State v. Haithcox

• Decision Date: 20 August 2019
• Docket Number: DA 17-0529
• Citation: 2019 MT 201,447 P.3d 452,397 Mont. 103
• Parties: STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Timothy Craig HAITHCOX, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

397 Mont. 103

447 P.3d 452

2019 MT 201

STATE of Montana, Plaintiff and Appellee,

v.Timothy Craig HAITHCOX, Defendant and Appellant.

DA 17-0529

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs: July 17, 2019

Decided: August 20, 2019

For Appellant: Chad Wright, Appellate Defender, Moses Okeyo, Assistant Appellate Defender, Helena, Montana

For Appellee: Timothy C. Fox, Montana Attorney General, Mardell Ployhar, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Leo J. Gallagher, Lewis and Clark County Attorney, Melissa Broch, Deputy County Attorney, Helena, Montana

Chief Justice Mike McGrath delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Timothy Craig Haithcox appeals from his jury conviction for aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, tampering with a witness, and misdemeanor assault entered in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County. We affirm.

¶2 Haithcox raises the following issues for review:

1. Whether evidence involving Haithcox’s prior conduct was admitted in violation of the Montana Rules of Evidence.

2. Whether the introduction of racial slurs exploited racial prejudice, resulting in prosecutorial misconduct.

3. Whether the investigators’ extraction of the entire contents of Haithcox’s cellphone exceeded the scope of the search warrant.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶3 In early 2016, Haithcox introduced himself, under the pseudonym Timothy Smith, to Arleen Hibbard on the dating website Plenty of Fish. At the time, Hibbard lived in East Helena, Montana, and Haithcox was living in Michigan. Their relationship intensified quickly and Haithcox expressed his desire to visit Hibbard in East Helena. Haithcox was complimentary of Hibbard, told her he loved her, and that he wanted to marry her. Haithcox told Hibbard he had worked for Georgia Pacific for twenty-eight years but that his company was relocating, and he would like to use his severance to move to East Helena. Haithcox asked Hibbard to buy him a train ticket from Michigan to Montana, expressing that he would pay her back when he received his severance. When Hibbard purchased the train ticket, he told her that his last name was Smith-Haithcox but that she should just use the name Haithcox for the ticket. Approximately one month after they met online, Hibbard picked Haithcox up in Shelby, Montana, brought him back to her home, and Haithcox began living with her.

¶4 While Hibbard worked, Haithcox would use her vehicle, explaining that he needed it in order to network and find employment. Shortly after he arrived, Haithcox told Hibbard he needed to return to Michigan to retrieve his pension and severance pay. When Haithcox assured Hibbard he would pay her back, she purchased him a plane ticket and gave him traveling money.

¶5 After Haithcox returned from Michigan, he allegedly started drinking more and became verbally aggressive towards Hibbard. His financial dependence on Hibbard also worsened. Hibbard paid for all household expenses and groceries, as well as Haithcox’s phone bill and clothing. On one occasion, when Hibbard received a larger than average phone bill, she discovered that Haithcox had been communicating with a woman in Nova Scotia and numerous other women in Montana. When Hibbard confronted Haithcox about the calls, he explained that he was only networking. Another time, Haithcox told Hibbard that he was going to work an event in Lincoln, Montana, with the wife of a local casino owner. After the woman picked Haithcox up, Hibbard discovered that the woman was not the casino owner’s wife. Haithcox did not return that night as promised and when Hibbard confronted him about it the next day, he was dismissive and coarse with her.

¶6 On April 7, 2016, Haithcox told Hibbard he was going to the grocery store and would be right back. Despite an alleged agreement between Haithcox and Hibbard that he would no longer drive her car while intoxicated, he drove to a nearby bar. Haithcox called Hibbard from the bar, called her names, and when he wouldn’t stop, Hibbard hung up. Hibbard testified this was a reoccurring pattern in their relationship. Haithcox called back, asking for Hibbard’s help because some "white boys" were threatening to beat him up. Hibbard walked to the bar, picked Haithcox up, and the two returned home. When they got home, Hibbard recorded a particularly volatile exchange between the two during which Haithcox got "in [Hibbard’s] face" and called her vulgar names. In the recording, Haithcox calls Hibbard, who is of Caucasian and Native American heritage, a "police bitch," "white bitch from hell," "gump," and a "grimy ass Indian," among other names. Throughout the recording, Haithcox also yells, "[y]ou’re nothing" at Hibbard approximately thirty-five times. At trial, Hibbard testified, "[h]e called me a nigger all the time, a fucking white bitch, a raggedy-ass ho bag bitch, a pink bitch, a cop police bitch, gump."

