Proffit v. State
Decision Date | 18 November 2004 |
Docket Number | No. 36A01-0401-CR-31.,36A01-0401-CR-31. |
Citation | 817 N.E.2d 675 |
Parties | Leonard PROFFIT, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Bruce A. MacTavish, Markel Markel Lambring & MacTavish, Pendleton, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, George P. Sherman, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Following a jury trial, Appellant, Leonard Proffit, was convicted of one count of Voluntary Manslaughter, a Class A felony,1 and one count of Robbery as a Class B felony.2 Upon appeal, Proffit presents three issues for our review, which we renumber and restate as the following two: (1) whether the trial court improperly denied Proffit's motion for a directed verdict upon the robbery charge, and (2) whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury.
We affirm.
The facts most favorable to the convictions reveal that in 1997, Ronald Dale Bruner was a methamphetamine dealer in Jackson County, Indiana. Some time in February of 1997, Bruner's sister, Rhonda Self, went to her brother's house and asked him why he was using and selling methamphetamine. Bruner produced a box full of cash and stated, "`This is why I do it.' "Transcript at 99. Defendant Proffit had in the past purchased methamphetamine from Bruner, and owed him $2,000. But because of this debt, Proffit was no longer able to purchase methamphetamine from Bruner. Sometime in February 1997, Eddie Ray Bryant was staying at Proffit's home and overheard Proffit and Johnny Wayt planning a burglary in order to "get some dope and some guns." Tr. at 357.
On the evening of February 27, 1997, Bruner's sister came to Bruner's home and saw him weighing methamphetamine on an electronic scale and placing it into several plastic sandwich bags. Also that evening, Kenneth Beavers stopped by Proffit's home to purchase methamphetamine. Beavers saw Shannon Weber standing outside by a green Ford. Beavers and Weber entered the home where Proffit and Wayt were. Beavers asked Proffit if they had any methamphetamine, but none of them did. Beavers, however, had a small amount, which they proceeded to smoke. The four eventually discussed a burglary, with Weber stating that she could lure Bruner away and that Proffit and Wayt could enter and burglarize Bruner's home to get "[d]rugs and money." Tr. at 537. Doug Scott testified that he accompanied Beavers that night and heard Wayt talking about going to Bruner's and "tak[ing] his money and his meth." Tr. at 384. Proffit eventually telephoned Bruner's pager, and several minutes later received a call from Bruner. Proffit asked Bruner if he could come over to purchase "dope," but Bruner stated that he would not be home for a couple of hours. Tr. at 538. After Proffit had relayed this information to the rest of the group, Beavers "sarcastically" told them, "well, if you are going to do it, now would be the time to do it." Tr. at 538-39. As Beavers realized that they were serious about the burglary, he warned them, "if Bruner catches you, he'll kill you, he'll shoot you." Tr. at 539. Beavers announced that he was going to leave, and Proffit, Wayt, and Weber prepared to leave. Beavers left and went to the home of another friend looking for more methamphetamine.
Some time later that night, Beavers was driving past Proffit's home when he noticed that "a car was back in there" and that Weber was standing outside. Tr. at 543. Beavers stopped at Proffit's place, hoping that the planned burglary had been successful and that Proffit might now have some methamphetamine. Weber appeared to be nervous, and Beavers felt like she was stalling him and trying to prevent him from going into the house. Weber told Beavers that "things didn't go exactly as planned." Tr. at 543. Once inside, Beavers heard Proffit and Wayt in the back of the house and overheard Proffit tell Wayt in an angry manner, "`You almost stabbed me, you son of a bitch.'" Tr. at 544. When Beavers asked Weber if she had any methamphetamine, Weber produced "a pretty good size chunk." Tr. at 545.
As Beavers and Weber began to smoke some of the methamphetamine, Proffit came out from the back room holding bloody clothes in his hands and seemed to be surprised to see Beavers. Proffit put the bloody clothes in a brown paper bag. Beavers testified that Proffit put into the bag the shirts and pants that Proffit and Wayt had been wearing earlier. Proffit then went outside and burned the bag in a barrel. When he re-entered the home, Proffit told Beavers to "`You know what happened here, keep your mouth shut.'" Tr. at 549. When Wayt came out from the back room, he was "pale as a ghost" and told Beavers, "I didn't want to do it, but I had to do what I had to do." Tr. at 550. Beavers also testified that Weber's pocket was bulging with what looked to be money, although he never actually saw what was in her pocket.
