Brandon Mockbee v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2018 )


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  • MEMORANDUM DECISION
    Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
    this Memorandum Decision shall not be                                        FILED
    regarded as precedent or cited before any                               Mar 16 2018, 10:43 am
    court except for the purpose of establishing                                 CLERK
    the defense of res judicata, collateral                                  Indiana Supreme Court
    Court of Appeals
    and Tax Court
    estoppel, or the law of the case.
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT                                   ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
    Leanna Weissmann                                         Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
    Lawrenceburg, Indiana                                    Attorney General of Indiana
    Chandra K. Hein
    Deputy Attorney General
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    Brandon Mockbee,                                         March 16, 2018
    Appellant-Defendant,                                     Court of Appeals Case No.
    15A01-1703-CR-483
    v.                                               Appeal from the Dearborn Circuit
    Court
    State of Indiana,                                        The Honorable James D.
    Appellee-Plaintiff                                       Humphrey, Judge
    Trial Court Cause No.
    15C01-1607-F5-49
    Crone, Judge.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018             Page 1 of 18
    Case Summary
    [1]   Brandon Mockbee was convicted, following a jury trial, for two counts of level
    5 felony burglary and one count of level 6 obstruction of justice. The jury also
    found that he was a habitual offender. The trial court sentenced him to
    consecutive terms of six years for each burglary, two and one-half years for
    obstruction of justice, and six years for the habitual offender enhancement, for
    an aggregate sentence of twenty and one-half years. Mockbee appealed,
    asserting that the State presented insufficient evidence to support the habitual
    offender enhancement and his obstruction of justice conviction. He also
    claimed that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence,
    in denying his motion for severance, and in revoking his right to represent
    himself at trial.
    [2]   In November 2017, after finding the evidence sufficient to support the habitual
    offender enhancement and obstruction of justice conviction, and concluding
    that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we issued a memorandum
    decision affirming Mockbee’s convictions and sentences in Mockbee v. State, No.
    15A01-1703-CR-483, 
    2017 WL 5352718
     (Nov. 14, 2017), trans. granted. After
    we issued our decision, Mockbee petitioned for transfer. Ten days later, our
    supreme court handed down Johnson v. State, 
    87 N.E.3d 471
     (Ind. 2017), and
    Calvin v. State, 
    87 N.E.3d 474
     (Ind. 2017). Mockbee filed a reply brief in
    support of transfer citing Johnson and Calvin, and our supreme court
    subsequently issued an order granting transfer, vacating our decision, and
    remanding the appeal for us to reconsider in light of Johnson and Calvin. See
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 2 of 18
    Mockbee v. State, No. 18S-CR-111, 
    2018 WL 1007816
     (Feb. 22, 2018). Upon
    such reconsideration, we affirm Mockbee’s convictions and sentences, but we
    reverse the habitual offender enhancement and remand to the trial court for
    further proceedings.
    Facts and Procedural History
    [3]   On June 16, 2016, at 11:45 p.m., officers responded to a report from an alarm
    company that “there was glass breakage” at Hibbett Sports in Aurora. Tr. Vol.
    6 at 34. When they arrived, they observed that the front door was shattered and
    a large rock was about ten feet inside the store. After investigating, officers
    discovered that “a large quantity of the Air Jordan merchandise and Cincinnati
    Reds merchandise was missing.” Id. at 33. Surveillance video obtained from a
    nearby business revealed that a white vehicle was seen leaving Hibbett Sports at
    the time of the burglary.
    [4]   Then, on June 27, 2016, at 11:02 p.m., officers responded to a similar report
    from Tri-State Battery in nearby Lawrenceburg. Upon arrival, officers observed
    that the front glass door had been smashed with “what appeared to be a red
    paver, or a red round stone.” Id. at 213-14. Items such as a generator, some
    water pumps, and a weed trimmer were missing. Also, two cash drawers were
    gone. Lawrenceburg Police Department Detective Nicholas Beetz was
    summoned to the scene. Detective Beetz recalled seeing a media release
    regarding the Hibbett Sports burglary a few days earlier. When Detective Beetz
    and the owner of Tri-State Battery, Terry Miller, arrived and walked around the
    property, they noticed that there was an “electronic transformer box behind the
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 3 of 18
    building had been knocked off its base several inches.” Id. at 214. Surveillance
    video showed a 2010 to 2012 Nissan Versa back into the transformer box
    causing damage to the vehicle. The driver then drove to the front of the
    building, opened the hatch of the vehicle, appeared to grab something, and then
    proceeded “to throw the object inside and through the window of the business.”
