Joseph v. State

• Decision Date: 02 October 2012
• Docket Number: No. 82A05–1108–CR–387.,82A05–1108–CR–387.
• Parties: Moise JOSEPH, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

975 N.E.2d 420

Moise JOSEPH, Appellant–Defendant,
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 82A05–1108–CR–387.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Oct. 2, 2012.

[975 N.E.2d 422]

John Andrew Goodridge, Evansville, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Michael Gene Worden, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION
BRADFORD, Judge.

In the instant matter we are faced with the troublesome situation of reviewing an individual's convictions relating to an unspeakable crime in light of an apparent violation of the convicted individual's Fourth Amendment rights. In reviewing this matter, we must consider to what extent certain statements made by the convicted individual must be suppressed following an episode of police misconduct.

Appellant–Defendant Moise Joseph appeals following his convictions for Class A felony burglary resulting in serious bodily injury,¹ Class B felony attempted armed robbery,² and Class B felony criminal confinement. ³ In appealing his convictions, Joseph argues that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain statements that he made to a police detective during an interview that occurred following the illegal and warrantless entry into and search of his apartment by police officers. Concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Joseph's

[975 N.E.2d 423]

statements to the police detective, we reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY⁴

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on July 16, 2010, police were called to a Sonic Drive–In in Evansville to investigate two suspicious vehicles. The vehicles were parked, with their license plates pointing away from the restaurant, in the area of the Sonic parking lot commonly used by restaurant staff. Evansville Police Officer Gerald Collins responded to the call. After arriving at the Sonic, Officer Collins ran the license plates on the vehicles and learned that neither vehicle had been reported stolen. During the course of running the vehicles' license plates, Officer Collins learned that one of the vehicles was registered to Joseph, and he was provided with Joseph's address. The vehicles remained in the Sonic parking lot until approximately 11:00 a.m., when three men returned and hurriedly drove them away.

Earlier that day, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Larry Matthew Moore and Heather Reeves left the residence Moore shared with his girlfriend, Megan Darr. Moore's home was located in Evansville near the Sonic. At some point during the morning, Darr was awakened when someone jumped on her in bed, wrapped a blanket around her head, and asked, “[W]here's he money at?”. Tr. p. 372. When Darr attempted to break free, the person struck her on the head with a gun. Darr, who had recently learned that she was pregnant, became scared and had trouble breathing. At some point, Darr noticed that there were other people in the home. She also saw that the person on top of her was a black male and that he was, in fact, wielding a gun. Darr continued to struggle with the man who struck her several more times with the gun. The man told Darr that she should not struggle because his gun had “a hairy f'ing trigger.” Tr. p. 376. Eventually, the man threw Darr on the floor, and after Darr pleaded with him to stop because she was pregnant, kicked her in the ribs, tied her up, and placed her in a closet with a blanket over her head.

Moore returned home, again with Reeves, at approximately 9:30 a.m. When Moore and Reeves returned to Moore's home, they encountered the three men who had invaded the home. One of the men grabbed Reeves and pulled her into the home. Moore escaped and ran to a nearby business to call the police. After pulling Reeves inside, the three men fled the home. Police officers arrived at the home shortly thereafter. Darr was transported to the hospital for treatment. The home had been completely ransacked, and various items were missing.

Because of the timing of the invasion of Moore's home, the close proximity of the home to the Sonic, and his knowledge that Joseph had a gun permit, Evansville Police Officer Raymond Michael Winters went to the apartment complex where Joseph lived. Officer Winters acknowledged that, at the time, he did not know anything about the home invasion, except that there had been one. Officer Winters was joined at the apartment complex by other officers, including Officer Dan Hoehn. Officer Winters located the apartment complex manager, who let Officers Winters and Hoehn into Joseph's apartment. The officers handcuffed Joseph, read him his Miranda⁵ advisements, and asked him

[975 N.E.2d 424]

about his whereabouts earlier that morning. After being told by the officers that they knew that his vehicle had been at the Sonic, Joseph indicated that he had been approached by two men about purchasing an X–Box gaming system for five dollars. During a search of Joseph's apartment, officers recovered guns and other items of interest relating to their investigation into the home invasion. However, it is unclear from the record whether any of these items were found to have any connection to the home invasion.

