State v. Hilpipre

• Decision Date: 27 August 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-1020,85-1020
• Citation: 395 N.W.2d 899
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Keith Edwin HILPIPRE, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Court of Appeals

Page 899

395 N.W.2d 899

STATE of Iowa, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Keith Edwin HILPIPRE, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 85-1020.

Court of Appeals of Iowa.

Aug. 27, 1986.

Charles L. Harrington, Appellate Defender, and B. John Burns, Asst. Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., David L. Dorff, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Ray Kinley, Asst. Co. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Considered by DONIELSON, P.J., and SCHLEGEL and SACKETT, JJ.

DONIELSON, Presiding Judge.

Defendant Keith Hilpipre, Jr. appeals from his conviction and sentence of willful injury, in violation of Iowa Code section 708.4 (1985), and operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, in violation of Iowa Code section 714.7 (1985). Defendant asserts that there was insufficient evidence in the record to support the finding that he committed the crime of willful injury. We affirm.

On December 11, 1984, Des Moines Police Detective Ralph Woods, proceeding westbound on Park Avenue, noticed a large truck tailgating him. The truck suddenly began to pass Woods at a high rate of speed, and Woods, observing another car traveling towards them on the other side, pulled over as far as he could, narrowly avoiding an accident.

Woods began pursuit of the vehicle, overtook the truck about twelve blocks farther down the street, and flashed his high-low beams to signal the driver of the truck to stop. Woods observed that there were three passengers in the truck. As both Woods and the driver got out of their vehicles, Woods hollered and advised the driver, later identified as defendant's brother, Kelly, that he was a police officer and extended his badge to prove identification. The driver suddenly struck Woods on the left side of the head, and Woods fell stunned to the pavement.

Recovering from the blow, Woods jumped into his car and pursued the truck into the parking lot of the Valley Park Depot Lounge. Pulling behind the truck, Woods observed that the truck was empty. After several unsuccessful attempts, Woods made contact with a police dispatcher and began to call in the license plate number of the truck. At that point, according to two witnesses who testified at trial, a man resembling defendant who had been hiding behind some parked cars ran up to the driver's side of Woods's car and began to either talk to or beat upon Woods. A continual beating then ensued.

During the brutal attack, Woods's foot slipped off the brake, causing his car to coast forward and strike the truck's rear bumper. At that point, according to witnesses, Kelly, defendant's brother, yelled "You hit my truck," ran up to the passenger window, kicked out the window, and began beating upon Woods from the other side. As Woods attempted to call for help, both assailants ripped out the police radio. The two assailants then dragged Woods out of the car by his feet onto the ground, and, according to witnesses, one or both began savagely kicking Woods in the head and chest. Just before losing consciousness, Woods heard one of his assailants say that he was going to kill Woods. A patron of the bar finally stood over Woods and told the man he identified as Kelly to stop. At that point, according to witnesses, the other assailant, resembling defendant's size and build, drove away in Woods's car.

Arrested at the scene were Kelly Hilpipre and John Onder, a third passenger in the truck who apparently fled the scene before the beating occurred. Woods's car was found approximately three-eighths of a mile from defendant's home, where defendant was arrested. Four fingerprints lifted from the car were identified as being those of defendant's, along with several identified as Kelly's.

At trial, Detective Woods testified that he did see who had hit him while he was in the car and admitted that he could not identify the defendant as being involved in the incident. Woods also testified that he received two broken ribs, lost two lower front teeth, had a permanent scar around his mouth, received numerous lacerations about the face, and was in a great deal of pain for approximately six or seven weeks after the incident.

Witnesses Allen and Brandenburg testified that a man they later identified as Kelly stood near them as Woods pulled into the tavern parking lot. Both testified that another man resembling defendant but whom neither could positively identify, ran up to the car and began beating on Woods. Both testified that the man who appeared to them to be Kelly yelled out "You hit my truck" when Woods's car hit the truck and proceeded to join the beating. While neither witness could see clearly, one witness testified that he thought the man resembling defendant had stopped beating Woods after Woods had been dragged onto the ground, while the other testified that he thought both assailants were brutally kicking Woods. Both Allen and Brandenburg testified that the man resembling defendant drove away in Woods's car.

