Kenneth Ray Barnett, Jr. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2015 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this
Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as Apr 17 2015, 9:31 am
precedent or cited before any court except for the
purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata,
collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Marce Gonzales, Jr. Gregory F. Zoeller
Dyer, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Monika Prekopa Talbot
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Kenneth Ray Barnett, Jr., April 17, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Cause No.
45A05-1408-CR-374
v. Appeal from the Lake Superior
Court
Cause No. 45G03-1210-FA-28
State of Indiana,
Appellee-Plaintiff. The Honorable Diane Ross Boswell,
Judge
Barnes, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] Kenneth Ray Barnett, Jr., appeals his convictions for Class A felony child
molesting and Class C felony child molesting. We affirm.
Issue
[2] The issue is whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence
referencing Barnett’s criminal charges in another jurisdiction.
Facts
[3] Barnett and Julie Roshanmanesh met in March 2007 and married in June 2009.
Barnett moved in with Roshanmanesh at her home in LaPorte, Indiana, a few
weeks after they met. Roshanmanesh had two children: a daughter, H.H., who
was around ten years old, and a son, T.H., who was around eight years old.
The family moved from LaPorte to Hobart, Indiana, (on Missouri Street) in
November 2007, then to Louisiana in June 2009, and returned to Hobart (on
Home Street) in September 2009. Barnett served as a “father figure” to H.H.
and T.H., whose biological father was effectively absent. Tr. p. 109.
[4] H.H. was subjected to several incidents of sexual abuse perpetrated by Barnett
during the approximately four years that Barnett lived with the family. On one
occasion at the Missouri Street residence, when Roshanmanesh was not home,
Barnett called H.H., who was playing outside with T.H., inside the house.
Barnett indicated that only H.H. should come. H.H. went into Barnett’s room
and sat down on the bed. Barnett, who was seated at his computer, instructed
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H.H. to sit on his lap. Barnett began “caressing” H.H.’s lower back and leg and
touched H.H. under her shirt. Id. at 106. Barnett also put his hand in H.H.’s
pants and touched her vagina with his fingers and the back of his hand. After
he heard a door shut, Barnett “stopped immediately” and directed H.H. to go
downstairs. Id. at 108.
[5] On another occasion at the Missouri Street residence, H.H. went upstairs to say
goodnight to her mother, who was in the computer room, and Barnett, who
was in the bedroom. Barnett leaned in to give H.H. a hug and a kiss and
inserted his hand under H.H.’s baggy nightshirt and stuck his hand down the
back and side of H.H.’s underwear, touching her buttocks.
[6] On another occasion, at the Home Street residence, while Barnett and H.H.
were alone in the house, Barnett summoned H.H. into his bedroom. While
H.H. was sitting on the edge of the bed, Barnett forced H.H. down on the bed
and straddled her. Barnett held H.H.’s face to prevent her from moving.
Barnett unzipped his jeans, removed his penis, and positioned it toward H.H.’s
face. Barnett’s penis went between H.H.’s lips but not between her teeth.
Barnett also kissed H.H. on the side of her face. After he heard a knock at the
door, Barnett stopped and went downstairs. H.H. testified that, during the time
in which Barnett lived with the family, Barnett attempted to force his penis in
her mouth “numerous times.” Id. at 128, 150.
[7] Also, on several occasions, Barnett would go into H.H.’s bedroom at night
while H.H. was in bed. Barnett would take H.H.’s hand and guide it to stroke
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his penis. During these incidents, H.H. was “very scared” and pretended to be
asleep. Id. at 128.
[8] When the family lived in LaPorte, H.H. reported having pain and other
“issues” in her vaginal area. Id. at 74. Roshanmanesh suggested that H.H.
undergo an examination, but Barnett advised against medical treatment,
reasoning that Roshanmanesh could not afford it. Instead, Barnett took
Roshanmanesh to purchase some Vagisil cream.
[9] Because she did not want to disrupt her mother’s happiness, H.H. did not tell
her mother about the continuing sexual abuse. Barnett also ordered H.H. not
to notify anyone, explaining to H.H. that no one would believe her. In
December 2010, Barnett and Roshanmanesh separated, although Barnett
continued to make intermittent contact.
[10] In fall 2012, when H.H. was about fifteen years old, Roshanmanesh began
receiving frequent phone calls from Barnett, and he began “coming around
again.” Id. at 132. This made H.H. anxious, and she began skipping her high
school classes. When Roshanmanesh was notified by the school about H.H.’s
absences, she confronted H.H. Roshanmanesh asked H.H. what was provoking
her truancy, and H.H. broke down into “hysterics” and told her mother about
the sexual abuse. Id. at 65. Roshanmanesh went to the police station and
reported Barnett.
[11] The State charged Barnett with Class A felony child molesting and Class C
felony child molesting. At the jury trial, during opening statement, the
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prosecutor explained that H.H. had endured Barnett’s sexual abuse from 2007
to 2010 and stated that Roshanmanesh’s testimony would reveal that Barnett
“has charges in Louisiana for these same . . . type incidents [sic].” Id. at 32.
Barnett’s counsel objected to the reference to extra-jurisdictional charges, and
the trial court noted but overruled the ongoing objection. Barnett’s counsel also
requested a mistrial, which was denied. During witness testimony, the
prosecutor asked Roshanmanesh about the charges pending against Barnett in
Louisiana, to which Barnett’s counsel objected. The court permitted the line of
inquiry, and Roshanmanesh testified that Barnett “has two charges in
Louisiana,” one of which she characterized as a “rape” charge. Id. at 69.
