Jefferick Majors v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2017 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any May 17 2017, 5:44 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
Susan D. Rayl Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Smith Rayl Law Office, LLC Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Ellen H. Meilaender
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jefferick Majors, May 17, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1609-CR-2156
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Sheila A. Carlisle,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G03-1512-F1-44240
Barnes, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] Jefferick Majors appeals his Level 1 felony convictions for attempted murder.
We affirm.
Issue
[2] Majors raises two issues, which we restate as:
I. whether the trial court properly admitted evidence of a
threat Majors made against the victim; and
II. whether there is sufficient evidence to support Majors’
conviction of the attempted murder of Chelsey Gosman.
Facts
[3] In 2015, Ryan Byrd was living in a house located in Marion County, Indiana.
In October or November of 2015, Byrd allowed his friend Kaylyn Kallenbach
and her then-boyfriend Jefferick Majors to move into the house. In late
November, Byrd asked the couple to move out for reasons including
nonpayment of rent. Majors, upset that he had been asked to move, told Ryan,
“I’m going to come back and shoot you and your house, fat boy.” Tr. Vol. II p.
38. Majors called Byrd “fat boy” whenever he was angry with him. After
Majors and Kallenbach moved out, Ryan’s girlfriend, Chelsey Gosman, and
her two children moved into Byrd’s house.
[4] Approximately three weeks later, on December 10, 2015, Kallenbach contacted
Byrd and asked to return to the house to retrieve personal belongings she and
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Majors had left behind. Byrd agreed, but told Kallenbach not to bring Majors
with her.
[5] Majors drove Kallenbach to Byrd’s house in his Mercury Milan. They arrived
around 10:45 p.m. Majors stayed in the car. Kallenbach met Gosman at the
garage, and the two women began carrying items to the car. Byrd was standing
in the garage, holding a shotgun in his hand and carrying a 9-millimeter
handgun on his hip.
[6] Byrd and Majors began to argue. Byrd told Majors that he “shouldn’t be
there.” Id. at 42. Majors replied, “I don’t care. I’m here anyway. What are
you going to do about it, fat boy?” Id. Majors repeated his prior threat and
again told Byrd, “I’m going to come back, and I’m going to shoot you and your
house, fat boy.” Id. at 43. Majors told Gosman that she should “gets [sic] [her]
kids out of the house.” Id. at 141.
[7] Majors and Kallenbach left Byrd’s house and drove to the parking lot of a
nearby apartment complex. When they arrived, Majors told Kallenbach to
“stay put.” Id. at 105. He got out of the Mercury, and got into the passenger
seat of a friend’s silver Chevrolet Impala. The car drove away. Majors
returned approximately twenty minutes later.
[8] After Majors and Kallenbach left, Byrd and Gosman called 911. A police
officer responded, and the couple told the officer about Majors and the threat he
made.
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[9] When the officer drove away, Gosman took her children to a restaurant, then
returned to the house hoping to convince Byrd to leave. Gosman pulled her
sport utility vehicle (SUV) into the driveway facing the garage, and parked next
to Byrd’s sedan. Gosman remained in the driver’s seat. She did not turn off the
ignition and her vehicle’s headlights and taillights were illuminated. Byrd stood
outside her driver’s-side window, talking with her. The children were in their
seatbelts in the backseat.
[10] As Byrd and Gosman were talking, they both noticed a silver Impala driving
toward the house. The Impala’s windows were down and Byrd recognized
Majors as the driver. An unidentified man was seated in the driver’s-side back
passenger seat. Both Majors and the passenger were holding guns. Byrd heard
someone yell, “fat boy.” Id. at 71. He then heard multiple gunshots and saw
flashes of light coming from the Impala. Byrd was shot seven times. Gosman
and her children were not injured.
[11] When the gunfire stopped, Gosman called 911 and ran with her children to a
neighbor’s house. The police responded, and Byrd told them that he believed it
was Majors who shot him. Byrd was transported by ambulance to the hospital,
where he was treated for his gunshot wounds and released three days later.