After arriving on the scene, Evansville Police Detective Ron Brown asked Joseph, who was still handcuffed, whether he would be willing to go to the police station to answer a few questions. Joseph answered in the affirmative. Joseph was then transported to the police station by Officer Winters. Upon arriving at the police station, Detective Brown again read Joseph his Miranda advisements before questioning him about the evidence recovered from his home and his knowledge of the home invasion. Joseph repeated his earlier statement about the X–Box gaming system, but denied being involved in the home invasion.

On June 20, 2010, the State charged Joseph with Class A felony burglary resulting in bodily injury, Class B felony attempted armed robbery, and Class B felony criminal confinement. Joseph filed a motion to suppress all evidence recovered during the search of his apartment as well as his statements to Officers Winters and Hoehn and Detective Brown. Following a hearing, the trial court suppressed all evidence recovered from Joseph's apartment as well as his statements to Officers Winters and Hoehn. The trial court denied the motion with respect to Joseph's statements to Detective Brown. A jury trial commenced on April 11, 2011, after which the jury found Joseph guilty as charged. On July 1, 2011, the trial court sentenced Joseph to an aggregate term of twenty-six years of incarceration. This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Joseph contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the statements that he made to Detective Brown following the warrantless entry into and search of his apartment by Officers Winters and Hoehn. Specifically, Joseph argues that his statements to Detective Brown constitute “fruit of the poisonous tree” and, therefore, were inadmissible at trial.⁶

A. Standard of Review

Our standard of review for rulings on the admissibility of evidence is essentially the same whether the challenge is made by a pre-trial motion to suppress or by an objection at trial. Ackerman v. State, 774 N.E.2d 970, 974–75 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), reh'g denied, trans. denied. We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Collins v. State, 822 N.E.2d 214, 218 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. We also consider uncontroverted evidence in the defendant's favor. Id.
Cole v. State, 878 N.E.2d 882, 885 (Ind.Ct.App.2007).

A trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence.

[975 N.E.2d 425]

Washington v. State, 784 N.E.2d 584, 587 (Ind.Ct.App.2003) (citing Bradshaw v. State, 759 N.E.2d 271, 273 (Ind.Ct.App.2001)). Accordingly, we will reverse a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence only when the trial court abused its discretion. Id. (citing Bradshaw, 759 N.E.2d at 273). An abuse of discretion involves a decision that is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court. Id. (citing Huffines v. State, 739 N.E.2d 1093, 1095 (Ind.Ct.App.2000)).

B. Analysis 1. The Fourth Amendment

On appeal, Joseph claims that the warrantless entry into and search of his apartment by Officers Winters and Hoehn violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The fundamental purpose of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is to protect the legitimate expectations of privacy that citizens possess in their persons, their homes, and their belongings. Taylor v. State, 842 N.E.2d 327, 330 (Ind.2006) (citing Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91, 100 S.Ct. 338, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1979)). The principal protection against unnecessary intrusions into private dwellings is the warrant requirement imposed by the Fourth Amendment and, therefore, searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. Alspach v. State, 755 N.E.2d 209, 212 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), trans. denied. The State bears the burden of proving that a warrantless search falls within an exception to the warrant requirement. Taylor, 842 N.E.2d at 330. Whether a particular warrantless search violates the guarantees of the Fourth Amendment depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. Rush v. State, 881 N.E.2d 46, 50 (Ind.Ct.App.2008).

Trotter v. State, 933 N.E.2d 572, 579 (Ind.Ct.App.2010).

The existence of exigent circumstances falls within an exception to the warrant requirement. Id. (citing Holder v. State, 847 N.E.2d 930, 936 (Ind.2006)). In other words, the warrant requirement becomes inapplicable when the exigencies of the situation make the needs of law enforcement so compelling that the warrantless search is objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Id. (quotations omitted). Under the exigent circumstances exception, police may enter a residence without a warrant if the situation suggests a reasonable belief that...