During the trial, one juror submitted a question pertaining to this testimony:
“What is the status of the Louisiana charges [?]” Tr. Jury Trial Juror Questions
p. 2. This question was not read aloud or answered in court.
[12] Barnett was convicted as charged and now appeals.
Analysis
[13] Barnett argues that the trial court’s admitting reference to and evidence of
charges in another jurisdiction was improper and warrants a new trial. “The
evidentiary rulings of a trial court are afforded great deference on appeal and
are overturned only upon a showing of an abuse of discretion.” Herrera v. State,
710 N.E.2d 931, 935 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied. A trial court’s decision
to admit evidence will not be reversed “absent a showing of manifest abuse of
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the trial court’s discretion resulting in denial of a fair trial.” Minnick v. State,
544 N.E.2d 471, 477 (Ind. 1989).
[14] Barnett argues that the admissions at trial violated Indiana Evidence Rule
404(b), which proscribes admission of “[e]vidence of a crime, wrong, or other
act” to prove a person’s propensity to certain acts or behavior. The rule serves
to avoid the “forbidden inference”: that the defendant has a criminal propensity
and, therefore, is guilty of the presently charged offense. Hicks v. State, N.E.2d
215, 218-19 (Ind. 1997). When assessing the admissibility of evidence objected
to on Rule 404(b) grounds, the following standard is applied: “(1) the court
must determine that the evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is relevant to
a matter at issue other than the defendant’s propensity to commit the charged
act; and (2) the court must balance the probative value of the evidence against
its prejudicial effect . . . .” Id. at 221. Even if admission of the evidence was
improper, however, we need not reverse or set aside the trial court’s ruling if the
error was harmless. See, e.g., Barker v. State, 695 N.E.2d 925, 931 (Ind. 1998);
Wickizer v. State, 626 N.E.2d 795, 800 (Ind. 1993).
[15] Regarding the first prong of the Rule 404(b) test, Barnett argues that the State’s
sole intention in mentioning the Louisiana charges was for the impermissible
purpose of showing his criminal propensity. The State counters that reference
to the Louisiana charges is admissible for purpose of demonstrating Barnett’s
criminal plan, as manifest in the continuity of the sexual molestation. Although
Rule 404(b)(2) expressly allows “plan” as a permissible purpose, this court has
clarified that the Rule is a narrower exception than its common-law predecessor
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and that “[w]e must take care to ensure that Rule 404(b)’s exceptions do not
swallow the rule.” Remy v. State, 17 N.E.3d 396, 399-400 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014),
trans. denied; see also Greenboam v. State, 766 N.E.2d 1247, 1253 (Ind. Ct. App.
2002), trans. denied.
[16] As to the second prong, Barnett contends that mention of the extra-
jurisdictional charges is only relevant to the forbidden propensity inference and,
therefore, its probative value is substantially outweighed by its prejudicial effect.
The State argues that the brevity of the two references negates their prejudicial
effect. Evidence of distinct criminal charges of the same type at bar can be
“highly prejudicial.” Thompson v. State, 690 N.E.2d 224, 235 (Ind. 1997). The
trial court, however, maintains “wide latitude . . . in weighing the probative
value of the evidence against the possible prejudice of its admission.” Evans v.
State, 727 N.E.2d 1072, 1079 (Ind. 2000).
[17] Even assuming that references to the Louisiana charges were improperly
admitted in violation of Rule 404(b), the trial court’s decision to admit that
evidence does not warrant reversal, as the admission amounted to harmless
error. H.H. testified at length to the incidents detailed above. References to the
charges pending against Barnett in Louisiana were not “critical” to the State’s
case but were marginally significant in light of H.H.’s testimony describing
years of sexual abuse. See Thompson, 690 N.E.2d at 236.
[18] Mention of the Louisiana charges was not a “steady drumbeat” in the State’s
case. James v. State, 622 N.E.2d 1303, 1310 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993). The
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Louisiana charges were raised in two isolated points during the trial. The
State’s direct examination of H.H., the principal evidence in the case, elicited
details about each of the incidents outlined above but omitted any reference to
pending charges in Louisiana. References to the Louisiana charges were
limited to brief discussions during the State’s opening statement and
Roshanmanesh’s testimony. Given that H.H. recounted in detail the ongoing
molestation as well as discrete incidents of abuse in Hobart and LaPorte, such
“substantial independent evidence of guilt” makes it “unlikely that the
erroneously admitted evidence played a role in the conviction.” Newman v.
State, 719 N.E.2d 832, 837-38 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied.
[19] Barnett claims that the juror’s question about the Louisiana charges suggests
that mention of the charges was not wholly inconsequential. A single,
undisclosed inquiry by a juror, however, does not establish a “substantial
likelihood” that the evidence contributed to the jury’s unanimous finding of
guilt. Sundling v. State, 679 N.E.2d 988, 994 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). In light of
H.H.’s unequivocal, detailed testimony about the charged sexual abuse, two
brief references to charges pending in Louisiana are “sufficiently minor so as
not to affect the substantial rights” of Barnett and, accordingly, their admission
constitutes harmless error. Fleener v. State, 656 N.E.2d 1140, 1142 (Ind. 1995).
Conclusion
[20] Even if the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the evidence referencing
Barnett’s Louisiana charges, such error was harmless. We affirm.
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[21] Affirmed.
May, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
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