McDermott v. State

• Decision Date: 27 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 49A02-0609-CR-755.,49A02-0609-CR-755.
• Citation: 877 N.E.2d 467
• Parties: William McDERMOTT, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

877 N.E.2d 467

William McDERMOTT, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49A02-0609-CR-755.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

November 27, 2007.

Katherine A. Cornelius, Marion County Public Defender Agency, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Matthew D. Fisher, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

DARDEN, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

William McDermott ("McDermott") brings this interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order denying his motion to suppress his arrest and charges stemming therefrom.

We affirm.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court's denial of McDermott's motion to suppress constituted an abuse of discretion.

FACTS

On June 3, 2006, at approximately 7:45 a.m., a motorist approached Marion County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Wood ("Deputy Wood") near the intersection of Sixth and Main Streets in Beech Grove. The motorist advised that just to the south, a man was sitting in the roadway, interfering with traffic and shouting. According to the motorist, the man was also threatening passersby and trying to start a fight. (Tr. 6). Deputy Wood listened closely and could hear "somebody yelling south of [him]." (Tr. 7). Deputy Wood, in full uniform and in a marked squad car, drove toward the origin of the noise and saw the man, later identified as McDermott.

McDermott was "standing in the middle of the street yelling and screaming" in an "incoherent" manner. (Tr. 7). When Deputy Wood exited his patrol car and asked McDermott to step over to speak with him, McDermott responded, "F* * * you, you don't have jurisdiction here." (Tr. 8). McDermott then ran to the west between two houses and stood in the grass. Deputy Wood followed and asked McDermott speak with him. McDermott refused, "turned and kind of ran, walked quickly" to the south. (Tr. 9). Deputy Wood followed and "kept repeating . . . come here bud I need to talk to you. What's going on? Why are you out here in the middle of the street." (Tr. 9).

McDermott walked past several houses, before coming to 64 South Sixth Street, where he opened the screen door and entered leaving the front door open. Unaware of McDermott's identity and uncertain as to whose house McDermott had entered, Deputy Wood approached the house. Standing on the porch, Deputy Wood opened the screen door and looked through the open front door. Inside, he could see McDermott, seated just beyond the threshold. Deputy Wood asked McDermott to step outside to talk; McDermott refused.

Unsure as to whether McDermott was a resident of the home, Deputy Wood asked him to present a form of identification to verify his right to be on the premises. McDermott adamantly refused. Deputy Wood called for backup assistance and again asked McDermott, "What's going on? Do you have any identification on you?" (Tr. 10). Deputy Wood observed that "[a]t that point [McDermott] started getting very agitated." (Tr. 10). Soon thereafter, Deputy Eric Snow arrived at the scene. By now, McDermott's shouting had awakened neighborhood residents, who were watching the events unfold.

McDermott waved his arms about, clenched his fists, and slid forward in his seat as if to stand. He still refused to identify himself. Deputies Wood and Snow entered the residence, crossed the threshold and approached McDermott, who continued to display signs of aggression. Deputy Wood sensed that a fight was imminent and used his taser¹ to subdue McDermott. McDermott fell to the floor, but refused to allow the deputies to handcuff him. After a physical struggle, the deputies finally managed to handcuff McDermott, and were able to identify him as a resident of the home.

On June 3, 2006, the State charged McDermott with resisting law enforcement as a class A misdemeanor; disorderly conduct as a class B misdemeanor; and public intoxication as a class B misdemeanor. McDermott's bench trial was scheduled to commence on July 19, 2006. At the opening of trial, McDermott orally moved to suppress his arrest and all charges therefrom. The parties argued the motion, and then Deputy Wood testified to the matters noted above. Following Deputy Wood's testimony and after closing arguments, the trial court took McDermott's motion under advisement. On August 7, 2006, the trial court denied McDermott's motion to suppress, stating,

