Hicks v. State, No. 680S186A
| Docket Nº | No. 680S186A |
| Citation | 426 N.E.2d 411 |
| Case Date | October 08, 1981 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
Page 411
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff Below).
Page 412
Andrew V. Giorgi, Merrillville, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., Palmer K. Ward, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
PRENTICE, Justice.
Defendant (Appellant) was convicted of Murder, Ind.Code § 35-42-1-1 (Burns 1979), after trial by jury and sentenced to fifty (50) years imprisonment.
This direct appeal presents the following issues:
(1) Whether the verdicts rendered by the jury were inconsistent.
(2) Whether the State failed to prove the cause of death of one of the victims.
(3) Whether the trial court erred in not ordering a new trial because of newly discovered evidence.
On September 22, 1978, the Lake County Grand Jury returned indictments charging the defendant, along with James Allen, Dirk Webster, and O. D. Webster, with two counts of Murder. Count I charged that the four shot Betty DeBowles, and Count II charged that they stabbed, beat, and drowned Robin Thomas.
The evidence most favorable to the State reveals that on December 16, 1977, James Allen, Dirk Webster, and the defendant, all of whom were armed, 1 went to the home of Deon and Yvette Thomas. Deon Thomas is Robin Thomas' brother. When they arrived Robin was there with Betty DeBowles. While at the house, the defendant hit Robin across the head with his gun. 2 Thereafter, the defendant, Allen, Yvette Thomas, Webster, and the two victims drove around in Robin's automobile. Allen decided that Yvette should be taken home, and she was. The remainder of the group departed in Robin's automobile. This was the last time that Yvette saw Robin and Betty alive.
The bulk of the evidence against the defendant came from James Allen, who pled guilty to two counts of Manslaughter and agreed to testify against the defendant, in exchange for a recommendation by the State of a sentence of six (6) years imprisonment and dismissal of unrelated charges.
Allen, as a courier for O. D. Webster, had supplied Robin Thomas with cocaine and marijuana. Robin, in turn, had sold these controlled substances. On the day of the murders, it was arranged that Allen, the defendant and Dirk Webster were to deliver Robin to O. D. Webster because he owed O. D. seven to eight hundred dollars for narcotics. Allen testified that O. D. had
Page 413
given instructions not to leave anyone at the Thomas house when they picked up Robin but that he took Yvette home, "Because I didn't want her mixed up in this."After releasing Yvette, they drove to Sixth and Martin Luther King Streets to meet O. D. Webster. O. D. conferred with Robin and Betty in a basement of an unidentified building and out of Allen's presence. O. D. instructed his cohorts to take Robin and Betty to Third and Durbin, the location of Dirk Webster's house. They remained there a half hour, whereupon the defendant told Allen that they had to take Robin and Betty elsewhere. Dirk Webster then directed Allen to drive to the location of a little drainage ditch bridge near Cline Avenue. Allen was driving; Betty sat next to him in the front seat, and Dirk sat next to Betty. Robin and the defendant were in the back seat. When the vehicle stopped, Robin, the defendant, and Dirk got out, but Betty refused to do so. Robin attacked Dirk, and the defendant pulled him off and forced him to walk away from the scene. Dirk then fired three times at Betty, killing her.
While using a rag to wipe off fingerprints, Allen heard four shots from the direction in which the defendant had taken Robin. Robin, however, managed to escape, and the group fled upon the approach of another vehicle, which they believed to be the police. In the midst of the flight, the defendant lost his .32 gun, and Allen threw his gun and the keys to the automobile onto a passing train.
The three returned to the scene of the shootings to look for Robin. The defendant thought that Robin had gone off into the water filled ditch which ran into a tunnel, so Dirk went to one end of the tunnel and the defendant and Allen went to the other. The defendant fired two shots into the tunnel and then pulled Robin out of the water. A struggle ensued between the defendant and Dirk, and Robin. The defendant directed Allen to find a brick, but the defendant then found a bottle, broke it, and slashed Robin's throat twice. He and Dirk then held Robin under the water until he was dead.
Thereafter, O. D. Webster picked up the defendant, Allen, and Dirk near the scene of the murders. O. D. gave Allen three hundred dollars ($300.00) worth of marijuana and paid the defendant and Dirk five hundred dollars ($500.00) each for their services.