Between midnight and 3:00 a.m., Proffit and Weber went to the home of Daniel Goodpaster, who lived near Proffit. Proffit appeared nervous and told Goodpaster, "Old Boy in Vallonia" was dead, referring to Bruner, but claimed not to have killed Bruner. Tr. at 410. At approximately 7:00 a.m., James Hyde came by Proffit's home and observed that Proffit was acting nervously. Proffit immediately told Hyde, "this wouldn't be a very good safe place to be." Tr. at 401. When Hyde asked what he meant by this, Proffit stated that "somebody killed Ronnie Bruner and that ... the police was going to be all over that place before long." Tr. at 402. Yet Proffit claimed that he "didn't do nothing." Tr. at 402.
At around 8:00 a.m., George Lebline arrived at Proffit's place to finish the work he and his brother-in-law Don Kirts had been doing to the home. Around noon, Lebline went to his house and called Kirts to tell him that he needed supplies. Kirts told Lebline that he would meet him at Bruner's house at about 12:30 p.m. Kirts was a longtime friend and distant cousin of Bruner and was also involved with using and selling methamphetamine with Bruner. When Kirts arrived, he knocked on Bruner's door but got no response. Kirts also knocked on Bruner's bedroom window, thinking that Bruner might be asleep. Kirts still got no response, so he let himself in the side door using a key he had to the house. Once inside, Kirts yelled for Bruner, but no one answered. Kirts headed for the bedroom, stepping over blankets that were on the kitchen floor. Kirts looked into the bedroom and noticed that it had been ransacked. Kirts then noticed blood on the floor and pulled the blankets back, discovering Bruner's body. Kirts told Lebline that Bruner was dead and told him to telephone the police. Bruner had previously told Kirts that "if anything ever happened," that Kirts was to get the drugs and money out of the house. Tr. at 176. Kirts searched the home to make sure that "nothing incriminating" was there. Tr. at 174. Kirts knew where Bruner kept things hidden, and looked for drugs but found only a digital scale on top of one of the drawers which had been pulled out and turned upside down. Kirts placed the scale in his truck but turned it over to the police when asked later that day.3
Around the time of Bruner's death, Proffit obtained methamphetamine from Eric Chadwell by trading tools and a diamond ring. Chadwell's girlfriend testified that the ring was engraved with the initials "R.D.B."4 Tr. at 373. After Bruner's death, Proffit told a friend, Kenneth Collins, that "they went to Ronnie Bruner's house in Vallonia and broke in...." Tr. at 512. Collins, who did not yet know of Bruner's death, told Proffit that he did not want to know any more about what Proffit was telling him.
While in jail, Eddie Bryant, who had earlier overheard Proffit and Wayt planning a burglary, heard that Bruner was dead. He called Proffit and asked him if he had killed Bruner. Proffit just hung up on Bryant. Later, after Bryant was released from jail, he went to Proffit's house. Proffit was drunk and weeping and after being asked about Bruner's death, told Bryant that Tr. at 362.
At some point after the killing, up to two years later, Proffit was speaking with Goodpaster and told him that the police had been questioning Weber regarding the Bruner investigation. Proffit stated that the police had offered Weber protection if she would "point a finger at somebody that was connected to the murder...." Tr. at 416. Proffit told Goodpaster that he warned Weber that if she did so, "she'd be in trouble." Tr. at 416.
During the course of the investigation, the police spoke with Proffit's brother. Proffit afterward asked his brother what he had told the police and whether the police had seen his knife, which was identical to one owned by Proffit. In the summer of 2003, Proffit was being held in jail and told another inmate, Clay Easley, that the police were searching for a knife, but that he had gotten rid of it a long time ago. Proffit also told Easley that he had been at Bruner's house, and although he could not remember what happened, "he woke up there one morning and Mr. Bruner was dead," and Proffit had blood on his pants. Tr. at 440-41. Proffit also told Easley that his "cut" was $20,000, and that he was worried that someone might have seen him leave his house the night of the killing. While in jail, Proffit also spoke with another inmate, James Hyde, who had seen Proffit on the morning after the killing. Proffit was going to be released from jail soon and told Hyde that "[we] beat the system." Tr. at 391.
Some time later, the police dredged a pond behind Proffit's home, looking for knives. Proffit thought this was "funny" and told a friend, James Kriete, that "they weren't going to find them there."5 Tr. at 464. A few weeks after Proffit was released from jail,6 Kriete saw Proffit at the home of a mutual friend. Proffit had been...
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