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Keywords

defendantappealtrialwillbeyond a reasonable doubtmitigating circumstancesaggravating circumstancesjury trial

defendantappealtrialverdictwillmitigating circumstancesadmissibility

Related Cases

Bennett v. State, 787 N.E.2d 938

Facts

On June 25, 2001, Danny Bennett, armed with a handgun, robbed the Eagles Lodge in Ellettsville, threatening the bartender and patrons. After the robbery, he fled in a vehicle that was later identified as belonging to him. Following a police chase, Bennett was arrested, and evidence was found linking him to the robbery. He was charged with multiple felonies, including robbery and receiving stolen property, and was convicted after a jury trial.

On June 25, 2001, Bennett, wearing a ski mask and carrying a small chrome pistol, entered the backdoor of the Eagles Lodge in Ellettsville. Under the ski mask was netting that covered Bennett's eyes and the mouth of the ski mask was sewn shut. As it was almost closing time for the lodge, there were only four people present at the time. Bennett approached the bar and told Terri Gast, the bartender, to give him the money. Bennett threatened to kill her and the others present, so Gast put the money from the register into a bag and gave it to him. Bennett then ordered Gast to retrieve the money from the safe. When she said that she could not get into the safe, Bennett said that he knew that she could open the safe and to give him the money. Gast opened the safe and gave him one of the two bags of money inside.

Issue

Whether the trial court properly admitted photographs of Bennett's property into evidence, whether the State presented sufficient evidence for the receiving stolen property conviction, whether the trial court considered proper aggravating and mitigating circumstances in sentencing, whether Bennett's sentence was inappropriate, and whether the trial court incorrectly calculated his credit for time served.

Bennett raises five issues for our review, which we restate as: 1. Whether the trial court properly admitted photographs of Bennett's property into evidence during his trial; 2. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence for his receiving stolen property conviction; 3. Whether the trial court considered proper aggravating and mitigating circumstances in sentencing Bennett; 4. Whether Bennett's forty-four year sentence is inappropriate; and 5. Whether the trial court incorrectly calculated his credit for time served.

Rule

The admission of evidence is within the trial court's discretion and will not be reversed absent a showing of manifest abuse of discretion. The sufficiency of evidence is determined by whether there is probative evidence from which a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Sentencing decisions are within the trial court's discretion and are governed by Indiana Code section 35–38–1–7.1.

The admission of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the decision whether to admit evidence will not be reversed absent a showing of manifest abuse of the trial court's discretion resulting in the denial of a fair trial. Wilson v. State, 754 N.E.2d 950, 954 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). In determining the admissibility of evidence, the reviewing court will only consider the evidence in favor of the trial court's ruling and unrefuted evidence in the defendant's favor. Id.

Analysis

The court found that the trial court did not err in admitting the photographs as they were deemed demonstrative evidence. It also held that the State provided sufficient evidence for the receiving stolen property conviction, as the owner of the stolen license plate had a possessory interest. The court reviewed the sentencing factors and determined that while some aggravating circumstances were properly considered, others were not, leading to a revision of the sentence.

We note first that Bennett has not articulated any prejudice from the admission of the photographs. Rather, he has merely stated that the trial court erred in their admission. Additionally, we note that admission of the photographs did not contribute to any of the verdicts. Therefore, because Bennett does not articulate any prejudice and because the photographs did not contribute to the guilty verdicts, we hold that it was harmless error to admit them.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed Bennett's convictions but revised his sentence to a total of 26 years, remanding for a calculation of pretrial credit.

Therefore, Bennett will serve twelve years for his robbery conviction, concurrent ten-year sentences for each of his four criminal confinement convictions to be served consecutively to the robbery sentence, a consecutive term of four years for his carrying a handgun without a license conviction, concurrent with sentences of one and one-half years for receiving stolen property, and three years for resisting law enforcement for an aggregate of twenty-six years.

Who won?

The State prevailed in the case as the Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions, although it revised the sentence.

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