Carl Gathright v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2020 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any
Jun 10 2020, 9:57 am
court except for the purpose of establishing
the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
estoppel, or the law of the case. Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
Sean P. Hilgendorf Benjamin J. Shoptaw
South Bend, Indiana Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Carl Gathright, June 10, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-CR-2024
v. Appeal from the St. Joseph
Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Jane Woodward-
Appellee-Plaintiff Miller, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
71D01-1704-MR-3
Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-2024 | June 10, 2020 Page 1 of 6
[1] Carl Gathright appeals his conviction for Murder,1 arguing that the trial court
erred by admitting certain evidence because it was unduly prejudicial. Finding
no error, we affirm.
Facts
[2] Gathright and his wife, Argusta, lived at their home in South Bend with their
children, Q.S., C.G., and K.G. On April 23, 2017, Gathright and K.G. were
outside when Gathright suddenly became furious. K.G. ran inside and locked
the door, so Gathright tried to break a window. After failing to get inside,
Gathright finally entered the home through the garage and started screaming.
Gathright then went into a bedroom with Argusta, locked the door, and began
“beating her up.” Tr. Vol. II p. 45. Q.S. found a key, unlocked the door, and
entered the room to stop Gathright and Argusta from fighting. They all spilled
out into the living room and continued fighting. After Gathright smashed Q.S.’s
face into a doorknob, Q.S. and Argusta dashed out onto the front yard.
[3] Meanwhile, Gathright’s neighbor, Brett Onnink, heard screaming coming from
Gathright’s home across the street and saw Argusta running out of the house.
Argusta yelled at Onnink to call 911, which Onnink proceeded to do. While
running out of their house to help Argusta, Leslee, Onnink’s wife, advised
Onnink to grab his gun. By this point, Gathright had exited his home with a
knife in his hand and was charging at Argusta and Q.S. Gathright then pushed
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1.
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Leslee out of the way and stabbed Argusta three times. Onnink finally arrived,
pointed his gun at Gathright, and told him to remain still. Eventually, the police
arrived and arrested Gathright. Likewise, the paramedics arrived and attempted
to resuscitate Argusta, but she died on the scene due to her stab wounds.
[4] On April 25, 2017, the State charged Gathright with murder. On October 2,
2017, the State filed a notice of intent to use evidence of prior bad acts from
four different incidents on August 23, September 10, October 3, and October 6,
2016, pursuant to Indiana Evidence Rule 404(b). Accordingly, on April 12,
2019,2 the trial court held a hearing, at the conclusion of which it issued an
order finding that the evidence was admissible pursuant to Indiana Evidence
Rules 404(b) and 804(b)(5). See generally Appellant’s App. Vol. III p. 2.
[5] An eight-day jury trial commenced on May 6, 2019. During the trial, Gathright
admitted to killing Argusta, but raised an insanity defense. Therefore, the State
had multiple witnesses testify about those prior bad acts and statements to rebut
Gathright’s claim of insanity.
[6] The contested evidence comes from the following individuals:
• C.S., child of Gathright and Argusta, who testified that Gathright
struck and choked Argusta and him when he was fifteen years old.
C.S. also described how Gathright had placed a tracking device on
Argusta’s car and previously pulled a knife on her.
2
There is nothing in the record indicating why there was such a lengthy delay between the State filing its
notice of intent on October 2, 2017, and the eventual April 12, 2019, hearing.
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• Alban Camille-McLeod, Argusta’s brother, who described how he
helped remove that tracking device from Argusta’s car sometime
in 2016.
• Michelle Pickens, a St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office
employee, who testified that she had been in contact with Argusta
approximately twelve times during a separate case of battery and
strangulation that had been filed against Gathright.
• Family Justice Center advocate Dana Baxter, who testified that on
August 25, 2016, Argusta had spoken with her about domestic
troubles involving Gathright.
• South Bend Police Officer Jonathan Gray, who testified that
during his investigation of the current case, he discovered
Argusta’s handwritten notes about Gathright on her bedroom
nightstand.
Over Gathright’s continued objections, the trial court admitted the State’s
evidence. On May 16, 2019, the jury found Gathright guilty as charged. The
trial court then sentenced Gathright to sixty years in the Department of
Correction. Gathright now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[7] Gathright’s sole argument on appeal is that the trial court erred by admitting
prior bad acts evidence because it was unduly prejudicial. When there is a
challenge to the trial court’s admission of evidence, we will reverse only when
the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances
before it. Fansler v. State, 100 N.E.3d 250, 253 (Ind. 2018). This Court will
sustain a trial court’s decision regarding the admission of evidence “if it can be
done on any legal ground apparent in the record.” Jester v. State, 724 N.E.2d
235, 240 (Ind. 2000). Specifically, Gathright contends that the trial court
erroneously admitted evidence of his prior bad acts, which Gathright alleges
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was offered to prove only that he had a propensity to commit violent crimes
and acted in conformity therewith in this instance.
[8] Indiana Evidence Rule 403 states that “[t]he court 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.” Furthermore,
Indiana Evidence Rule 404(b)(1) prohibits the introduction of evidence of a
defendant’s prior bad acts to prove that the defendant acted in conformity with
those prior bad acts. Therefore, in this case, to admit the prior bad acts evidence
under these rules, the trial court had to (1) determine whether the evidence of
Gathright’s other crimes, wrongs, or acts is relevant to a matter at issue other
than his propensity to engage in similar criminal behavior; and then (2) balance
the probative value of that evidence against its prejudicial effect. Bassett v. State,
795 N.E.2d 1050, 1053 (Ind. 2003).
[9] It is undisputed that Gathright raised an insanity defense. It is equally
undisputed that “[a] plea of insanity opens the door for the admission of
testimony about the defendant’s entire life.” Shepherd v. State, 547 N.E.2d 839,
841 (Ind. 1989). And, in fact, “[e]vidence which might otherwise be
inadmissible becomes admissible when there is a question as to the accused’s
sanity.” Id.; see also Robinette v. State, 741 N.E.2d 1162, 1166 (Ind. 2001).
[10] The State elicited testimony that Gathright had previously tracked down,
threatened, and harmed Argusta, as well as one of his own children. The record
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also shows that the State had already filed multiple criminal charges against
Gathright, demonstrating that he understood the dangerous nature of his deeds,
but nevertheless continued to commit them. As such, when the State proffered
evidence in the form of prior bad acts, it did so to rebut Gathright’s claim that
he was insane and could not have developed the requisite mens rea to be
culpable for his actions. While we recognize that the contested evidence has
some prejudicial effect on Gathright, we similarly recognize its high probative
value and necessity in this case. Given our Supreme Court’s precedent on this
matter, it is clear to us that the trial court was within its legal authority to admit
this type of evidence. Thus, we find no error.
[11] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Bradford, C.J., and Pyle, J., concur.
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