Paul v. State

• Decision Date: 20 July 2012
• Docket Number: No. 82A05–1111–CR–634.,82A05–1111–CR–634.
• Citation: 971 N.E.2d 172
• Parties: James Lee PAUL, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

971 N.E.2d 172

James Lee PAUL, Appellant–Defendant,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff.

No. 82A05–1111–CR–634.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 20, 2012.

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

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Jodi Kathryn Stein, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

DARDEN, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

James Lee Paul appeals his conviction of and sentence for murder, a felony.¹

We affirm.

ISSUES

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Paul's objection to the admission of evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant after his warrantless arrest inside his apartment.

2. Whether the imposed sentence is inappropriate.

FACTS

Shortly after midnight on May 27, 2009, Paul and Richard Wroten entered 36 West Iowa Street in Evansville, a residence owned by Charles Burns, Sr., and killed Charles Burns, Jr. as he lay sleeping. Paul struck Burns on the head with a crow bar between thirty and sixty times as if he was “chopping wood.” (Tr. 402). Burns suffered massive head injuries, and he died during Paul's attack. Paul killed Burns because he had a previous feud with Burns, Sr. over possession of some of Paul's personal property and because Paul had recently seen Burns riding what Paul believed to be Paul's bicycle.

At Paul's insistence, Wroten also struck Burns' body at least one time with a flat pry bar. Paul threatened to kill Wroten if he told anyone about the murder.

Paul and Wroten briefly parted ways, and Wroten returned to a residence where he lived with his girlfriend. His clothes and body were covered in blood, so he washed himself and then tried to burn his clothing. About ten minutes later, Paul appeared and extinguished the flaming clothes. Paul told Wroten that he would kill both Wroten and his girlfriend if they told anyone about the murder.

Paul took Wroten to a water hose behind an abandoned building, where the two washed themselves and changed clothes, an action that took about ten to fifteen minutes. Paul put his and Wroten's soiled clothing into a backpack, but accidently left a red shirt on a metal rack located behind the abandoned building. The two then went to Paul's apartment in an old house located at 30 East Virginia, which was about two blocks from the murder scene. Again, Paul told Wroten that he would kill him if he told anyone about the murder. Wroten left about five minutes later and returned home. At 1:18 a.m., Wroten called 911 and reported the murder.

At 1:22 a.m., Evansville Police Officers Jeff Kingery and Keith Smith met Wroten near the murder scene. Officer Smith knew Wroten from three or four previous runs. Wroten explained that he had witnessed the murder, and he both pointed out the 36 West Iowa Street murder scene and stated that Bums' body could be found in the middle room. At 1:29 a.m., Officer Smith briefly entered the residence and found Bums' body, which had been beaten so badly that his face was unrecognizable. Detective Michael Jolly was immediately notified.

Wroten told the officers that Paul had committed the murder and that Paul lived at 30 East Virginia. Officer Kingery placed Wroten in his police vehicle and asked Wroten to show him where Paul lived. Officer Jonathan Oakley followed. Wroten took them to Paul's residence at 30 East Virginia and pointed out the building. Officer Kingery then returned Wroten to Detective Jolly at the murder scene for a statement, while Officer Oakley remained at 30 East Virginia.

Within minutes thereafter, Officer Dan Deeg and Sergeant David Barron arrived at the 30 East Virginia address to attempt to secure the building and to locate Paul, whose appearance was established by a computer search prior to entry into the building. Officers Deeg and Oakley, with Seargent Barron following, entered the multiple-apartment building through an unlocked common door and proceeded up what appeared to be common-area stairs. Their goal was to determine in which apartment unit Paul lived. At the top of the stairs, the officers saw an open door, and they observed Paul inside using a wrench on Burns' bicycle. Because of loud music emanating from the apartment, Paul did not hear the officers approaching. However, because Paul's door was opened wide directly above the common stairs, the officers were concerned that Paul would turn and see them.

Not knowing what Paul might do, the officers announced themselves, entered the apartment unit with weapons drawn, and arrested Paul. At the time, no arrest warrant had been issued. The officers escorted Paul out of the building, and then secured his apartment unit to obtain a search warrant. A subsequent search pursuant to the warrant produced Burns' bicycle and the backpack containing the bloody clothes and the murder weapon. The charred clothing still smelled of an accelerant, and a plaid shirt worn by Paul at the time of the murder contained Burns' blood. The murder weapon also contained Burns' blood.

A search of the area behind the abandoned building where Paul and Wroten used the hose revealed the red shirt that contained both Paul's DNA and Burns' blood. A window pane from the door of 36 West Iowa, which had been removed by Paul to allow entrance into the building where Burns was staying and then handed to Wroten for disposal, was discovered, and it contained Wroten's partial latent print. The flat pry bar that Wroten had possessed during the murder also contained Burns' blood and skin cells.

The State charged Paul with murder, and he responded by filing a motion to suppress all evidence seized from his apartment on the basis that “entry into the residence was without a warrant for arrest or search and without exigent circumstances.” (App. 66). The trial court denied the motion to suppress, and Paul raised a continuing objection at trial based upon the motion.

The jury found Paul guilty of murder. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a sixty-five year sentence.

DECISION

1. Admissibility of Evidence

Paul contends that the trial court erred in denying his objection to the admission of the bicycle, backpack, bloody clothes, and murder weapon found inside his apartment. Paul cites Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980) in support of his contention, noting that the case holds that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits police officers, absent exigent circumstances, from making a warrantless entry into a private residence in order to make a felony arrest. ²

A trial court is afforded broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and we will reverse such a ruling only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion. Gibson v. State, 733 N.E.2d 945, 951 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). An abuse of discretion occurs when a decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the trial court. Redding v. State, 844 N.E.2d 1067, 1069 (Ind.Ct.App.2006). In reviewing the admissibility of evidence, we consider only the evidence in favor of the trial court's ruling and any unrefuted evidence in the appellant's favor. Id.

The Fourth Amendment reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

A principal protection against unnecessary intrusions into private dwellings is the warrant requirement imposed by the Fourth Amendment on agents of the government who seek to enter a residence for purposes of search or arrest. State v. Straub, 749 N.E.2d 593, 597 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (citing Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 748, 104 S.Ct. 2091, 80 L.Ed.2d 732 (1984)). Thus, “[w]arrantless searches and seizures inside the home are presumptively unreasonable.” Woodson v. State, 966 N.E.2d 780, 787 (Ind.Ct.App.2012) (quoting Krise v. State, 746 N.E.2d 957, 961 (Ind.2001)).

“The warrantless arrest of a person in his or her home requires both probable cause and ‘exigent circumstances ... that make it impracticable to obtain a warrant first.’ ” Sapen v. State, 869 N.E.2d 1273, 1277 (Ind.Ct.App.2007) (quoting Adkisson v. State, 728 N.E.2d 175, 177 (Ind.Ct.App.2000)), trans. denied. Exigent circumstances have been found where (1) a suspect is fleeing or likely to take flight in order to avoid arrest; (2) incriminating evidence is in jeopardy of being destroyed or removed unless an immediate arrest is made; (3) a violent crime has occurred and entry by police can be justified as a means to prevent further injury or to aid those who have been injured; and (4) hot pursuit or movable vehicles are involved. Straub, 749 N.E.2d at 597–98. The validity of a warrantless arrest is determined by the facts and circumstances of each case. Id. at 598. An important factor to be considered when determining whether any exigency exists is the gravity of the underlying offense for which the arrest is being made; however, no exigency is created simply because there is probable...