[12] The police recovered from the scene twenty shell casings and eight bullets or
bullet fragments that were fired by two different guns, a 9-millimeter handgun
and a rifle. There were three bullet holes in Gosman’s vehicle and eight to nine
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bullet holes in the garage door directly in front of where Gosman’s and Byrd’s
vehicles were parked.
[13] Majors was arrested on December 11, 2015. He was charged with four counts
of Level 1 felony attempted murder for the attempted murders of Byrd,
Gosman, and Gosman’s two minor children. The two attempted murder
counts related to Gosman’s minor children were dismissed.
[14] On July 29, 2016, Majors filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of his
alleged marijuana use, and testimony concerning the threat he made against
Byrd three weeks prior to the shooting. He did not seek to exclude evidence of
the threat he made an hour before committing the crimes. Following a hearing,
the trial court granted the motion in limine as to the marijuana use, but denied
it as to the threat.
[15] After a two-day jury trial, Majors was found guilty of two counts of Level 1
felony attempted murder. He was sentenced to thirty years in the Indiana
Department of Correction on each count, with the sentences to run
consecutively.
Analysis
I. Admission of Evidence
[16] Majors argues that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of
his prior threat against Byrd. Because the trial court is best able to weigh the
evidence and assess witness credibility, we review its rulings on admissibility for
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abuse of discretion. Hall v. State, 36 N.E.3d 459, 466 (Ind. 2015). We will
reverse only if a ruling is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and
circumstances and the error affects a party’s substantial rights. Id.
[17] According to Majors, the evidence of his prior threat against Byrd was
inadmissible under Indiana Evidence Rules 404(b) and 403 because the threat’s
probative value was outweighed by its prejudicial effect. Majors’ arguments,
specifically, are that the threat was admitted to show he acted in conformity
with the threat, was too remote in time to be relevant, was of little probative
value to show hostility between Majors and Byrd, and was needlessly
cumulative because the same threat was made on the day the attempted murder
occurred. The State contends that the evidence was properly admitted to show
Majors’ motive for committing the crimes and the hostility between Majors and
Byrd.
[18] Evidence Rule 404(b) provides that evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is
not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in
conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such
as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity,
or absence of mistake or accident. Id. Evidence that would otherwise be
excluded by Evidence Rule 404(b) is admissible if the court determines that: (1)
the evidence is relevant to a matter at issue other than the defendant’s
propensity to commit the charged act; (2) there is sufficient proof that the
defendant in fact committed the act; and (3) the probative value of the evidence
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is not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Camm v.
State, 908 N.E.2d 215, 223 (Ind. 2009); see also Ind. Evidence Rule 403.
[19] Evidence Rule 403 provides that trial courts “may exclude relevant evidence if
its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the
following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue
delay, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.” Because all relevant
evidence tends to be inherently prejudicial, the proper inquiry under Evidence
Rule 403 requires balancing the probative value of proffered evidence against
the likely unfair prejudicial impact of that evidence. Fuentes v. State, 10 N.E.3d
68, 73 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014), trans. denied. “When determining the likely unfair
prejudicial impact, courts will look for the dangers that the jury will
substantially overestimate the value of the evidence or that the evidence will
arouse or inflame the passions or sympathies of the jury.” Id.
[20] The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting into evidence Majors’
prior threat. Majors’ threat against Byrd, that he would return and shoot Byrd
and Byrd’s house, indicated that relations between Majors and Byrd were
strained, and demonstrated Majors’ motive and intent to commit the attempted
murder. Evidence of motive is always relevant in the proof of a crime. Ross v.
State, 676 N.E.2d 339, 346 (Ind. 1996). The probative value of the evidence
was not substantially outweighed by the possible prejudicial effect.
[21] The threat was not remote in time. It was made three weeks prior to the
attempted murder and immediately after Byrd told Majors to leave his house.
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See id. (trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that threats made two
months before the murder by defendant against victim were admissible).
Although Majors made the same threat approximately one hour before
committing the attempted murder, evidence of the prior threat was not
needlessly cumulative. The mere fact that the jury hears the same evidence
more than once does not render the evidence prejudicial. See Gaines v. State, 999
N.E.2d 999, 1005 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (admission of evidence is harmless and
not grounds for reversal where the evidence is merely cumulative of other
evidence properly admitted). No error occurred here.