¶7 After the fight, Haithcox apologized to Hibbard and repeatedly told her he loved her and wanted to be with her. On April 11, 2016, while Hibbard was at work, they exchanged text messages and agreed that while they had issues, they loved one another and wanted to be together. Haithcox asked her to bring cash home for him, which she did. When she came home from work, Haithcox had prepared dinner for them and, according to Hibbard, "he was very attentive, very loving, huggy, kissy, supper was ready. [It was] [a]n idyllic situation." Haithcox left around 6:30 p.m. to meet someone but told Hibbard he would not be gone long. However, around 7:00 p.m., Haithcox called Hibbard from a bar, explaining he had lost the money she gave him and needed money to pay his tab. Hibbard brought him money, Haithcox told her loved her and would be home soon, and she returned home. When Haithcox did not return, Hibbard sent a text asking when he would be home. Haithcox called her from the bar, called her vulgar names, and she hung up.

¶8 Hibbard testified that around 9:30 p.m., Haithcox called again, this time asking for directions home. She responded that she would find directions online and call him back. While Hibbard was rebooting her modem to get her internet working, Haithcox arrived at the house. According to Hibbard, when he saw her rebooting the modem, he believed she was calling the police and became angry. Haithcox hit Hibbard on the side of her head, knocking her glasses off. He then followed Hibbard to her bedroom "yelling and raging." According to Hibbard’s testimony, Haithcox grabbed her right ankle and began "pulling ... twisting, yanking, and jerking on it," aware that she recently had her right knee replaced. Hibbard testified that she begged him to stop but he pulled her onto the floor and kicked her so hard in between her legs that she lost control of her bladder. According to Hibbard, Haithcox threatened to kill her and bash her skull in. She then went into the bathroom and locked the door. When Haithcox realized Hibbard had her phone with her, he kicked the door in and threatened to pour bleach over her. Haithcox allegedly kicked Hibbard, causing her to fall between the toilet and the bathtub. She testified that each time she tried to get up, he would kick or shove her into the shower, and she would fall and hit her head on the bathtub. He proceeded to bash her head into the wall "over and over and over," hit her head off of the medicine cabinet, urinated on her face, and strangled her unconscious at least four times. The assault continued for several hours, with Haithcox threatening to kill Hibbard with a knife and various other objects.

¶9 Around 2:00 a.m., Haithcox made Hibbard go to bed with him. Hibbard testified that she planned to lie there only until Haithcox fell asleep, but because she had previously taken a sleeping pill, she fell asleep. According to Hibbard, she awoke around 6:00 a.m. and took pictures of her injuries and the damage done to her home. She hoped that if he saw the pictures, "maybe he would just straighten up and not be that way, stop drinking." Despite the assault, Hibbard still wished to repair the relationship.

¶10 Fearing that the gash on her head needed medical attention, Hibbard decided to go to the hospital. Hibbard went to her vehicle and, as she waited for the car to warm up, she texted Haithcox’s brother, Brian, about the assault. Approximately fifteen minutes later, Haithcox came out of the house and got into the vehicle with Hibbard.

Haithcox told Hibbard he loved her, and that he wanted to take care of her and nurse her back to health. Haithcox eventually convinced her to come back into the house, but she quickly changed her mind and returned to the car. Haithcox got back into the vehicle with her and begged her not to go to the hospital. Haithcox allegedly told Hibbard that she needed to cover the marks on her neck and, if she did go to the hospital, to say she was injured at a bar. A neighbor witnessed Hibbard and Haithcox sitting in Hibbard’s vehicle for several hours. The neighbor testified that throughout the day she saw Haithcox banging on the car door trying to get inside the car; Haithcox and Hibbard arguing inside of the car; and Hibbard laying her head on Haithcox’s shoulder crying. Eventually, around 4:00 p.m., Hibbard went to the hospital. The hospital contacted law enforcement and two detectives arrived at the hospital to interview Hibbard.

¶11 When Hibbard left for the hospital, Haithcox called Millie Follet, a woman he met on Plenty of Fish, and asked her for a ride to a friend’s house. The next day, Haithcox called Lisa Hampa, whom he had also met on Plenty of Fish, and asked Hampa if he could come to Missoula and live with her. Hampa agreed and drove from Missoula, Montana, to Helena to pick him up. Haithcox allegedly told both Follet and Hampa that he needed a ride because he had lost his longtime job with ExxonMobil and the company had taken away his company vehicle and housing. On April 14, 2016, law enforcement arrested Haithcox at Hampa’s home in Missoula.

¶12 Haithcox...