Luis Angel Mendoza v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2019 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
Jul 19 2019, 9:08 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Sean C. Mullins Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Crown Point, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Tiffany A. McCoy
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Luis Angel Mendoza, July 19, 2019
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A-CR-3016
v. Appeal from the Lake Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Salvador Vasquez,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
45G01-1602-FB-1
May, Judge.
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[1] Luis Angel Mendoza appeals his convictions of Class B felony child molesting 1
and Class C felony child molesting. 2 He raises one issue on appeal, which we
restate as whether the trial court committed reversible error by allowing limited
testimony regarding Mendoza’s relationship with an underage family member
other than the victim. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] Mendoza is approximately seven years older than J.R., and they have known
each other for J.R.’s entire life. They are cousins and interacted frequently at
family gatherings. When J.R. was six years old, Mendoza made him look at
pornographic pictures and videos. When J.R. was eight years old, Mendoza
began sexually touching J.R. This behavior continued until J.R. was twelve.
[3] J.R. testified about one incident that occurred when he was eleven and
Mendoza was eighteen. Mendoza and his immediate family came to visit J.R.
and his immediate family to see J.R.’s newborn baby brother. While the rest of
the family was in the living room observing J.R.’s brother, Mendoza and J.R.
went to J.R.’s brother’s bedroom. Mendoza directed J.R. to perform oral sex
on him, and J.R. complied. They stopped when they heard J.R.’s stepmother
coming down the hallway.
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(a) (2011).
2
Ind. Code § 35-42-4-3(b) (2011).
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[4] Another incident occurred when Mendoza spent the night at J.R.’s house. J.R.
was in his room sleeping when Mendoza woke him and told him to come to the
living room. J.R. followed Mendoza to the couch. While on the couch,
Mendoza used his finger or his penis to penetrate J.R.’s anus. J.R.’s stepmother
woke up. She noticed J.R.’s bedroom door was open and began to look for
him. When Mendoza heard that J.R.’s stepmother was up, Mendoza pushed
J.R. behind him, covered J.R. with a blanket, and laid on top of J.R. J.R.’s
stepmother asked Mendoza if he had seen J.R., and Mendoza responded that
he had not. J.R.’s stepmother continued to look for J.R. throughout the house.
When J.R.’s stepmother said she was going to call the police because she could
not find J.R., Mendoza pulled the covers off J.R. and said he was in the living
room.
[5] J.R. also testified that Mendoza would fondle him underneath his pants while
they played video games, including while J.R.’s sister was in the room watching
them play the games. Years later, J.R.’s stepmother and his mother asked J.R.
about his relationship with Mendoza, and J.R. told them Mendoza molested
him. The family notified law enforcement. On February 29, 2016, the State
charged Mendoza with three counts of child molesting.
[6] Beginning on October 22, 2018, the trial court held a three-day jury trial.
Following voir dire and before recessing for the evening after the first day, the
parties discussed—outside the presence of the jury—the manner in which to
address allegations made by W., a cousin of both J.R. and Mendoza, against
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Mendoza and pending criminal charges against Mendoza connected to W.’s
allegations. During that discussion, Mendoza’s counsel stated:
So our defense is based on the fact that W. and [J. R.] get caught
and, you know, they both describe how they’re not gay and their
cousin, [Mendoza], was making them do this because they were
molested many years prior to that. And so that’s where this
whole situation comes from. So my biggest point is I do want to
talk about that, but at the same time, I want [Mendoza] to have
that protection where people aren’t finding out about other
criminal charges and allegations. And it’s . . . very complicated
and—the allegations and those instances in our defense kind of
get braided up with each other. So it becomes—definitely going
to avoid opening up the door to any charges that my client is
facing against W. because I think that would prejudice the jury
for sure. But I don’t know if I’m going to be able to tell the story
about these allegations without the State being able to talk about
W. also making those allegations, and I don’t know if—I don’t
know if that’s even possible.
(Tr. Vol. II at 127-128.) In response, the State indicated that allowing
Mendoza to advance his blame shifting theory without letting the State
elicit testimony related to allegations that Mendoza molested W.
“hamstrings the State’s ability to attack the defense.” (Id. at 129.) The
trial court noted admissibility would depend on how the evidence was
presented but did not make a ruling.
[7] The next day, prior to opening arguments, Mendoza made an oral motion in
limine seeking to exclude information in an East Chicago police report
regarding sex offenses Mendoza allegedly committed against W. The trial
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court granted Mendoza’s motion and noted that, if the issue arose during trial,
the court would put the trial on hold and allow the prosecution to make an offer
of proof. During opening statement, Mendoza’s counsel referenced J.R.’s
relationship with W. several times:
[T]his case started out because the family finds out and this is a
religious family, [Mendoza] is—I’m not going to say he’s an
outcast, but he’s somewhat different than everybody. He’s gay.
Everybody knows he’s gay. He has a boyfriend, but what
everybody finds out in the family is that [J.R.] and his cousin that
are months apart were having sex. Two boy cousins, W. and [J.
