Danny Burton v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Jun 14 2017, 10:00 am
court except for the purpose of establishing
CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Joel M. Schumm Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Ellen H. Meilaender
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Danny Burton, June 14, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1609-CR-2103
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Hugh Patrick
Appellee-Plaintiff. Murphy, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G16-1604-F6-14658
Barnes, Judge.
Case Summary
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[1] Danny Burton appeals his conviction for Level 6 felony false reporting. We
affirm.
Issues
[2] The issue before us is whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain Burton’s
conviction for false reporting.
Facts
[3] On April 14, 2016, Burton made two calls to 911 and reported that there were
explosives set to go off at the Julian Center in Indianapolis. Burton’s ex-
girlfriend, S.S. was living at the Julian Center at this time. During the first call,
Burton stated, “there’s an explosive device set to go off in ten minutes at the
Julian Center.” Ex. 3A. Burton told the dispatcher that he intended to harm
S.S., stating that “she is getting ready to die,” and that he intended to “blow
that b**** up today.” Id. Burton refused to give the exact locations of the
explosives, stating “you’ll have to find it.” Id. During the second call, Burton
stated “So ya’ll think I’m bulls******* you right? You got three minutes to
evacuate the Julian Center. The bomb is going to go off. I have three bombs
planted.” Id. Burton also stated that he had a detonator and that he would use
it if the explosives did not go off on their own. Burton also stated that there
were three fifty-five-gallon drums filled with nitrate and diesel fuel that he had
placed himself.
[4] On April 15, 2016, Burton called 911 two more times, again threatening to
blow up the Julian Center. In the first call, Burton stated, “I corrected the
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problem last night … I’m going to blow up the Julian Center and everything in
it.” Ex. 4A. Burton claimed there were three fifty-five-gallon drums filled with
nitrate and diesel fuel. When asked where the explosives were located, Burton
stated that the explosives were “sitting outside.” Id. In the second call, Burton
again referenced the three fifty-five-gallon drums and stated that he had some
difficulty with the detonator, but that the bombs were still set to go off in five
minutes. Police were dispatched to the Julian Center on both occasions.
Explosives were not discovered.
[5] On April 20, 2016, Burton was charged with Level 6 felony false reporting,
Level 6 felony intimidation, and Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy.
During a bench trial on August 8, 2016, Burton was convicted of Level 6 felony
false reporting. On August 22, 2016, the trial court sentenced Burton to 545
days imprisonment. Burton now appeals his conviction.
Analysis
[6] Burton argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for false
reporting for two reasons: (1) “the state offered no evidence that the purported
explosives were placed ‘in’ a building; and (2) the defendant’s emotional state
negated any knowledge that the report was false.” Appellant’s Br. p. 4. When
reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we neither reweigh evidence nor
judge the credibility of witnesses. Rutherford v. State, 866 N.E.2d 867, 871 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2007). We consider only the evidence favorable to the judgment and
any reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. Glotzbach v. State, 783 N.E.2d
1221, 1226 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). We will affirm a conviction unless we
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conclude that no reasonable fact-finder would find the elements of the crime
proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Stokes v. State, 922 N.E.2d 758, 763 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2010) trans. denied. It is therefore not necessary that the evidence
overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Id.A. Sufficiency of Evidence for Falsely Reporting Explosives “in” a Building.
[7] Burton contends that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction for
false reporting because “[he] never claimed to have placed explosives “in” the
Julian Center. Rather, when asked during the third call about their placement,
he explicitly stated, ‘they are sitting outside.’” Appellant’s Br. p. 7. Indiana
Code Section 35-44.1-2-3(c) provides in part that “a person who reports, by
telephone, telegraph, mail, or other written or oral communication, that: (1) the
person or another person has placed or intends to place an explosive, a
destructive device, or other destructive substance in a building or transportation
facility … knowing the report to be false, commits false reporting, a Level 6
felony.”
[8] The evidence most favorable to the judgment shows that Burton made four 911
calls between April 14, 2016, and April 15, 2016. During each of the phone
calls, Burton was asked to provide the location of the explosives he claimed to
have placed at the Julian Center. Burton refused to give the exact location, but
he gave the address of the Julian Center during every call. Burton also stated
that he intended to kill S.S., who at the time was living at the Julian Center.
Burton also demanded that the Julian Center be evacuated. On April 15, 2016,
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Burton stated that he was “going to blow up the Julian Center and everything in
it.” Ex. 4A.
[9] Burton argues that the language of the statute specifies that a person must
report explosives “in” a building in order to commit false reporting. Burton’s
argument relies heavily on only one of the statements made during the several
calls placed over the two-day period. Thus, his argument fails to acknowledge
that he not only expressly named the Julian Center on all four occasions, but
that he also provided the address and stated that he wanted to blow up
everything inside it. Burton was only charged with one count of false reporting.
Thus, despite the statement made during the third phone call that the explosives
were sitting outside, any reasonable fact-finder could infer that Burton
committed false reporting. Whether Burton intended to claim that he placed
the explosives “in,” “at,” or “outside” the Julian Center, the intent was the
same. Burton alleged that he intended to blow up S.S., who he knew was living
in the Julian Center at the time. During the other three phone calls, Burton
failed to provide the exact location for the alleged bombs that he placed, and
therefore police and staff had to search the building and take any other
necessary precautions, on both occasions, to ensure the residents’ safety.
B. Sufficiency of Evidence for Knowing Report to be False
[10] Burton argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction
because “the state also failed to prove that Burton knew his report of a bomb to
be false.” Appellant’s Br. p. 8. When reviewing knowledge or intent, absent an
admission by the defendant, the trier of fact must resort to the reasonable
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inferences from both direct and circumstantial evidence to determine whether
the defendant has the requisite knowledge or intent to commit the offense in
question. Stokes, 922 N.E.2d at 764. Knowledge or intent may be proven by
circumstantial evidence, and it may be inferred from a defendant’s conduct and
the natural and usual sequence to which such conduct logically and reasonably
points. Id.[11] Burton contends that, because he “became emotional when discussing the
alleged bombs and apologized for setting them,” that he did not know the
report was false. Appellant’s Br. p. 9. The evidence shows otherwise. Burton
made several 911 calls over the course of a two-day period, and during each
call, he stated that he had placed three fifty-five-gallon drums at the Julian
Center. Burton also stated that he had filled each of the drums with nitrate and
diesel fuel and that he had a detonator to use if the explosives did not ignite on
their own. When the alleged explosives failed to detonate on April 14, 2016,
Burton again called 911 alleging that he had fixed the problem and that bombs
would explode. On both occasions, Julian Center staff and police officers
searched the building and did not find any explosives inside or outside of the
Julian Center. The fact that Burton became emotional after he made the phone
calls has no bearing on whether he knowingly made false threats during the
phone calls. Based on Burton’s conduct during the 911 calls, it was reasonable
for the trial court to infer that Burton knowingly made false reports.
Conclusion
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[12] There was sufficient evidence to support Burton’s conviction for Level 6 felony
false reporting. We affirm the decision of trial court.
[13] Affirmed.
Baker, J., and Crone, J., concur.
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