The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty with respect to the Murder of Betty DeBowles and a verdict of guilty with respect to the Murder of Robin Thomas. Defendant contends that these verdicts are inconsistent and contrary to law, because the State's evidence shows that both homicides were committed at the same time.
This Court's statements, in its decisions disposing of claims of inconsistent verdicts have not been entirely consistent. In Flowers v. State, (1943) 221 Ind. 448, 450, 48 N.E.2d 56, 57 we adopted the rule of Dunn v. United States, 284 U.S. 390, 393, 52 S.Ct. 189, 190, 76 L.Ed. 356, 358-59, which treats each count of an indictment as if it were a separate indictment and therefore does not require verdicts to be consistent.
In Marsh v. State, (1979) Ind., 393 N.E.2d 757, 760, 761, we stated:
"While the Flowers case has never been overruled, we note that this Court and the federal courts have consistently taken care to establish that verdicts are in fact not inconsistent." * * *
" * * * While never having reversed a case on the basis of inconsistent verdicts, this Court has consistently evinced concern over the possibility of inconsistent verdicts when faced with the issue by establishing that the verdicts are in fact not necessarily inconsistent." (citations omitted.)
Another line of cases, which commenced before the decision in Marsh and continued thereafter, endorses the...
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Smith v. State, No. 382S88
...exceeded his discretion in concluding that a different result upon retrial would not have been possible. Hicks v. State, (1981) Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411; Helton v. State, (1980) Ind., 402 N.E.2d 1263. Here, Keown's affidavit was only impeaching evidence. The trial court did not err in denying a......
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Beattie v. State Of Ind., No. 82S01-0907-CR-307.
...441 N.E.2d 957 (Ind.1982); Easley v. State, 427 N.E.2d 435 (Ind.1981); Tillman v. State, 426 N.E.2d 1149 (Ind.1981); Hicks v. State, 426 N.E.2d 411 (Ind.1981); Woodrum v. State, 498 N.E.2d 1318 (Ind.Ct.App.1986), trans. not sought; Brinker v. State, 491 N.E.2d 223 (Ind.Ct.App.1986), trans. ......
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Harden v. State, No. 182S18
...in concluding that a different result upon retrial would not have been possible. Carter v. State, supra; Hicks v. State, (1981) Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411; Helton v. State, (1980) Ind., 402 N.E.2d In this case, Sater's letters and statement were contradictions of his sworn trial testimony and his......
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State v. Keel, No. 02A03-8701-CR-1
...introduce expert medical testimony to establish cause of death. Wilson v. State (1982), Ind., 432 N.E.2d 30; Hicks v. State (1981), Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411. The jury may infer cause of death from the facts introduced at trial. Ray v. State (1954), 233 Ind. 495, 120 N.E.2d 176. Of course, in or......
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Smith v. State, No. 382S88
...exceeded his discretion in concluding that a different result upon retrial would not have been possible. Hicks v. State, (1981) Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411; Helton v. State, (1980) Ind., 402 N.E.2d 1263. Here, Keown's affidavit was only impeaching evidence. The trial court did not err in denying a......
-
Beattie v. State Of Ind., No. 82S01-0907-CR-307.
...441 N.E.2d 957 (Ind.1982); Easley v. State, 427 N.E.2d 435 (Ind.1981); Tillman v. State, 426 N.E.2d 1149 (Ind.1981); Hicks v. State, 426 N.E.2d 411 (Ind.1981); Woodrum v. State, 498 N.E.2d 1318 (Ind.Ct.App.1986), trans. not sought; Brinker v. State, 491 N.E.2d 223 (Ind.Ct.App.1986), trans. ......
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Harden v. State, No. 182S18
...in concluding that a different result upon retrial would not have been possible. Carter v. State, supra; Hicks v. State, (1981) Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411; Helton v. State, (1980) Ind., 402 N.E.2d In this case, Sater's letters and statement were contradictions of his sworn trial testimony and his......
-
State v. Keel, No. 02A03-8701-CR-1
...introduce expert medical testimony to establish cause of death. Wilson v. State (1982), Ind., 432 N.E.2d 30; Hicks v. State (1981), Ind., 426 N.E.2d 411. The jury may infer cause of death from the facts introduced at trial. Ray v. State (1954), 233 Ind. 495, 120 N.E.2d 176. Of course, in or......