. . . I'm basing [my decision] on the obstruction of traffic which is an offense that . . . the defendant had committed in [Deputy Wood's] presents [sic] . . . according to [State v. Straub, 749 N.E.2d 593, 600 (Ind.Ct.App.2001)] finding probable cause for that[,] even though you arrested him [ultimately for a] different offense that's enough to go ahead and follow the defendant into his home. And [McDermott] did leave the scene. [T]here is testimony that he did not run but he left the scene and went into a house, of course the officer didn't know who's [sic] house it was and of course [it] ultimately ended up being the defendant's house. [McDermott] was avoiding the arrest . . . by leaving the scene and that the officer had testified that [McDermott] was incoherent. He was obstructing traffic. He was yelling profanities and the officer saw this occur and [McDermott] ran from the street to the grass then from that point when he left that area to go to his home he didn't walk. He did not run according to the officer but was walking quickly. So I'm finding there are exigent circumstances. A risk of bodily harm to [McDermott], possibly other people when he was standing in the street with traffic coming. He could have been hit by a car or somebody in a car could have been injured by that accident as well. And of course I fully understand the risk from traffic dissipated once the defendant left the street, but [from] all of these things combined . . . there was enough for the officer to pursue [McDermott] into his home. [McDermott] was a person in need of assistance[,] possibly to protect private property as well because again the officer didn't know who's [sic] home that was. * * * I don't know how [officers asked to protect the public] could possibly know other facts that were needed without dealing with the situation right then and there which I think the officer was bound to do at that time. * * * And again the officer didn't know why [McDermott] was acting bizarrely as he said and I don't know how he could possibly know that and [in] my opinion I don't think he should have had to wait for a warrant in this case and that's it.

(Tr. 30-32). The defense orally moved for an interlocutory appeal. The trial court granted the motion, and this appeal ensued pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-4-2.

DECISION

McDermott challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress his arrest and charges stemming therefrom. Specifically, McDermott argues that Deputies Wood and Snow entered his home without a warrant and in the absence of exigent circumstances or other justification, and in so doing, violated the unreasonable search and seizure provisions in Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Upon reviewing a motion to suppress, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses but instead consider all uncontroverted evidence together with the conflicting evidence that supports the trial court's decision. Ware v. State, 782 N.E.2d 478, 480 (Ind.Ct.App. 2003), trans. denied. However, unlike the typical sufficiency of the evidence case, we also consider the uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant. Id. A trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and we will disturb its ruling only where it is shown that the trial court abused that discretion. Id. An abuse of discretion occurs if the decision is against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court. Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482, 490 (Ind.2007).

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. "In spite of the similarity in structure of the federal and state constitutional provisions, interpretations and applications vary between them." Holder v. State, 847 N.E.2d 930, 935 (Ind.2006). McDermott has alleged both federal and state constitutional violations.

1. Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution

First, McDermott asserts that the deputies' warrantless entry into his home violated Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Our Supreme Court has previously held that "investigation under [Article 1,] Section 11 places the burden on the State to demonstrate that each relevant intrusion was reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances." Id. (quoting Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356, 360 (Ind.2005)). Further, the Court stated,

As we consider reasonableness based upon the particular facts of each case, the Court also gives Art. 1, § 11, a liberal construction to angle in favor of protection for individuals from unreasonable intrusions on privacy. At the same time, `Indiana citizens have been concerned not only with personal privacy but also with safety, security, and protection from crime.' It is because of concerns among citizens about safety, security, and protection that some intrusions upon privacy are tolerated, so long as they are reasonably aimed toward those concerns. Thus, we have observed `that the totality of the circumstances requires consideration of both the degree of intrusion into the subject's ordinary activities and the basis upon which the officer selected the subject of the search or seizure.'

Holder, 847 N.E.2d at 940 (quoting Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at 360 (internal citations omitted)). Thus, to determine the reasonableness of police conduct under the totality of the circumstances, we consider "(1) the degree of concern, suspicion, or...