Matheny v. State

• Decision Date: 07 March 2013
• Docket Number: No. 49A04–1207–CR–347.,49A04–1207–CR–347.
• Citation: 983 N.E.2d 672
• Parties: Joseph MATHENY, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

983 N.E.2d 672

Joseph MATHENY, Appellant–Defendant,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 49A04–1207–CR–347.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

March 7, 2013.

Patricia Caress McMath, Marion County Public Defender Agency, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Eric P. Babbs, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

Joseph Matheny appeals his conviction for class D felony auto theft. When Matheny was being arrested, a police officer asked him where he lived, and Matheny told the officer. At trial, Matheny's response was used as evidence against him because his residence was close to the location from which the car was stolen. On appeal, he argues that his statement was obtained in violation of his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination and that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting it. He also argues that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing his tendered jury instructions regarding the presumption of innocence. We conclude that the police officer did not violate Matheny's constitutional rights by asking him for his address, and therefore the trial court did not err in admitting his statement at trial. We further conclude that although the trial court erred in refusing one of Matheny's tendered jury instructions, the error was harmless. Therefore, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On March 23, 2012, at approximately 6:20 p.m., Pamela Dedinsky parked her red 2004 Honda Accord near the intersection of Delaware and Ohio Streets in Indianapolis. At about 9:30 p.m., after dining at a restaurant, Dedinsky returned to the parking space and found that her car was gone. She went back to the restaurant and called the police to report that her car was missing. Earlier that day, Dedinsky had given her daughter permission to drive the car using a spare set of keys. This set of keys was later determined to be missing. Dedinsky did not know Matheny.

On March 24, 2012, at approximately 2:20 a.m., Indianapolis Police Officer Brad Alford was on patrol near 38th Street and Audubon Road and noticed a car, later identified as Dedinsky's Accord, with heavy front-end damage in a ditch with its lights on and a gray van backed up to it. As he drove by, Officer Alford saw a man, later identified as Matheny, sitting in the driver's seat of the car with the door open. Officer Alford returned to the Accord because he believed that its condition indicated a property damage accident. Officer Alford shined a spotlight on the Accord and saw Matheny exit the car. Officer Alford walked toward the vehicles. He noticed that Matheny was wobbling and intoxicated. Matheny had a smell of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, and watery eyes. Matheny also had a laceration above his right eyebrow with blood trickling down. Officer Alford asked Matheny what had happened, and Matheny said that “a friend from 30th and Emerson” had offered him $20 to get the Accord out of the ditch. Tr. at 214. Matheny later stated that he had been a passenger in the Accord after a friend “picked him up at 38th Street and Emerson and they were riding around.” Id. at 237.

Officer Marc Klonne arrived at the scene as backup. The officers observed that the van was undamaged and was tied to the Accord in order to tow it. For safety reasons, the officers asked the van driver to remove the tow rope from the Accord and called for a tow truck. Because the van driver had been acting as a “Good Samaritan” and had not been involved in an accident with the Accord, the officers told the van driver that he could leave. Id. at 242.

Officer Klonne relayed the Accord's license plate number to dispatch and was informed that the Accord had been reported stolen. Officers Alford and Klonne then approached Matheny, who was standing by the Accord. Officer Alford saw Matheny take a step back, move his right hand behind his right leg, and drop something on the ground. Officer Alford shined his flashlight on the ground and saw a car key inscribed with an “H” logo. When the Accord was later towed, the tow truck driver inserted this key into the ignition and turned it to shift gear.¹ The officers handcuffed Matheny. They asked Matheny to identify himself, but he refused. During the patdown safety search for weapons, Officer Klonne felt a wallet in Matheny's pocket. Because they had been unable to identify Matheny, Officer Klonne removed an Indiana identification card (“ID”) from the wallet. Joseph Matheny was the name on the ID card. To confirm whether the ID was in fact Matheny's, Officer Klonne asked Matheny for his address, and Matheny did not answer. Officer Klonne also asked Matheny several times if he lived at the address on the ID. Finally, Matheny said that he did not live at the address on the ID and that he lived at Wheeler Mission.

