McElfresh v. State

• Decision Date: 07 August 2015
• Docket Number: No. 32A01–1411–CR–514.,32A01–1411–CR–514.
• Parties: Newland McELFRESH, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

40 N.E.3d 1259

Newland McELFRESH, Appellant–Defendant

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 32A01–1411–CR–514.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Aug. 7, 2015.

Ryan W. Tanselle, Capper Tulley & Reimondo, Brownsburg, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Katherine Modesitt Cooper, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

Opinion

BAKER

, Judge.

[1] Newland McElfresh appeals his convictions for Class D Felony Attempted Obstruction of Justice¹ and Class A Misdemeanor Invasion of Privacy,² arguing that there is insufficient evidence to support the convictions and that the trial court erred in sentencing him. We find insufficient evidence supporting the attempted obstruction of justice conviction and reverse that conviction. We find insufficient evidence supporting the invasion of privacy conviction and reverse, but find sufficient evidence supporting the lesser-included offense of attempted invasion of privacy. We therefore remand to the trial court with directions to enter judgment against McElfresh on one count of attempted invasion of privacy and to sentence him accordingly.

Facts

[2] On November 11, 2012, the State charged McElfresh with twelve counts of sexual offenses against three children, including T.W., in Cause No. 32D03–1211–FC–144 (“FC–144”). Pending a trial in that case, McElfresh signed two no-contact orders barring him from having any contact with the alleged victims. In April 2013, McElfresh pleaded guilty to three counts of child molesting involving T.W. and the two other victims.

[3] On May 3, 2013, after entering a plea agreement with the State but prior to his guilty plea hearing and sentencing, McElfresh wrote a four-page letter to T.W.'s mother stating in relevant part as follows:

I would like for you to ask [T.W.] about the whole incident. Why? Because it never happened!!! I never touched [T.W., K., or A.]!! I want to know why they said that happened, and how their statements were exactly the same. I know you will be able to get the truth out of [T.W.]

For something that NEVER happened, I want to know how they stated in their deposition ^{[ 3 ]} something word for word as to what happened. I know they talked to one another before they gave their depositions. But, I also know that [K. and T.W.] are not smart enough to have thought of this by themselves. Someone told them what to say! ... They were coached as [sic] what to say, and I know if anyone could find out the truth, it would be you!

You don't have to reply and tell me what you find out, and in truth you don't even have to ask [T.W.], that would be up to you. But, if I was you, I would really like to know the truth.... I will be honest with you. I really wanted to take this to trial. I know that I did not live in the house at the time of this allegation, and if I could have gotten either [T.W. or K.] to admit it never happened, they would have been charged with a “D” felony of “False Informing.” They would have been charged with a felony for it. More than likely they would have been put on probation only, but they would have gotten themselves in serious trouble. I am pretty sure my attorney would have made one of the girls tell the truth. But, I told him I was guilty of other things and I really didn't want to go after the girls, I just wanted to find out who told them that. To me it is just amazing that I did things on the 31st of August. [A.] stated she was with [T.W.] when I did things with [T.W.], but she said they were on the 31st. To me, that is another reason I believe the girls all talked, and that was something else my attorney wanted to go after the girls with Conspiracy. That is another charge. They all would have had talked to each other about different instances she said they happened on the 31st of August....

I would rather you not talk to the Prosecutor about this. I would hope that [T.W.] would tell you the truth, that [K.] told her what to say....

State's Ex. 5.

[4] After receiving the letter, T.W.'s mother, A.W., contacted the Hendricks County Prosecutor's Office and Avon Police Detective Brian Nugent. And on May 9, 2013, the State charged McElfresh with obstruction of justice, a Class D felony, and invasion of privacy, as a Class A misdemeanor. On July 16, the State moved to dismiss the obstruction of justice count and to add a new count of attempted obstruction of justice, a Class D felony, which the trial court granted. Following a bench trial, the trial court found McElfresh guilty as charged, entered judgment of conviction, and sentenced him to an aggregate term of 600 days at the Department of Correction. McElfresh now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

[5] McElfresh contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to support his convictions. Our standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence claims is well settled:

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we examine only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences that support the verdict. We do not assess witness credibility, nor do we reweigh the evidence to determine if it was sufficient to support a conviction. Under our appellate system, those roles are reserved for the finder of fact. Instead, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the trial court ruling and affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Pillow v. State, 986 N.E.2d 343, 344 (Ind.Ct.App.2013)

(citations omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted).

I. Attempted Obstruction of Justice

[6] To convict McElfresh of attempted obstruction of justice, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that McElfresh took a substantial step toward committing obstruction of justice, that is, knowingly or intentionally inducing, by threat or coercion, T.W. to withhold or unreasonably delay in producing any testimony. Ind.Code §§ 35–41–5–1

, 35–44.1–2–2(a)(1)(A).

[7] At trial, the State presented evidence that McElfresh mailed the May 3 letter to A.W. regarding her daughter T.W., a witness in the pending criminal proceeding against him. The State argued that the letter was an effort to convince T.W. to change or withhold her testimony against him by threatening prosecution against her for false informing and/or conspiracy. We note that the trial court had not yet accepted McElfresh's plea agreement at the time he wrote the letter. Thus, there was still a possibility that he would face a trial and T.W. would testify against him.

[8] In McElfresh's letter, he accused T.W. of lying, contended that K. and T.W. were coached, that K. told T.W. “what to say,” and that the girls conspired to give false testimony. State's Ex. 5. He contended that at trial his attorney “would have made one of the girls tell the truth,” in which case, according to McElfresh, the girls would have been charged with false informing. Id. And McElfresh stated that his attorney “wanted to go after the girls with Conspiracy. That is another charge.” Id. He contended that if T.W. will tell the truth now there would be no consequences and that she would not face “serious trouble.” Id. On the other hand, if she continued to lie and his case were to be tried, her lies would be exposed and she would run the risk of criminal liability. Finally, he implied that if she did not recant her statement to law enforcement and tell “the truth” as he sees it, it would still be possible to take the case to trial, in which event T.W. would suffer legal consequences for having made false statements. Id.

[9] In other words, McElfresh essentially told T.W.'s mother that if T.W. intended to lie under oath, she would face legal consequences for the dishonesty. That is simply the truth. We cannot believe that in the State of Indiana it can constitute a crime to make a true statement, even if the subject matter of the true statement involves the future testimony of a witness in a criminal proceeding. There are certainly circumstances in which this crime is committed when an individual writes a letter to someone with instructions to pass threats or coercive statements onto a third party. But those circumstances are not present...