Wilson v. State

Citation176 N.E.3d 591 (Table)
Decision Date20 October 2021
Docket NumberCourt of Appeals Case No. 21A-CR-101
Parties Bryant E. WILSON, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff
CourtCourt of Appeals of Indiana

176 N.E.3d 591 (Table)

Bryant E. WILSON, Appellant-Defendant,
v.
STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff

Court of Appeals Case No. 21A-CR-101

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

FILED October 20, 2021


Attorney for Appellant: David M. Payne, Marion, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee: Theodore E. Rokita, Attorney General, Sierra A. Murray, Deputy Attorney General, Amika Ghosh, Certified Legal Intern, Indianapolis, Indiana

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Vaidik, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] Bryant E. Wilson appeals his convictions and thirty-two-year sentence for two counts of Level 3 felony robbery. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On August 31, 2018, Ravinder Singh was working third shift at Marion Pantry, a convenience store in Marion. Around 5 a.m., a thin, black male who was approximately 5’9" entered the store. The man wore a mask, dark clothing, blue latex gloves, and white tennis shoes and carried a metal pipe and green pillowcase. The man struck Singh on his shoulder with the pipe and took the cash drawer, cartons of cigarettes, candy, and lighters. He put some items in the pillowcase and fled, leaving the pipe on the counter. Singh suffered a red, swollen injury on his shoulder where he was struck with the pipe.

[3] Singh called 911, and officers from the Marion Police Department responded. The officers took photographs and collected evidence, including video from the store's surveillance system and the metal pipe. One officer noticed there was a lot of loose change on the floor by the cash register, so he canvassed the neighborhood to see if he could "follow ... a bread crumb trail" of change. Tr. Vol. I p. 188. He found "a tight group of change" "right next to a trash tote" in front of 3232 South Felton Street, which was behind the store. Id. The officer opened the trash tote and found an empty cash drawer from Marion Pantry.

[4] On October 19, Wanda Walker and Pamela Titus were working at Save-On Liquor in Marion. Around 10:30 p.m., a black male wearing a mask, dark clothing, and blue latex gloves entered the store. The man yelled at Walker and Titus to "open the cash register" and "get down." Id. at 218. The man hit Titus on her arm with a large ice scraper, and the end broke off and landed on the counter. The man took money from the cash register and fled. Walker and Titus called 911. Officers from the Marion Police Department responded, and they took photographs and collected evidence, including video from the store's surveillance system and the end of the ice scrapper that had broken off. Titus had a bruise on her arm, and she was in pain for a couple hours.

[5] After further investigation, the officers obtained a search warrant for Wilson's home at 3420 South Felton Street, which is about a "block and a half" from Marion Pantry and "about a block" from where the cash drawer was found. Id. at 192, 228. The officers executed the search warrant on October 29. When they knocked on Wilson's door and identified themselves, Wilson climbed out of a window and fled. Wilson was apprehended and taken to the police station, where Captain Mark Stefanatos interviewed him.

[6] During the search of Wilson's home, the officers found items related to the robberies. Specifically, they found a large ice scraper with the end missing. The end left on the counter at Save-On Liquor "matched" the part found at Wilson's home. Id. at 177. The officers also found a box of blue latex gloves, white tennis shoes, black work pants, and a green pillowcase.

[7] The officers sent a swab from Wilson and the metal pipe found at Marion Pantry to the Indiana State Police Laboratory for DNA analysis. It was determined the metal pipe contained DNA from two people. According to the DNA analyst, "the DNA profile ... developed from the pipe was at least a trillion times more likely if it originated from Bryant Wilson and an unknown individual than if it originated from two unknown, unrelated individuals." Id. at 154.

[8] The State charged Wilson with two counts of Level 3 felony robbery, one for Marion Pantry (elevated from a Level 5 felony because it was committed while armed with a deadly weapon, i.e., metal pipe) and the other for Save-On Liquor (elevated from a Level 5 felony due to bodily injury to Titus).1 At the September 2020 trial, the surveillance videos from Marion Pantry and Save-On Liquor were admitted into evidence and played for the jury. See Ex. 4. Captain Stefanatos testified Wilson's voice during the interview "matched" the man's voice in the videos and that Wilson's physical appearance "matched" the physical appearance of the man in the videos. Tr. Vol. I p. 175. Captain Stefanatos also testified (1) the white tennis shoes found in Wilson's home looked like the white tennis shoes the man wore during the Marion Pantry robbery; (2) the blue latex gloves found in Wilson's home looked like the blue latex gloves the man wore during the robberies; (3) the black work pants found in Wilson's home looked like the pants the man wore during the Marion Pantry robbery; (4) the green pillowcase found in Wilson's home looked like the one the man used during the Marion Pantry robbery; and (5) the slipper-type shoes Wilson wore during the interview looked like the shoes the man wore during the Save-On Liquor robbery.

[9] The jury found Wilson guilty of both counts. A sentencing hearing was held in December 2020; Wilson was sixty years old. Evidence was presented about Wilson's criminal history. Specifically, he has six felony convictions—arson, rape, criminal deviate conduct, and three Class B felony robberies—and two misdemeanor convictions. For arson, Wilson was sentenced to ten years. See Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 119. For rape, criminal deviate conduct, and one robbery, Wilson was sentenced to fifty years, with thirty-nine years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction and the remainder suspended to probation. See Cause No. 27D01-9501-CF-7 (eventually transferred to Cause No. 27C01-1006-FC-160). In 2014, Wilson was released to probation, which was modified to informal probation in 2015, and he was still on probation when he committed these offenses in 2018. Wilson testified he was doing well on probation until he lost his job in the spring of 2018, at which point he started using drugs and things went "downhill." Tr. Vol. II p. 2. Wilson also testified he had taken several classes while in jail awaiting trial. The trial court found two aggravators—Wilson has "a lengthy history of criminal offenses" and was on probation when he committed these offenses—and one mitigator—he "may have a substance dependency." Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 18...

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