As Officer Alford was handcuffing Matheny, Officer Kari Pennington arrived at the scene. She also saw the car key on the ground below Matheny's hand. She read Matheny his Miranda rights. Officer Klonne called the medics and performed an initial sweep of the vehicle, observing everything in plain view. He saw that the driver's side airbag had deployed. The passenger's side airbag was not deployed, and there were items on the passenger seat.

On March 26, 2012, the State charged Matheny with class D felony auto theft and class B misdemeanor public intoxication. On April 12, 2012, Matheny filed a motion to suppress evidence. Following the hearing, the trial court concluded that Matheny had been too intoxicated to knowingly and voluntarily waive his Miranda rights and therefore suppressed all Matheny's statements made after he was taken into custody, except for those concerning his identifying information. Id. at 68.

At trial, Matheny objected to the admission of his statement that he lived at Wheeler Mission. Officer Klonne testified that his reason for asking Matheny to state his address was to verify the information on the ID. The trial court concluded that “routine questions for the purposes of identification, such as name, address, height, weight are not within the purview of Miranda,” overruled Matheny's objection, and admitted the statement. Id. at 263. Officer Klonne testified that Wheeler Mission was located at 248 North Delaware Street, which is close to where Dedinsky's car was parked.

The jury found Matheny guilty as charged. Matheny appeals his conviction for auto theft. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

I. Admissibility of Mat hen y's Statement

Matheny argues that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting his statement to police that he lived at Wheeler Mission. “The admissibility of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed absent a showing that the trial court abused its discretion.” Furnish v. State, 779 N.E.2d 576, 578 (Ind.Ct.App.2002)trans. denied (2003) (citation and quotation marks omitted). “An abuse of discretion involves a decision that is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court.” Washington v. State, 784 N.E.2d 584, 587 (Ind.Ct.App.2003) (citation omitted). “In determining whether the trial court abused its discretion, we do not reweigh evidence and consider conflicting evidence in a light most favorable to the trial court's ruling.” Mogg v. State, 918 N.E.2d 750, 755 (Ind.Ct.App.2009). We may affirm the trial court's ruling if it is sustainable on any legal basis supported by the record. Scott v. State, 883 N.E.2d 147, 152 (Ind.Ct.App.2008).

Matheny contends that his statement that he lived at Wheeler Mission was obtained in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provides that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” “At its core, the [Fifth Amendment] privilege reflects our fierce ‘unwillingness to subject those suspected of crime to the cruel trilemma of self-accusation, perjury or contempt.’ ” Pennsylvania v. Muniz, 496 U.S. 582, 596, 110 S.Ct. 2638, 110 L.Ed.2d 528 (1990) (quoting Doe v. United States, 487 U.S. 201, 212, 108 S.Ct. 2341, 101 L.Ed.2d 184 (1988)). The “privilege against self-incrimination protects individuals not only from the legal compulsion to testify in a criminal courtroom, but also from the informal compulsion exerted by law-enforcement officers during in-custody questioning.” Id. at 589, 110 S.Ct. 2638. Thus, when a person is in custody ² and is subject to interrogation, “the accused must be adequately and effectively apprised of his rights and the exercise of those rights must be fully honored.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 467, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966); see also Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980)³ (“[T]he special procedural safeguards outlined in Miranda are not required where a suspect is simply taken into custody, but rather where a subject in custody is subjected to interrogation.”) (emphasis added). The safeguards outlined in Miranda also apply to the functional equivalent of interrogation by the police. Innis, 446 U.S. at 301–02, 100 S.Ct. 1682. “That is to say, the term ‘interrogation’ under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.” Id. at 301, 100 S.Ct. 1682 (footnotes omitted). Verbal statements that are both “testimonial” in nature and elicited during custodial interrogation are protected. Muniz, 496 U.S. at 590, 110 S.Ct. 2638. “Whenever a suspect is asked for a response requiring him to communicate an express or implied assertion of fact or belief, the suspect confronts the ‘trilemma’ of truth, falsity, or silence, and hence the...