    Id. at 220. The suspect was “obviously wearing a light colored shirt, light
    colored gloves, some sort of concealment around the face, a Cincinnati Reds
    hat, dark pants and white shoes.” Id. The video showed the person going into
    the store and carrying items out.
    [5]   Detective Beetz sent a text message to Aurora Police Department Detective
    Vern McBride, the officer investigating the Hibbett Sports burglary, to let him
    know about the similarities between the two crimes. Detective Beetz also asked
    Miller to review Tri-State Battery’s surveillance video to see if the suspect had
    been scoping out the business in the days leading up to the burglary. Miller
    identified a person, and a vehicle, matching the suspect on video from June 23,
    2016. The person had on white shoes, black socks, red basketball shorts, and a
    white Air Jordan shirt. The person peered inside the front door and the side
    window of the business for several seconds.
    [6]   In addition to having Miller review the surveillance video, Detective Beetz
    gathered more information regarding the Nissan Versa vehicle seen in the
    video. The vehicle in the video had a front vanity license plate as well as a rear
    license plate. The vehicle also had a decal on the rear hatch and damage to the
    right rear bumper where it struck the electrical box. Detective Beetz eventually
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 4 of 18
    discovered a vehicle matching the one in the surveillance video registered to
    Rosalie Rahn in Mount Healthy, Ohio. Detective Beetz traveled to Ohio to
    speak with Rahn about her vehicle. When the detective arrived, Rahn
    immediately asked him if he was there about her grandson, Mockbee. Rahn
    informed Detective Beetz that she had loaned her vehicle to Mockbee during
    the relevant time frame. Rahn also told authorities that Mockbee was in a
    relationship with a woman named Melissa Holley who drove a white vehicle.
    Upon hearing this information, Detective Beetz recalled that a white vehicle
    had been involved in the burglary at Hibbett Sports. Detective Beetz showed
    Rahn some still photographs taken from the Tri-State Battery video surveillance
    on June 23, and Rahn identified the suspect as Mockbee.
    [7]   Detectives Beetz and McBride gathered information regarding both Mockbee
    and Holley. They determined that there was an open Department of Child
    Services (“DCS”) investigation involving Holley’s children and that Holley was
    living at a North Vernon residence owned by Donna Lacey. The detectives
    spoke with Holley’s DCS caseworker, Elizabeth Beesley. Beesley informed the
    detectives that in June 2016, Mockbee and Holley had a physical altercation at
    Lacey’s house during which the children were present. Mockbee was banned
    from Lacey’s residence, and DCS planned to check on the children thirty days
    following the incident. Beesley told the detectives that she planned to go to
    Lacey’s residence that day and asked the detectives if they would like to
    accompany her. The detectives accompanied Beesley to Lacey’s residence so
    that they could speak with Holley and/or Mockbee.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 5 of 18
    [8]   When Beesley and the detectives arrived, they knocked on the door. Lacey was
    disabled, so her caretaker answered the door. Beesley had met the caretaker on
    a prior occasion at Lacey’s residence. Beesley asked if she and the dectectives
    could enter the residence to speak to Lacey, and the caretaker invited them into
    the home. The caretaker led the detectives to Lacey’s bedroom. As they
    walked by the open door to one of the other bedrooms, the detectives could see
    several articles of clothing that were consistent with items stolen from Hibbett
    Sports. The officers spoke with Lacey and explained to her why they were
    there, and she consented to a search of her house, garage, and shed. The
    officers subsequently obtained and executed a search warrant for the residence.
    Several items were found that were consistent with the items stolen from
    Hibbett Sports.
    [9]   Later that evening, Mockbee, driving Holley’s white vehicle, came to Lacey’s
    residence. He was accompanied by Holley, and was dressed in a Cincinnati
    Reds hat, white Nike shirt, red shorts, and white shoes. These apparel items
    were consistent with what the suspect wore in the Tri-State Battery surveillance
    video. Officers searched Holley’s vehicle and discovered several items stolen
    from Hibbett Sports, as well as burglary tools such as a black mask, gloves,
    rocks, a crowbar, bolt cutters, and a pry bar. Glass fragments that matched the
    glass doors from Hibbett Sports and Tri-State Battery were also found in
    Holley’s vehicle. Holley admitted to police that Mockbee burglarized Hibbett
    Sports. Both Mockbee and Holley were arrested. Mockbee was transported to
    the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 6 of 18
    [10]   The State originally charged Mockbee with two counts of level 5 felony
    burglary and one count of level 5 felony conspiracy to commit burglary.