R.], were having intercourse. So when confronted by that, that’s
when this allegation comes forward. That’s when [J.R.] says oh,
my gay cousin molested us. That’s how these allegations started.
That’s what these allegations are about.
*****
Who is trying to give—well, they are giving reasons well, we
were only hooking up. W. and [J. R.] as 14- and 15-year-old
boys. We are not gay. [Mendoza] molested us. That’s what this
case is about. People trying to shift blame. They don’t want to
be outed.
*****
That’s not right. It’s not appropriate and that’s what this case is
about. You have someone who said this when he was
confronted about having sex with his 15-year-old cousin.
Depending on when this happened and timeframe. He’s
confronted and he blames [Mendoza]
*****
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This is all something that when confronted with an awkward
situation, [J.R.] blames [Mendoza]. Doesn’t want to be outed.
Doesn’t want to be rejected by his religious family.
(Tr. Vol. III at 22-23, 26-27.)
[8] During a sidebar after Mendoza’s opening argument, the State made an offer of
proof stating the defense “opened the door” regarding the allegations involving
W. and Mendoza and that the State wished to ask J.R. about whether he knew
of W. and Mendoza’s relationship. (Id. at 27-28.) The court granted the State’s
request and Mendoza entered a continuing objection.
[9] At the end of the State’s direct examination of J.R., the following exchange
occurred:
Q [J.R.], at some point, did you talk to [Mendoza] or did
[Mendoza] talk to you about his relationship with W.?
A Yes.
Q And did [Mendoza] ever tell you that [Mendoza] had any
sexual relationship with W.?
A Yes.
(Id. at 46-47.) During cross-examination of J.R., Mendoza asked:
Q: Thank you. So you never tell anybody anything about this
until you are accused of having a sexual relationship with W.,
right?
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A: Yes.
Q: That is what came up first, the relationship with W., correct,
not [Mendoza], correct?
A: No.
Q: What happened?
A: It was [Mendoza] first.
Q: Who asked you about [Mendoza] first?
A: My Mom and my stepmom.
*****
Q: So the story that you are telling us is that [Stepmother] and
[Mother] asked you—first started out their investigation into
this—these cousins having sex with you. First thing they bring
up is you and [Mendoza], right?
A: Yes.
Q: And not you and W.?
A: Yes.
(Id. at 48, 60-61.)
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[10] The jury found Mendoza guilty of one count of Class B felony child molesting
and of Class C felony child molesting, but it found him not guilty of the second
count of Class B felony child molesting. The court entered judgments of
conviction of Class B felony and Class C felony child molesting and sentenced
Mendoza to an aggregate term of twelve years in the Indiana Department of
Correction.
Discussion and Decision
[11] Mendoza contends the trial court erred in admitting J.R.’s testimony that
Mendoza told J.R. that Mendoza also had a sexual relationship with W. We
evaluate a decision to admit or exclude evidence using an abuse of discretion
standard because such decisions are within the trial court’s “sound discretion”
and are “afforded great deference” on appeal. Fugett v. State, 812 N.E.2d 846,
848 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014). We will reverse a decision to admit evidence only
where the admission is a “manifest abuse of discretion by the trial court
resulting in the denial of a fair trial.” Johnson v. State, 831 N.E.2d 163, 168-69
(Ind. Ct. App. 2005), trans. denied. “A decision is an abuse of discretion if it is
clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the
court.” Id. at 169.
[12] Mendoza argues the trial court improperly admitted this testimony in violation
of Indiana Rule of Evidence 404(b), which controls the admissibility of
“Crimes, Wrongs, or Other Acts” evidence and provides:
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(1) Prohibited uses. Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not
admissible to prove a person’s character in order to show that on
a particular occasion the person acted in accordance with the
character.
(2) Permitted Uses; Notice in a Criminal Case. This evidence may be
admissible for another purpose, such as proving motive,
opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity,
absence of mistake, or lack of accident. On request by a
defendant in a criminal case, the prosecutor must:
(A) provide reasonable notice of the general nature of any
such evidence that the prosecutor intends to offer at trial;
and
(B) do so before trial—or during trial if the court, for good
cause, excuses lack of pretrial notice.
This rule is meant to prevent the jury from drawing the forbidden inference that
the defendant is guilty of the crime he stands accused of committing because the
defendant committed crimes in the past. Udarbe v. State, 749 N.E.2d 562, 564
(Ind. Ct. App. 2001).
[13] In examining the admissibility of Rule 404(b) evidence, courts apply a two-
prong analysis. Wages v. State, 863 N.E.2d 408, 410 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), reh’g
denied, trans. denied. “First, the court must assess whether the evidence has
some relevancy to a matter at issue other than the defendant’s propensity to
commit the charged act. Second, the court must weigh the probative value of
the evidence against its prejudicial effect, pursuant to Evidence Rule 403.” Id.
(internal citation omitted). By necessity, the court’s analysis of the admissibility
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of Rule 404(b) evidence includes the relevancy test of Rule 401 and the
balancing test of Rule 403. Maffett v. State, 113 N.E.3d 278, 283 (Ind. Ct. App.
