State v. Bowen

• Decision Date: 18 August 2015
• Docket Number: No. DA 14–0075.,DA 14–0075.
• Citation: 380 Mont. 433,2015 MT 246,356 P.3d 449
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Charles Boman BOWEN, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

380 Mont. 433

356 P.3d 449

2015 MT 246

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee

v.Charles Boman BOWEN, Defendant and Appellant.

No. DA 14–0075.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs July 15, 2015.

Decided Aug. 18, 2015.

For Appellant: Robin A. Meguire, Attorney at Law, Great Falls, Montana.

For Appellee: Timothy C. Fox, Montana Attorney General, Katie F. Schulz, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Daniel Guzynski, Mary E. Cochenour, Assistant Attorneys General, Special Deputy Roosevelt County Attorneys, Helena, Montana.

Opinion

Justice LAURIE McKINNON delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Charles Boman Bowen (Bowen) appeals his conviction for the offense of negligent homicide following a jury trial in the Fifteenth Judicial District Court, Roosevelt County. We affirm.

¶ 2 We consider the following issues on appeal:

1. Whether the District Court abused its discretion in permitting Dianna Nelson (Nelson) to testify as a witness at trial.

2. Whether the District Court erred in denying Bowen's motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 3 On January 20, 2012, the body of Brian Doyle (Doyle) was found in a ditch along Highway 2 between Bainville and Culbertson, Montana. Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) employees were picking up debris along Highway 2 when they discovered a snow-covered body laying face down in the ditch on the north side of the highway. The MDOT employees called 911 and waited for law enforcement to arrive.

¶ 4 The Montana Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) arrived and investigated the area where Doyle was found. Law enforcement observed snow covered tire tracks on the shoulder of the road near Doyle's body, which appeared to indicate Doyle had been struck or run over by a vehicle. They recovered Doyle's right boot 13.5 feet west of his body, Doyle's left boot 31 feet east of his body, and Doyle's cell phone 100 feet uphill of his body. Two empty beer cans were located east and a good distance away from the body and an unopened beer can with blood on it, later determined to be Bowen's blood, were found closer to Doyle's body. A mobile GPS unit and power cord, later determined to be registered to an address where Bowen's mother resided was located east of the body. A credit card receipt dated January 11, 2012, for 9:01 p.m., from Hardees' drive thru in Williston, North Dakota, was found 15 feet from Doyle. It was later determined that Bowen's credit card was used for the Hardee's purchase. These items appeared in a linear pattern north of the snow covered tracks leading to the ditch near Doyle's body.

¶ 5 Doyle's death was eventually determined to have occurred the night of January 11, 2012. That night the temperature in the area, considering wind-chill, was between –4 and –7 degrees. Doyle was clothed in a short-sleeve t-shirt, sleeveless undershirt, pajama pants underneath his jeans, and socks. Doyle was identified by a wallet inside his pants pocket which contained a Florida Identification Card with Doyle's name and a pay stub. Doyle also had $1,750 in cash.

¶ 6 On January 24, 2012, Agent Dahl of DCI (Dahl) reviewed the Hardee's surveillance video and observed a four-door, white Dodge Dakota pickup truck proceeding through the drive thru at 9 p.m. Additionally, DCI learned that Doyle may have had an altercation at a Williston restaurant, the El Rancho, the evening of January 9 or 10, 2012. Dahl subsequently viewed, on January 26, the surveillance video for the night of January 11, after learning that the 11th was the evening that Bowen and Doyle were at El Rancho. The video showed Bowen arriving at the El Rancho parking lot at 7:12 p.m. Doyle, arriving soon after, socialized with Bowen for about an hour and a half and left with Bowen in Bowen's truck at 8:50 p.m. Doyle was carrying a heavy coat and long-sleeve shirt when he got into Bowen's truck. There did not appear to be any altercations between Bowen and Doyle.

¶ 7 DCI also learned that Doyle worked in the North Dakota oil fields and identified several of Doyle's co-workers to interview. After obtaining his number from a witness, Dahl contacted Bowen by phone on January 25, 2012, and attempted to set up an interview. Bowen did not answer and Dahl, not knowing if he had the correct number for Bowen, did not leave a message. Bowen called Dahl back that evening. Bowen told Dahl that he met Doyle on the evening of January 11 at the El Rancho, where they shared some beers and ordered food. But the food was taking too long and they left when Doyle, who was intoxicated, became agitated. Bowen explained to Dahl that after leaving El Rancho, Doyle began hitting him, as he was driving, and he had to stop and ask Doyle to get out. Bowen said he stopped and left Doyle somewhere near Hardees. Dahl asked if Bowen would be willing to set up a time for an interview. Bowen agreed to meet Dahl the following day, January 26, at Bowen's work location.