John Onder, the third passenger in the truck, testified that he was with the defendant and Kelly on the night in question. Onder stated that it was Kelly who initially hit Woods along side the head when Woods first pulled them over. Onder also testified that when he, the defendant, and Kelly arrived in the tavern lot, he (Onder) stood by the truck until he saw Woods's car pull into the lot, at which point he became afraid that trouble was brewing. Onder testified that he ran to the back of the building and hid in some nearby bushes. He stated that he heard someone yell, but did not see the actual beating. After about five minutes, said Onder, he returned to the bar and saw Kelly standing in the lot, but also discovered that defendant and Woods's car were gone. Onder did not see defendant around the rest of the evening. Onder was initially arrested, but was later released since the police investigation found no signs of a struggle on his hands or boots.

Dr. Kenneth Schultheis and Dr. Abraham Wolf testified that Woods was in shock upon arrival at the hospital, suffering from severe swelling in the head and chest, facial lacerations, and two broken ribs. They testified that Woods suffered from atelectasis, or small collapse of the lungs, and as a result, was in danger of catching pneumonia. Both doctors testified that without treatment, Woods would have been under a substantial risk of death.

Upon consideration of all the evidence, the trial court found defendant guilty on the charges of willful injury and operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent and sentenced him to serve terms not to exceed ten and two years respectively. Defendant appeals.

Defendant asserts that there was insufficient evidence in the record for a rational factfinder to find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed the elements of the crime of willful injury. Defendant claims that assuming arguendo that he did commit an assault, he nevertheless did not possess the requisite intent to commit willful injury, and, assuming further that defendant did possess the requisite intent, the injuries sustained by Wood fell far short of "serious injury" under Iowa Code section 708.4 (1985). We strongly disagree.

In reviewing a challenge to sufficiency of the evidence, we must view evidence in the light most favorable to the State. State v. Doss, 355 N.W.2d 874, 877 (Iowa 1984); State v. Robinson, 288 N.W.2d 337, 338 (Iowa 1980). We must also consider all legitimate inferences and presumptions which may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the record. State v. Bair, 347 N.W.2d 416, 419 (Iowa 1984); State v. Schrier, 300 N.W.2d 305, 306 (Iowa 1981). We will uphold a verdict unless the record lacks substantial evidence to support it. State v. Mitchell, 371 N.W.2d 432 (Iowa Ct.App.1985). Substantial evidence means evidence which would convince a rational factfinder that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

Under Iowa Code section 708.4 (1985), three elements must be proved before willful injury may be found: (1) that there was an assault; (2) with intent to commit serious injury upon another; and (3) serious injury is in fact inflicted upon another. Defendant first claims that there was no direct evidence offered by the State to show that defendant was involved in the savage beating of Detective Woods. While it is true that the State must prove identity beyond a reasonable doubt, State v. Jensen, 216 N.W.2d 369, 374 (Iowa 1974), circumstantial evidence may often be as equally probative or superior to that of direct evidence. Doss, 355 N.W.2d at 878; Harsha v. State Savings Bank, 346 N.W.2d 791, 800 (Iowa 1984); State v. Moses, 320 N.W.2d 581, 586 (Iowa 1982); State v. O'Connell, 275 N.W.2d 197, 204-05 (Iowa 1979). As stated by the United States Supreme Court in Holland v. United States:

Circumstantial evidence in this respect is intrinsically no different from testimonial evidence. Admittedly, circumstantial evidence may in some cases point to a wholly incorrect result. Yet this is equally true of testimonial evidence.

348 U.S. 121, 140, 75 S.Ct. 127, 137-38, 99 L.Ed. 150, 166-67 (1954). Upon viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State and upon consideration of all the evidence and attendant inferences and presumptions which may be fairly and reasonably deduced from the record, we believe there is substantial circumstantial evidence of defendant's participation in the assault.

The evidence reveals that defendant, defendant's brother, Kelly, and John Onder were occupants of the truck that swerved into the Valley Depot parking lot. Two witnesses, Allen and Brandenburg, testified that the three men jumped out of the truck and ducked behind parked cars. Both Allen and Brandenburg testified that as Detective Woods's car turned into the parking lot, a man they later identified as Kelly stood near them, while a third man, later identified as Onder, ran away. While neither witness could positively state that defendant was one of the...