    However, authorities later discovered that during the booking process at the
    Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center, Mockbee threw the red shorts he
    had been wearing in the garbage can instead of putting them in his property bin
    as instructed. Consequently, the State amended the charging information to
    include a charge of level 6 felony obstruction of justice. The State also alleged
    that Mockbee was a habitual offender based on numerous prior Ohio
    convictions. A jury trial was held from December 5-16, 2016. The jury found
    Mockbee guilty of both counts of burglary, obstruction of justice, and being a
    habitual offender. The jury found him not guilty of conspiracy to commit
    burglary. The trial court sentenced Mockbee to consecutive terms of six years
    for each burglary, two and one-half years for obstruction of justice, and six
    years for being a habitual offender, for an aggregate sentence of twenty and one-
    half years.1 This appeal ensued.
    1
    It appears that the trial court failed to attach the six-year habitual offender sentence enhancement to one of
    Mockbee’s underlying felonies. See 
    Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8
    (j) (habitual offender finding is not separate crime,
    but an enhancement that attaches to felony conviction with highest sentence imposed). However, because
    we reverse the habitual offender enhancement, we need not address this issue any further at this time.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018              Page 7 of 18
    Discussion and Decision
    Section 1 – The State presented insufficient evidence to
    support the habitual offender enhancement.
    [11]   Mockbee first asserts that the State presented insufficient evidence to support
    the habitual offender enhancement. Specifically, he argues that his prior Ohio
    convictions are not “serious enough to qualify as prior convictions for purposes
    of Indiana’s habitual offender statute[s].” Appellant’s Br. at 22. Upon a
    challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support a habitual offender
    enhancement, this Court neither reweighs the evidence nor judges the
    credibility of the witnesses; rather, we examine only the evidence most
    favorable to the judgment, together with all the reasonable and logical
    inferences to be drawn therefrom. Woods v. State, 
    939 N.E.2d 676
    , 677 (Ind. Ct.
    App. 2010), trans. denied (2011).
    [12]   The statute in effect at the time Mockbee committed his offenses provided that
    for a person convicted of a level 5 felony to be adjudicated a habitual offender,
    the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person has been
    convicted of two prior unrelated felonies, “at least one of which is not a Level 6
    or Class D felony,” and, if one of the alleged prior unrelated felonies is a “Level
    5 or 6, or Class C or D felony,” that “not more than ten (10) years have elapsed
    between the time the person was released from imprisonment, probation or
    parole (whichever is latest) and the time the person committed the current
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 8 of 18
    offense.” 
    Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8
    (c) (2016).2 See 
    id.
     Indiana Code Section 35-50-
    2-1(a) defines “Level 6 felony conviction” as follows:
    (1) a conviction in Indiana for:
    (A) a Class D felony, for a crime committed before July 1, 2014;
    or
    (B) a Level 6 felony, for a crime committed after June 30, 2014;
    and
    (2) a conviction, in any other jurisdiction at any time, with respect to
    which the convicted person might have been imprisoned for
    more than one (1) year.
    (emphasis added).
    [13]   Here, to support the habitual offender enhancement, the State alleged that in
    July 2001, in Hamilton County, Ohio, Mockbee was convicted of safecracking,
    a fourth degree felony; in April 2002, in Hamilton County, Ohio, Mockbee was
    convicted of robbery, a second degree felony; and in June 2012, in Scioto
    County, Ohio, Mockbee was convicted of possession of drugs, a second degree
    felony, theft of drugs, a third degree felony, tampering with evidence, a third
    degree felony, one count of receiving stolen property, a fourth degree felony,
    2
    The legislature recently amended the statute to clarify that the “not more than” ten-year elapsed period
    simply applies to “at least one” of the alleged prior unrelated felony convictions and not necessarily only to
    alleged prior unrelated lower level felonies. 
    Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8
    (c), -(d) (eff. July 31, 2017); see Johnson, 87
    N.E.3d at 473 (concluding that plain meaning of prior version of subsection 8(d) required that each lower-
    level felony State uses to establish subsection 8(d)(1) must meet ten-year requirement found in subsection
    8(d)(2)).
