Wayne Mitchell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
FILED
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Oct 19 2016, 8:26 am
this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK
regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
court except for the purpose of establishing and Tax Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Scott Knierim Gregory F. Zoeller
Danville, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Lyubov Gore
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Wayne Mitchell, October 19, 2016
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
32A05-1605-CR-948
v. Appeal from the Hendricks
Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Stephenie Lemay-
Appellee-Plaintiff. Luken, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
32D05-1601-F5-8
Bailey, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] Wayne Mitchell (“Mitchell”) appeals his conviction for Escape, as a Level 5
felony,1 presenting the sole issue of whether the State presented sufficient
evidence that he was in lawful detention. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] In December of 2015, Mitchell was incarcerated at the Hendricks County Jail
awaiting a bench trial scheduled for January 21, 2016. Mitchell requested an
inmate work assignment and was permitted to leave his cell and perform tasks
at the county garage attached to the jail facility. He assisted Hendricks County
Sheriff’s Department mechanic, Ray Cummings (“Cummings”), doing such
things as changing tires and washing vehicles, for “roughly a week, week and a
half.” (Tr. at 177.)
[3] On January 14, 2016, Mitchell worked with Cummings for several hours.
Around 7:30 p.m., Cummings told Mitchell that he could “go in.” (Tr. at 180.)
Mitchell went into a back area, where he shut off some lights and grabbed his
jacket. He told Cummings that he had locked all the doors and would “see
[Cummings] tomorrow.” (Tr. at 180.) However, when Cummings checked the
doors at 8:30 p.m., he discovered that one was left unlocked. Cummings locked
1
Ind. Code § 35-44.1-3-4. He does not challenge his convictions for Burglary, as a Level 5 felony, I.C. § 35-
43-2-1, or Auto Theft, as a Level 6 felony, I.C. § 35-43-4-2.5.
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the door and went home, leaving a white Dodge truck parked outside.
Cummings left the keys to that truck on his workbench.
[4] At around 5:00 the next morning, Cummings received a call from Deputy
Charles Tyree. After being told that Mitchell was missing, Cummings checked
the garage. The keys he had left on the workbench were no longer there, and
there was a lug wrench out-of-place. Deputy Tyree examined the back door
and it appeared to have been pried open with a tool. The white Dodge truck
was missing and inmate clothing had been discarded in the parking lot.
[5] Later that day, officers discovered the white Dodge truck in a Walgreens
parking lot in Greenwood, Indiana. Soon thereafter, Mitchell was taken into
custody at the Greenwood Park Mall. The keys to the white Dodge truck were
on his person.
[6] The State charged Mitchell with Escape, Burglary, and Auto Theft and alleged
that he is a habitual offender. At the conclusion of the State’s case-in-chief in
the jury trial, Mitchell moved for a directed verdict on Count I, Escape. He
argued that the State failed to properly charge flight from work release as
opposed to lawful detention. The motion for a directed verdict was denied, and
Mitchell was convicted of Escape, Burglary, and Auto Theft. The jury also
found Mitchell to be a habitual offender. He was sentenced to six years
imprisonment on the Escape conviction, enhanced by six years due to his
habitual offender status. He received a five-year concurrent sentence for
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Burglary and a one-year concurrent sentence for Auto Theft. This appeal
ensued.
Discussion and Decision
[7] Mitchell challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction for
Escape. When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a
conviction, we will consider only the probative evidence and reasonable
inferences supporting the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind.
2007). We will affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find
the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
[8] The State charged that Mitchell violated Indiana Code Section 35-44.1-3-4,
which provides in relevant part: “A person, except as provided in subsection
(b), who intentionally flees from lawful detention commits escape, a Level 5
felony.” Mitchell does not deny that he fled or that he did so intentionally.
According to Mitchell, although his conduct arguably amounts to flight from
work release, it does not constitute flight from lawful detention.2
[9] “Lawful detention” is defined by Indiana Code Section 35-31.5-2-186 to include
“detention in a penal facility.” The State presented evidence that Mitchell was
an inmate at the Hendricks County Jail. He was being held on a $500 bond
2
Mitchell claims that he was “in a program in which special privileges are allowed to inmates” and was
“granted temporary leave for a specific purpose.” (Appellant’s Br. at 9-10.) However, he does not provide a
statutory basis for his claim of temporary leave.
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awaiting trial. Pursuant to his request, Mitchell had been allowed outside his
cell to perform unpaid work. He had not been released from incarceration or
transferred to the separate Hendricks County work release facility. The State
presented sufficient evidence to establish that Mitchell was in lawful detention
prior to his escape. Mitchell’s emphasis upon the absence of a law enforcement
officer at the garage is unavailing. See Rowe v. State, 813 N.E.2d 1232, 1235
(Ind. Ct. App. 2004) (“detention for law enforcement purposes does not require
the presence of a law enforcement officer”), trans. denied.
Conclusion
[10] The State presented sufficient evidence to support Mitchell’s conviction for
Escape.
[11] Affirmed.
Riley, J., and Barnes, J., concur.
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