Washington v. State
| Decision Date | 19 January 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 49A02-0412-CR-1012.,49A02-0412-CR-1012. |
| Citation | 840 N.E.2d 873 |
| Parties | Robert WASHINGTON, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Teresa D. Harper, Bloomington, for Appellant.
Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Robyn M. Williamson, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, for Appellee.
Robert Washington was found guilty following a jury trial of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, burglary, and kidnapping, all as Class A felonies, and auto theft as a Class D felony. Washington now appeals his convictions. We affirm.
Washington raises three issues for our review, which we restate as follows:
1. Whether the trial court properly excluded testimony from Washington's alibi witnesses;
2. Whether the trial court properly refused to allow Washington to cross-examine a witness after the witness had been asked a question by a juror; and
3. Whether the trial court properly refused to give one of Washington's proposed jury instructions.
In the days prior to Sunday, September 15, 2002, Washington, his brother Dominic Washington ("Dominic"), his cousin Robert Camphor, and Kenneth Miller met and agreed to kidnap Katherine Justice and hold her for a $250,000 ransom. The plan originated with Camphor who wanted the money to help a relative obtain legal representation on a pending drug charge. Camphor knew Justice because he regularly sold drugs to her. He also knew that Justice's parents had money, and believed that they would have sufficient funds to pay the ransom.
On Sunday, September 15, 2002, Camphor had a friend rent a motel room at the Motel 6 located near 96th Street and Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. In the early morning hours of Monday, September 16, 2002, Camphor drove Washington and Dominic to Justice's home. Sometime around 2:00 a.m., Justice returned home. Shortly thereafter, Washington and Dominic entered Justice's house wearing ski masks and jersey gloves. Justice heard Washington and Dominic making noise and went to investigate. As Justice approached her kitchen, Washington and Dominic apprehended her. At this point, Justice's dog started barking, and one of Justice's assailants sprayed the dog with pepper spray. Dominic and Washington then blindfolded Justice and tied her hands behind her back. They placed Justice in the back seat of her car and drove her to the motel room. At the motel, Justice's wrists and legs were duct-taped together and she was placed in the bathroom.
Later that morning, at 10:22 a.m., Miller called Justice's parents on a pre-paid cell phone. He spoke with Justice's mother, Sandra, and told her that Justice was being held for a $250,000 ransom. Sandra called her husband, Brady, and informed him of the situation. Brady promptly returned home from work and was present when Miller called again at 11:44 a.m. During this call, Brady told Miller that he could not obtain $250,000 in one day. Sometime later, Justice's brother, Michael, learned about what was happening. He contacted his friend Michael Snider, an Indiana State Police officer, and asked for his help. Officer Snider had officers dispatched to the Justices' home and a trace was put on their phone line.
At 11:42 p.m., the Justices received a call from Miller. The police were able to trace the call to a pay phone located at a Clark gas station at 3845 North Keystone Avenue. Shortly before the call to the Justices was made, Indianapolis Police Officer Craig Wildauer observed two men near the pay phone at the Clark gas station who were driving a red Ford Escort. Moments later, Officer Wildauer learned through police dispatch that a call from Justice's kidnappers had just been made from the Clark gas station at 3845 North Keystone Avenue. Officer Wildauer turned his vehicle around and was able to catch up with and stop the red Ford Escort he had seen near the pay phone. Inside the vehicle were Camphor, Miller, and Washington.
Shortly thereafter, Indiana State Police Officer Todd McComas arrived on the scene and asked Washington to exit the vehicle. Officer McComas asked Washington if he could search him, and Washington consented. Officer McComas found a can of used pepper spray on Washington and a pair of brown jersey gloves. Washington was arrested and taken to an Indiana State Police post where his shoes were taken into evidence. The tread pattern on Washington's shoes was similar to prints found on the deck and door leading into Justice's home.