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018                  Page 9 of 18
    and five additional counts involving fifth degree felonies.3 In Calvin, our
    supreme court held that under the plain meaning of Indiana’s habitual offender
    statutes, all non-Indiana felonies count as level 6 felonies. 87 N.E.3d at 479.4
    Thus, because all of Mockbee’s alleged prior unrelated felonies are Ohio
    convictions, the State failed to prove that at least one of Mockbee’s alleged prior
    unrelated felonies is not a level 6 or class D felony. Accordingly, we reverse the
    habitual offender enhancement as unsupported by sufficient evidence and
    remand to the trial court for retrial on the enhancement. See id. (citing Dexter v.
    State, 
    959 N.E.2d 235
    , 240 (Ind. 2012), for proposition that “[R]etrial on a
    sentencing enhancement based on a prior conviction is permitted even where
    the enhancement is reversed because of insufficient evidence.”)
    Section 2 – The State presented sufficient evidence to support
    Mockbee’s obstruction of justice conviction.
    [14]   Mockbee next contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to support
    his obstruction of justice conviction. When reviewing a claim of insufficient
    evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor assess witness credibility. Bell v.
    State, 
    31 N.E.3d 495
    , 499 (Ind. 2015). We look to the evidence and reasonable
    inferences drawn therefrom that support the conviction, and will affirm if there
    is probative evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could have found the
    3
    The trial court noted during sentencing that at the age of forty-one, Mockbee had been “convicted of 26
    felonies and 20 misdemeanors for a total of 46 convictions.” Tr. Vol. 11 at 85.
    4
    Because we find Calvin dispositive, we need not discuss the implications, if any, of our supreme court’s
    opinion in Johnson to the facts of this case.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018             Page 10 of
    18
    defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 
    Id.
     In short, if the testimony
    believed by the trier of fact is enough to support the conviction, then the
    reviewing court will not disturb it. Id. at 500.
    [15]   To convict Mockbee of obstruction of justice, the State was required to prove
    that he altered, damaged, or removed any record, document, or thing, with
    intent to prevent it from being produced or used as evidence in any official
    proceeding or investigation. 
    Ind. Code § 35-44.1-2
    -2(a)(3). Here, the State
    presented evidence that when Mockbee was arrested, “[h]e had a white Nike
    shirt on and then he had red shorts that were consistent with the red shorts
    [police] saw in the [Tri-State Battery] video from [June 23].” Tr. Vol. 7 at 79.
    During the booking process at the law enforcement center, Mockbee was given
    a bin and instructed to put all his clothing in the bin. Those items are “logged
    in with any other property that the individual may have on his person” in order
    “to keep track of it so when the time comes for them to leave, they would be
    able to have their items back.” Tr. Vol. 8 at 22. However, a search warrant
    later executed by officers revealed that although the red shorts had been logged
    in, the shorts were missing from the bin. The shorts were the only item missing.
    Officers viewed security camera footage from the booking area which showed
    Mockbee throwing the shorts into the garbage can.5
    5
    The footage also showed another inmate retrieving the shorts from the garbage can. Officers were able to
    speak to that inmate and to later locate and retrieve the shorts from a third inmate.
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    18
    [16]   From the evidence presented, the jury could reasonably infer that Mockbee
    threw his shorts in the garbage can with the intent to prevent the shorts from
    being produced or used as evidence against him. The red shorts were the only
    item of clothing that directly linked Mockbee to the Tri-State Battery video, and
    as noted above, they were the only item that he was wearing during booking
    that he did not put in the bin. The State presented sufficient evidence to
    support Mockbee’s conviction for obstruction of justice.
    Section 3 – The trial court did not abuse its discretion in
    admitting certain evidence.
    [17]   Mockbee challenges the trial court’s admission of evidence discovered in
    Lacey’s residence. Specifically, he claims that the police officers’ warrantless
    entry into Lacey’s home violated his right against unreasonable search and
    seizure pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution, and therefore any
    evidence discovered in plain view or subsequently obtained by search warrant
    was inadmissible.6 The admission or exclusion of evidence falls within the
    sound discretion of the trial court, and we review the admission of evidence
    only for an abuse of discretion. Wilson v. State, 
    765 N.E.2d 1265
    , 1272 (Ind.
    2002). An abuse of discretion occurs “where the decision is clearly against the
    logic and effect of the facts and circumstances.” Smith v. State, 
    754 N.E.2d 502
    ,
    6
    The Fourth Amendment and Article 1, Section 11 protect the “right of the people to be secure in their
    persons, houses, papers and effects,” against unreasonable search or seizure.
