truck. Sergeant Steinkoenig ran the truck's plates and discovered that it was registered to Haste. In the bed of the truck, the officers observed two plastic bottles with holes punched through their caps and a burnt residue inside the bottles. The officers recognized the bottles as hydrochloric acid generators that had been used in the production of methamphetamine.
Sergeant Steinkoenig shouted for Haste to stop. When Haste did not stop, Sergeant Steinkoenig attempted to follow the golf cart's tracks into the nearby wooded area, but he was unable to find Haste so he returned to the house. By the time Sergeant Steinkoenig returned, the golf cart was back where it had originally been parked. After other officers arrived and a perimeter was set up around the house, Detective Slate left to obtain a search warrant.
While waiting for Detective Slate to return with the search warrant, Sergeant Steinkoenig noticed that the windows on the top floor were now completely open, and he heard the sound of glass clanking and rattling. Additionally, Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Tindell (“Deputy Tindell”) could smell a chemical odor that he associated with the production of methamphetamine, and he observed a woman “hurrying around” on the ground floor of the house. Tr. pp. 297–99.
Because he believed that evidence was being destroyed, Sergeant Steinkoenig ordered Haste and Kennedy to come outside. A few moments later, Haste walked out of the basement apartment. He was sweating and appeared nervous. Because Kennedy did not come out with Haste, Sergeant Steinkoenig and another officer entered the basement apartment. Sergeant Steinkoenig noticed an overwhelming chemical odor he associated with the manufacturing of methamphetamine. The officers exited the basement when they did not find Kennedy. Eventually, Kennedy exited the house through the ground floor's front door. She was sweating profusely, breathing heavily, coughing, and spitting.
When Detective Slate returned with the search warrant, the officers conducted a full search of the house. On the ground floor, which included Mr. and Mrs. Owens's bedroom, the officers did not find any evidence associated with the manufacturing of methamphetamine. When the officers moved to the top floor, however, they smelled a strong odor of solvent used in the production of methamphetamine. The odor was so overwhelming that the officers had to leave the house to retrieve protective masks.
When the officers returned to a bedroom on the second floor, Detective Slate found a large bag of rock salt, which is used to produce hydrochloric acid in the production of methamphetamine. Detective Slate also found a residue spill on the carpet, which field-tested positive for methamphetamine; a food dehydrator containing racks that held paper towels with white residue on them; and a makeup bag containing small plastic bags of white powder, which field-tested positive for methamphetamine. In the bathroom, Detective Slate found a red thermos that had a strong odor of solvent.
In another upstairs bedroom, Detective Slate found a clear plastic tub containing mason jars, a funnel, plastic pitchers, and bottles containing a white residue. He also found a bottle of Liquid Fire, which is a common ingredient used in methamphetamine production, and he found more hydrochloric acid generators like those previously observed in the bed of Haste's pickup truck. In a hallway connecting the bedroom to the attic of the garage, Detective Slate found a shoebox full of ribbons from lithium batteries, which are used in the production of methamphetamme. Based on the large number of ribbons, he believed that a large batch of methamphetamme had been made. He also found an air tank with the valve modified in a manner that enabled it to hold anhydrous ammonia, which is often used in the production of methamphetamme. In a hallway closet, he found plastic tubing, a breathing mask, and a solvent commonly used in the production of methamphetamme.
In the garage, Sergeant Steinkoenig found empty packages of Sudafed and lithium batteries. He also found another air tank with a modified valve and a small propane tank. The tanks were later determined to contain anhydrous ammonia. In the basement apartment, where Haste lived, officers found numerous plastic pitchers and containers with residue and sludge, which indicated to Detective Slate that they had been used either to soak pseudoephedrine pills or as a reaction vessel.
Haste was arrested and charged in four counts: Count I, Class B felony dealing in methamphetamme; Count II, Class C felony possession of methamphetamme; Count III, Class D felony possession of chemical reagents or precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance; and Count IV, Class D felony illegal possession of anhydrous ammonia. A three-day jury trial commenced on July 19, 2011. The jury found Haste guilty of Counts I, III, and IV, but not guilty of Count II. A sentencing hearing was held on August 17, 2011, at which the State presented evidence concerning the damage the methamphetamme manufacturing activity had caused to Mr. and Mrs. Owens's home and asked the trial court to enter a restitution order in the amount of $90,000. The trial court sentenced Haste to a ten-year executed term on Count I, vacated the convictions on Counts III and IV due to double jeopardy concerns, and took the State's restitution request under advisement.
Haste appealed. This court dismissed his appeal sua sponte after concluding that the order he was appealing was not a final judgment, because the restitution issue had not been resolved when the Notice of Completion of Clerk's Record was filed on August 23, 2011. See Haste v. State, 967 N.E.2d 576 (Ind.Ct.App.2012). On October 24, 2011, the trial court ordered Haste to pay $90,000 in restitution to Mr. and Mrs. Owens, jointly and severally, with Kennedy. Haste now appeals.
Haste first argues that the State presented insufficient evidence to support his conviction for Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine.2 Upon a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither...
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