In searching the red Ford Escort that Camphor, Miller, and Washington had been driving, the police found a receipt for Motel 6. Using this receipt, the police were able to locate the room where Justice was being held. When police entered the room, they found Dominic guarding Justice. The State later charged Washington with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, burglary, and kidnapping, all as Class A felonies. Washington was also charged with criminal confinement as a Class B felony and auto theft, a Class D felony. Camphor entered into a plea agreement with the State in which he pled guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping as a Class A felony. In exchange for his plea agreement, Camphor agreed to testify against Washington, Dominic, and Miller.
Washington, Dominic, and Miller were tried together. Their jury trial began on August 13, 2004. After the jury was selected, Washington filed a late notice of alibi defense, which listed Anthony McGinty and Latanya Ross as alibi witnesses. The trial court found that Washington had not shown good cause for his failure to timely file his notice of alibi defense and, pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-36-4-3(b), excluded the proposed evidence relating to Washington's alibi defense.
During trial, the State called Officer Wildauer to testify. Washington cross-examined Officer Wildauer, and then the trial court offered the jury the opportunity to ask Officer Wildauer questions. Washington's counsel raised no objections to the questions proposed by the jury. The trial judge then asked Officer Wildauer the following questions:
Q Officer Wildauer, concerning Robert Washington, did you advise the individual in back of the stopped vehicle of his rights?
A I did not do that. I did not have any contact with him in that area.
Q Was this individual [Washington] aware, in your opinion, of what was going on at this time?
A Yes.
Transcript at 370. After all of the jury's questions had been answered, Washington's counsel asked the trial judge if she could ask Officer Wildauer a question, but the trial judge refused. The next day Washington's counsel objected to the trial court's refusal to let her ask Officer Wildauer a question. She argued that this violated Washington's Sixth Amendment right to cross-examination and moved for a mistrial. The trial court denied Washington's motion for a mistrial.
Towards the end of the trial, Washington testified. He stated that he spent most of Sunday, September 15, 2002, at home. Washington related that at around 6:00 p.m. he met Camphor and borrowed one of his cars because Washington's car was being repaired. Washington then went to his sister's birthday party. After the party, he went to the home of his cousin Latanya Ross and his friend and co-worker Anthony McGinty where he spent the night. At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of Monday, September 16, 2002, Washington and McGinty drove to work together. After work, Washington drove McGinty home. Washington then returned to his house, got cleaned up, and went to see a visiting relative. Sometime during the evening, Washington got a call from Camphor in which Camphor explained that he needed his car back from Washington. Washington drove the car to Camphor's mother's house and met Camphor and Miller there. Camphor then agreed to give Washington a ride home. While taking Washington home, Camphor stopped at a gas station to make a call. After leaving the gas station, they were stopped by the police. Washington testified that he did not know why they were being stopped but assumed that it had something to do with Camphor's drug dealing.
The jury found Washington guilty on all counts. The trial court entered judgments of conviction for the charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, burglary, kidnapping, and auto theft, but not for the charge of criminal confinement because it found that charge merged with Washington's kidnapping conviction. This appeal ensued.
Washington first argues that the trial court erred when it excluded testimony from his alibi witnesses, Latanya Ross and Anthony McGinty. We disagree.
The determination of whether to admit or exclude evidence is entrusted to the trial court and will only be reversed for an abuse of discretion. Farris v. State, 818 N.E.2d 63, 67 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), trans. denied. "An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's action is clearly erroneous and against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it." Id.
On the first day of trial, Washington filed a late notice of alibi defense, which listed McGinty and Ross as alibi witnesses. The trial court asked Washington's counsel why the notice was filed late, and she responded as follows:
Judge, my only defense on this is that Mr. Washington had multiple lawyers, as the Court is well aware. He was represented by the Public Defender's Office through Mr. Moore, then he was represented by Mr. Marchal, and then he was represented by Mr. Baker, Mr. Hugh Baker took some of the depositions and Mr. Patrick Baker took the remainder. Then I believe when Mr. Baker withdrew very briefly, Mr. Inman got the case, and then in April of 2004, I entered my appearance. I interviewed Mr. Washington at that time and I did not have—I was in between paralegals. I had lost my one of four years. I had typed up...
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