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    18
    504 (Ind. 2001). Even if the trial court abuses its discretion in admitting certain
    evidence, we will not reverse if the admission constituted harmless error. Fox v.
    State, 
    717 N.E.2d 957
    , 966 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied (2000). “[T]he
    ultimate determination of the constitutionality of a search or seizure is a
    question of law that we consider de novo.” Carpenter v. State, 
    18 N.E.3d 998
    ,
    1001 (Ind. 2014).
    [18]   While Mockbee complains that the warrantless entry into Lacey’s home
    violated his constitutional rights, the State responds, and the trial court agreed,
    that Mockbee failed to establish that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy
    in Lacey’s residence or that he has standing to challenge the validity of the
    entry or subsequent search.7 We agree with the State and the trial court.
    [19]   Under the Fourth Amendment, a defendant has the burden to “demonstrate
    that he personally has an expectation of privacy in the place searched, and that
    his expectation is reasonable[.]” Minnesota v. Carter, 
    525 U.S. 83
    , 88 (1998).
    Fourth Amendment rights are personal and may not be vicariously asserted.
    Rakas v. Illinois, 
    439 U.S. 128
    , 139-40 (1978). A defendant aggrieved by an
    illegal search and seizure only through the introduction of damaging evidence
    secured by the search of a third person’s premises has not had any of his Fourth
    Amendment rights infringed. Id. at 134.
    7
    The State must raise a defendant’s lack of standing to the trial court in order to preserve it for appeal.
    Bradley v. State, 
    4 N.E.3d 831
    , 838 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014), trans. denied. The State did so here.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018                Page 13 of 18
    [20]   Similarly, “[t]o establish standing pursuant to Article 1, Section 11, our
    supreme court has stated that ‘a defendant must establish ownership, control,
    possession, or interest in the premises searched or the property seized.’” Allen v.
    State, 
    893 N.E.2d 1092
    , 1098 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (quoting Peterson v. State, 
    674 N.E.2d 528
    , 534 (Ind. 1996)), trans. denied (2009). The court has further stated
    that a “defendant must show a subjective and objective expectation of privacy
    in the premises.” Campos v. State, 
    885 N.E.2d 590
    , 598 (Ind. 2008).8
    [21]   Here, Mockbee failed to demonstrate that he had a reasonable expectation of
    privacy in Lacey’s residence. Mockbee consistently maintained to authorities
    that he neither resided in nor stayed in Lacey’s home, and that he instead lived
    in Ohio. Mockbee produced an Ohio driver’s license when he was arrested to
    prove his claim to the detectives. Lacey, Holley, and Holley’s juvenile son each
    told police that Mockbee did not reside in Lacey’s home and that, after he was
    previously banned from the residence during the DCS investigation, if he did
    ever come to visit Holley at Lacey’s home, he would sleep in his car.
    Mockbee’s grandmother, Rahn, also advised authorities that Mockbee resided
    in Ohio.
    8
    Although the Indiana Constitution also provides protection for claimed possessions irrespective of the
    defendant’s interest in the place where the possessions were found, see Campos, 885 N.E.2d at 598, where a
    defendant’s interest in the seized property is not at issue, there is no difference between the results under the
    federal and state constitutions. See Allen, 
    893 N.E.2d at 1097
    . Mockbee alleged solely that he had an
    expectation of privacy in Lacey’s premises, not in the seized property. Therefore, our result is the same
    pursuant to both constitutional provisions.
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    18
    [22]   While Mockbee points to subsequent inconsistent statements by several
    witnesses during both the pretrial and trial proceedings, pursuant to our
    standard of review, we need only consider the evidence most favorable to the
    trial court’s decision to admit the evidence. See Starks v. State, 
    846 N.E.2d 673
    ,
    679 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), trans. denied.9 Based on the evidence presented, the
    trial court properly concluded that Mockbee did not have a reasonable
    expectation of privacy in Lacey’s residence, and that he lacked standing to
    challenge the warrantless entry into Lacey’s home.
    Section 4 – Mockbee has waived our review of the trial court’s
    denial of his motion for severance.
    [23]   Mockbee next argues that the trial court erred when it denied his pretrial
    motion to sever the two burglary charges. Indiana Code Section 35-34-1-9(a)
    provides that
    [t]wo (2) or more offenses may be joined in the same indictment
    or information, with each offense stated in a separate count,
    when the offenses:
    (1) are of the same or similar character, even if not part of a
    single scheme or plan; or
    (2) are based on the same conduct or on a series of acts
    connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or
    plan.