2018).
[14] Mendoza argues the evidence was admitted for the sole purpose of showing
Mendoza’s propensity for child molesting because Mendoza did not put his
motive or intent at issue. He further asserts any probative value is substantially
outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. In contrast, the State contends
Mendoza’s opening statement served to “open the door” to admission of the
testimony and, regardless, the evidence was admissible for the purpose of
contextualizing the relationships between all the individuals involved.
[15] As our Indiana Supreme Court has explained, “[o]therwise inadmissible
evidence may be admitted where the defendant opens the door to questioning
on that evidence.” Clark v. State, 915 N.E.2d 126, 130 (Ind. 2009), reh’g denied.
This occurs when otherwise inadmissible evidence is needed to correct a
deceptively incomplete disclosure or to correct a false or misleading impression
of the facts. Valdez v. State, 56 N.E.3d 1244, 1249 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), trans.
denied. While an opening statement is not evidence, “counsel may open the
door to permit the admission of otherwise inadmissible evidence through an
opening statement.” Singh v. Lyday, 889 N.E.2d 342, 351 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008),
reh’g denied, trans. denied. For example, in Wilder v. State, we held that testimony
by a detective constituting a legal conclusion was admissible because the
defendant opened the door to such testimony by attacking the sufficiency of the
police investigation in his opening statement and during cross-examination of a
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different police officer. 91 N.E.3d 1016, 1023 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018). We also
held in Terrell v. State that while juvenile adjudications may not be used for
impeachment purposes, the defendant opened the door to admission of his
juvenile adjudication when his counsel said during opening statement that the
defendant did not have any criminal history. 507 N.E.2d 633, 635 (Ind. Ct.
App. 1987), reh’g denied, trans. denied.
[16] During his opening statement, Mendoza presented the theory that J.R. falsely
accused him of molestation because J.R.’s family discovered his sexual
relationship with W. and J.R. did not want his family to shun him because of
that relationship. Mendoza’s opening statement urged the jurors to wonder
about the family dynamics between J.R., W., and Mendoza. Mendoza’s
counsel even referenced J.R. and W. in the plural form at one point during his
opening statement. (Tr. Vol. III 23) (“W. and [J.R.] as 14- and 15-year-old
boys. We are not gay. [Mendoza] molested us.”) This statement gives the jury
the impression that both W. and J.R. are blaming Mendoza for their own
sexual relationship. It leads the jury to think both W. and J.R. are accusing
Mendoza of molesting them. Thus, the State needed to question J.R. about his
knowledge of W. and Mendoza’s relationship to give the jury a complete and
accurate understanding of the facts based on the impressions Mendoza’s
counsel left in his opening statement.
[17] J.R.’s knowledge of Mendoza’s relationship with W. is relevant to a jury trying
to decide between competing theories. As Mendoza even acknowledged after
voir dire, the sexual relationship between J.R. and Mendoza is connected to the
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sexual relationship between J.R. and W. Mendoza even attempted to derive
testimony supporting his blame shifting theory by asking J.R. during cross-
examination which sexual relationship he was questioned about by his mother
and stepmother first, his sexual relationship with W. or his relationship with
Mendoza. Additionally, during re-cross-examination following a jury question
about J.R.’s sexual relationship with W., Mendoza asked “You were having sex
or W. was having sex with you when you were six?” J.R. answered, “No. It
wasn’t sex. We were touching each other because of what [Mendoza] did to
me and him.” (Id. at 68.) Mendoza contends J.R. is trying to shift blame for
being caught having sex with W. However, J.R.’s testimony is that he was
having sex with W. because of what Mendoza did to both him and W.
[18] Limited testimony regarding J.R.’s knowledge of Mendoza’s relationship with
W. is relevant to assessing J.R.’s credibility. It enlightens the jury regarding the
theory Mendoza posed in his opening statement. In fact, although Mendoza
raised a continuing objection to 404(b) evidence, he acknowledged that some
discussion of the relationship between J.R., W., and Mendoza was necessary.
(See id. at 30) (“I assumed based on our defense that this Court would allow
that stuff in just. . . . So I think a lot of that stuff just has to come in.”). We
agree with the State that, given Mendoza’s theory of the case, he opened the
door to the limited introduction of evidence regarding J.R.’s knowledge about
W.’s sexual relationship with Mendoza. See Wales v. State, 768 N.E.2d 513, 521
(Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (holding defendant opened the door to admission of 15-
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year-old robbery conviction), clarified on reh’g 774 N.E.2d 116 (Ind. Ct. App.
2002), trans. denied.
Conclusion
[19] The theory of the case Mendoza presented during his opening statement opened
the door to questioning of J.R. regarding his knowledge of the relationship
between W. and Mendoza. Therefore, we do not need to assess whether the
testimony was admissible pursuant to Indiana Rule of Evidence 404(b). The
trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing such testimony. We affirm
Mendoza’s convictions.
[20] Affirmed.
Mathias, J., and Brown, J., concur.
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