¶ 8 On January 26, during a recorded interview, Bowen again told Dahl that he had left Doyle near Hardees on the night of January 11. Bowen claimed he ate at home that night. Bowen said Doyle became combative, hitting Bowen in the face and grabbing him by the hair. After Doyle got out of the truck, Bowen proceeded home, where he ate and went to bed. Bowen gave a similar version of events to Erin Groom, Doyle's sister, when Bowen called the Doyle family on January 23, 2012. Bowen also described his truck to Dahl. Following the interview, Dahl observed Bowen was driving a white Dodge Dakota truck and confirmed this was the same truck seen in the Hardees drive thru surveillance video.

¶ 9 During the evening of January 26, Bowen again contacted Dahl and told Dahl that he had a phone call with Doyle on January 11. Dahl asked if Bowen would agree to meet again to document this phone information. Bowen agreed to meet Dahl the following day, January 27, at his workplace.

¶ 10 By now, Bowen had become a person of interest, if not a suspect, and was Mirandized at the outset of the January 27 interview. Bowen began by telling Dahl, consistent with his first interview, that he had left Doyle near Hardees and had not eaten at Hardees. Dahl advised Bowen that law enforcement had found a Hardees' receipt near Doyle's body. Dahl then matched the numbers on the receipt to Bowen's credit card. When presented with this credit card information and further information implicating him in Doyle's death, Bowen started to sob and began to relate a different version of events.

¶ 11 Bowen stated that he did not drop Doyle off near Hardees on January 11, but agreed to drive Doyle home to Culbertson. Along the way, Bowen and Doyle began arguing and Doyle started hitting Bowen, pulling his hair, and biting Bowen's nose as they were driving on the highway outside of Williston. Bowen began slowing the truck down from highway speed as Doyle continued to attack him. According to Bowen, just as he was coming to a stop, Doyle got out of the truck and told Bowen to leave. At this point, they were moving slowly along the shoulder about 20 minutes outside of Williston. According to Bowen, Doyle continued to yell and scream outside of the truck, telling Bowen to go away. Bowen explained to Dahl that, at that point, he drove away.

¶ 12 During the interview, Bowen maintained that Doyle had his coat and that he had not thrown any items from the truck. Bowen said that when he last saw Doyle, Doyle was standing behind the truck. Bowen stated he drove away and then turned his truck around so that he could try to find Doyle, but could not find him because it was “pitch dark.” Bowen maintained that “I did not hit my friend. That, no way; that did not happen.” Bowen admitted that since January 11 he had washed his truck, but made no mention to Dahl of having changed his tires on January 26, 2012.

¶ 13 DCI learned that Bowen purchased four new tires for his truck from Wal–Mart on January 25, 2012. Although it would only have cost an additional $6.00 to dispose of the old tires, Bowen took the tires with him. The tire technician recalled that Bowen's truck was unusually clean for that time of year. On February 1, 2012, after obtaining a warrant, DCI searched Bowen's truck. They discovered hairs, subsequently identified as Bowen's, on the floor of the truck. DCI also found a carwash receipt for January 25, 2012, that included washing the undercarriage of Bowen's truck.

¶ 14 Mike Kerley (Kerley), Bowen's roommate, was interviewed by DCI and related that on the morning of January 11 Bowen had a mark on his nose. When Kerley asked Bowen about it, Bowen said that Doyle had bit him, and that he had left Doyle in the El Rancho parking lot. Later however, Bowen told Kerley that he had left Doyle in a residential area.

¶ 15 Dr. Bennett, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Doyle, opined that Doyle would have most likely been laying down when a vehicle, traveling at approximately 5 mph, ran over him. This conclusion was based, in part, on the fact that there was no evidence that Doyle had walked in his socks. Doyle sustained multiple rib fractures

, a collapsed lung, a tom liver, internal bleeding, and multiple skin abrasions. Due to the injuries on Doyle's right side, his entire right arm would have been rendered non-functional. Dr. Bennett discovered a stocking hat, work gloves, and a lighter inside Doyle's jean pocket. Dr. Bennett believed that Doyle's injuries were very painful and it was possible that Doyle could have passed out, at some point, from that amount of pain. Dr. Bennett believed it would have been very painful to breathe or move with these types of injuries. It was Dr. Bennett's opinion, however, that the injuries were not life threatening unless they were left untreated. Dr. Bennett indicated that Doyle's death was not instantaneous, and it would have taken three hours for Doyle to succumb to hypothermia. Dr. Bennett...