    9
    There was ample evidence before the trial court that Mockbee improperly attempted to influence several
    witnesses to alter their testimony to say that he lived at Lacey’s residence.
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    18
    Subsection 9(a)(1) refers to the nature of the charged offenses, whereas
    subsection 9(a)(2) refers to the operative facts underlying those charges. Pierce v.
    State, 
    29 N.E.3d 1258
    , 1265 (Ind. 2015).
    [24]   The defendant shall have the right to severance of the offenses “[w]henever two
    (2) or more offenses have been joined for trial in the same indictment or
    information solely on the ground that they are of the same or similar
    character[.]” 
    Ind. Code § 35-34-1-11
    .
    In all other cases the court, upon motion of the defendant or the
    prosecutor, shall grant a severance of offenses whenever the court
    determines that severance is appropriate to promote a fair
    determination of the defendant's guilt or innocence of each
    offense considering:
    (1) the number of offenses charged;
    (2) the complexity of the evidence to be offered; and
    (3) whether the trier of fact will be able to distinguish the
    evidence and apply the law intelligently as to each offense.
    
    Id.
    [25]   Mockbee filed a pretrial motion to sever which was denied by the trial court.
    He failed to renew his motion at trial. Therefore, he has waived the right to
    seek appellate review of the denial of his motion. See 
    Ind. Code § 35-34-1-12
    (right to severance of offenses is waived by failure to renew motion before or at
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    18
    close of evidence during trial); Rouster v. State, 
    600 N.E.2d 1342
    , 1346 (Ind.
    1992).
    [26]   Mockbee attempts to avoid waiver by arguing that the trial court’s denial of his
    motion constituted fundamental error. However, Mockbee’s first mention of
    fundamental error occurs in his reply brief. A party may not raise an issue,
    such as fundamental error, for the first time in a reply brief. Curtis v. State, 
    948 N.E.2d 1143
    , 1148 (Ind. 2011). Thus, Mockbee has failed to preserve our
    review of this issue as well. See 
    id.
    Section 5 – The trial court did not err in determining that
    Mockbee had forfeited his right to self-representation.
    [27]   Finally, we address Mockbee’s assertion that the trial court erred in determining
    that he forfeited his right to self-representation. In short, the record indicates
    that Mockbee was initially represented by counsel, but then knowingly and
    voluntarily chose to represent himself while two attorneys acted as standby
    counsel. After numerous warnings about his continued unruly behavior during
    pretrial proceedings, the trial court subsequently determined that Mockbee had
    forfeited his right to self-representation.
    [28]   “A trial judge may terminate self-representation by a defendant who
    deliberately engages in serious or obstructionist misconduct.” German v. State,
    
    268 Ind. 67
    , 73, 
    373 N.E.2d 880
    , 883 (1978) (citing Illinois v. Allen, 
    397 U.S. 337
    , 343 (1970)). Indeed, trial judges “confronted with disruptive,
    contumacious, stubbornly defiant defendants must be given sufficient discretion
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    18
    to meet the circumstances of each case.” Gilmore v. State, 
    953 N.E.2d 583
    , 592
    (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (citation omitted).
    [29]   We need not go into much detail regarding Mockbee’s deliberately disruptive
    courtroom behavior, as it already has been well documented. See Mockbee v.
    State, 
    80 N.E.3d 917
     (Ind. Ct. App. 2017) (appeal from trial court’s finding
    Mockbee in direct criminal contempt). Our review of the voluminous pretrial
    proceedings convinces us that the trial judge here should be commended for his
    incredible patience and conscientious attempts to accommodate Mockbee’s
    desire for self-representation. However, enough was simply enough.
    [30]   Mockbee’s claim that he was merely engaged in “spirited discussion” and his
    unsubstantiated claims that his disrespectful and disruptive behavior was caused
    by an “untreated mental illness” are not well taken. Appellant’s Br. at 48, 50.
    The trial court did not err in determining that Mockbee forfeited his right to
    self-representation.
    [31]   In sum, we affirm Mockbee’s convictions and sentences. However, we reverse
    the six-year habitual offender enhancement as unsupported by sufficient
    evidence and remand to the trial court for retrial on that enhancement.
    [32]   Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
    Vaidik, C.J., and Mathias, J., concur.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 15A01-1703-CR-483 | March 16, 2018   Page 18 of
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