II. Sufficiency of the Evidence of Intent to Kill
[22] Majors next contends that insufficient evidence was presented by the State to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill Chelsey Gosman.
When reviewing a claim of insufficient evidence, we neither reweigh the
evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Suggs v. State, 51 N.E.3d
1190, 1193 (Ind. 2016). We will consider only the evidence and reasonable
inferences therefrom that support the conviction. Id. We will affirm if there is
probative evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could have found the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
[23] Majors specifically contends there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that he had specific intent to kill Gosman. Majors argues that
his threats were directed toward Byrd and that prior to the shooting, he warned
Gosman to remove her children from Byrd’s home.
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[24] Majors was charged with:
[A]ttempt[ing] to commit the crime of Murder, which is to
intentionally kill another human being, namely: Chelsey
Gosman, by engaging in conduct, that is: intentionally shooting
a deadly weapon at and against . . . Chelsey Gosman with the
intent to kill, which constituted a substantial step toward the
commission of said crime of Murder.”
[25] Appellant’s App. pp. 26-27. To convict Majors of attempted murder, the State
was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he engaged in conduct
that constituted a substantial step toward intentionally killing another human
being. Ind. Code §§ 35-41-5-1 (2014) (attempt); 35-42-1-1 (2014) (murder). “A
person engages in conduct ‘intentionally’ if, when he engages in the conduct, it
is his conscious objective to do so.” Ind. Code § 35-41-2-2(a) (1977).
[26] A factfinder may infer specific intent to kill from the nature of an attack and the
circumstances surrounding the crime. Kiefer v. State, 761 N.E.2d 802, 805 (Ind.
2002). Such intent may be inferred from the use of a deadly weapon in a
manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. Id. Discharging a weapon
in the direction of a victim is substantial evidence from which a factfinder could
infer intent to kill. Corbin v. State, 840 N.E.2d 424, 429 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).
[27] The evidence presented was sufficient to prove Majors fired a deadly weapon at
Gosman with intent to kill. The evening before the shooting occurred, Majors
drove Kallenbach to Byrd’s house so that Kallenbach could retrieve items she
and Majors left at Byrd’s house. Before leaving, Majors threaten to return and
shoot Byrd and his house. Gosman heard the threat. She asked Majors not to
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follow through with the threat because she had children in the house. Majors
told Gosman that she should remove her children from the home.
[28] During the time Majors lived in Byrd’s house and at the time of the shooting,
Gosman drove a blue SUV. Testimony was presented that Majors was familiar
with Gosman’s vehicle. At the time of the shooting, Gosman’s SUV and Byrd’s
sedan were parked in Byrd’s driveway, facing the garage. Byrd was standing
next to the driver’s-side window of the SUV. The driver’s-side window was
down. Gosman was seated in the driver’s seat, talking with Byrd, and the
headlights and taillights on her vehicle were illuminated. Gosman looked out
of the driver’s side window and saw the Chevrolet Impala driving along the
street toward Byrd’s house. She saw “side-by-side sparks coming from the guns
[in the vehicle] and then heard the gunshots.” Tr. Vol. II p. 144.
[29] As Majors drove by Byrd’s house, he and his passenger fired at least twenty
rounds from a handgun and a rifle in the direction of Gosman. Bullets flattened
a tire on Gosman’s SUV and ruptured the gasoline tank. Bullet holes were
found in the trunk of the SUV, the rear passenger-side door, and the front
passenger-side door. Eight or nine bullet holes were found in the garage door.
[30] Based on the foregoing, we conclude that sufficient evidence was provided from
which the jury could have inferred beyond a reasonable doubt that Majors
specifically intended to kill Gosman.
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Conclusion
[31] The trial court properly admitted evidence of Majors’ prior threat against Byrd,
and there was sufficient evidence to support Majors’ conviction for the
attempted murder of Chelsey Gosman. We affirm.
[32] Affirmed.
Kirsch, J., and Robb, J., concur.
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