FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
LESA LUX JOHNSON KAREN FREEMAN-WILSON
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
ADAM M. DULIK
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
HILDA J. BENBERRY, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 49A02-0005-CR-330
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
(2) Whether the convictions for Theft under Counts III, IV and VSee footnote violate the
single larceny rule; and
(3) Whether the convictions for Forgery under Counts I or II and for Theft
under Count III constitute double jeopardy.
The facts most favorable to the judgment reveal that on January 21, 1999,
Matthew J. Utterbacks apartment was broken into and his unsigned MBNA MasterCard credit
card was stolen. On February 1, 1999, the apartment of David Van
Jelgerhuis and Amy Lengel was broken into. As a result, Davids Citibank
VISA credit card as well as Amys J.C. Penney and L.S. Ayres credit
cards were stolen.
On February 2, 1999, Hilda entered the J.C. Penney store in the Washington
Square Mall and attempted to purchase a diamond ring by presenting an MBNA
credit card to the sales clerk, Gloria Jean King. This MBNA credit
card bore the name of Matthew Utterback on the front and a signature
on the back that read Mrs. Matthew Utterback. Record at 94.
Gloria became suspicious that the card was stolen and called store security.
Meanwhile, Hilda left the sales counter to use the restroom. Loss Prevention
Manager Christopher Lamb went to Glorias register in response to a code on
a bank card that was reported lost or stolen. Record at 103.
Mr. Lamb left Glorias register, took the credit card upstairs with him,
and returned to Glorias register after talking to the credit department. When
Hilda returned, Mr. Lamb requested that she provide personal identification. Because Hilda
did not have any proof that she was Mrs. Matthew Utterback, she agreed
to accompany Mr. Lamb to the security office. While in the security
office, Hilda was interviewed by Mr. Lamb in the presence of store employee
Fred Clark and senior merchandising assistant Harriet Patterson. During the interview, Hilda
admitted to Mr. Lamb that she was not Mr. Utterbacks wife and that
she was not authorized to use his credit card. At some point
during the interview, Harriet searched Hilda and recovered a Citibank VISA credit card
in the name of David Van Jelgerhuis, J.C. Penney, and L.S. Ayres credit
cards in the name of Amy Lengel, and a gold necklace.
A Marion County Sheriffs Deputy arrived and Hilda was arrested.
A bench trial was held on September 24, 1999. Matthew, David and
Amy each testified that Hilda was not authorized to use their individual credit
cards. Mohammad Rajput, a salesperson for Gold N Gems, stated that the
photograph of a gold herringbone necklace recovered from Hilda during the search depicted
the same gold herringbone necklace that Hilda had purchased from him at Gold
N Gems on February 2, 1999. According to Mohammad, Hilda signed the
receipt for this necklace as Mrs. Matthew Utterback. Record at 147.
During the States direct examination of Harriet Patterson, Hilda objected to a question
concerning statements that were made by her during the interview, and moved to
suppress anything. Record at 133. The trial court sustained the objection,
noting that the testimony would have been repetitive.
Hilda testified that she was not Mrs. Utterback and that she signed as
Mrs. Utterback because thats what was required to make the purchase. Record
at 164. In addition, Hilda stated that she was aware she was
not entitled to possess or use the credit cards.
Hilda was convicted and sentenced to concurrent sentences of eight years on each
forgery count to be served concurrent to three years on each theft count.
Record at 133-34.
The record reveals that Hildas objection and motion to suppress anything were made
in response to a question concerning statements made by Hilda during the interview.
Record at 133. The trial court sustained the objection, ruling that
such testimony was repetitive because testimony concerning Hildas interview statements had previously been
admitted. The record further reveals that after the trial court sustained Hildas
objection to the question concerning the statements she had made during the interview,
the State proceeded to question Harriet concerning the items she recovered when she
searched Hilda. Hilda did not object to Harriets testimony concerning these items.
Hilda also did not object when all four credit cards, the signed
receipt from Gold N Gems, and a photograph of the gold herringbone necklace
were admitted into evidence. Thus, Hildas general motion to suppress anything, made
in response to a question concerning statements Hilda had made during her interview,
failed to specifically address either Harriets testimony concerning the items she recovered from
Hilda during the search or the physical evidence of the items Harriet actually
recovered. Without a more specific objection, the trial court could not have
been aware that Hildas motion to suppress was made in reference to Harriets
subsequent testimony concerning the items she recovered or in reference to the physical
items themselves. Therefore, Hilda has waived her objection to the admission of
both the testimonial and physical evidence of the items Harriet recovered from her
during the search.
II
Single Larceny Rule
Thus, even if there was no double jeopardy violation in the present case
based upon the essential statutory elements of the crimes of forgery and theft,
a violation may still have occurred if the actual evidence presented at trial
demonstrates that each offense was not established by separate and distinct facts.
Castillo v. State (2000) Ind.App., 734 N.E.2d 299, 303 (quoting Richardson, supra at
53), rehg denied, trans. pending. The defendant must demonstrate a reasonable possibility
that the evidentiary facts used by the fact-finder to establish the essential elements
of one offense may also have been used to establish the essential elements
of a second challenged offense. Castillo, supra at 303 (quoting Richardson, supra
at 53).
In the present case, Hilda was charged and convicted of forgery and theft.
The informations for forgery alleged that Hilda, with intent to defraud, uttered
Matthews MBNA credit card to Jean King and Mohammad Rajput in such a
manner that the purchase, and attempted purchase, were purportedly made by Matthew, and
that Matthew had not granted Hilda authority for such use. The informations
for theft alleged that Hilda knowingly or intentionally exerted unauthorized control over the
MBNA, Citibank, J.C. Penney, and L.S. Ayres credit cards of Matthew, David, and
Amy, with the intent to deprive any of them of any part of
the value or use of their credit cards. Thus, to be convicted
of forgery under either Count I or II, the State had to show
that Hilda, with intent to defraud, uttered a written instrument in such a
manner that it was purported to have been made by Matthew, but was
actually made without his authority. To establish that Hilda was guilty of
theft, the State had to show that Hilda exerted unauthorized control over the
MBNA, Citibank, J.C. Penney, and L.S. Ayres credit cards owned by Matthew, David,
or Amy with the intent to deprive them of any part of the
value or use of their credit cards.
Here, evidence in support of the forgery convictions revealed that Hilda presented Matthews
MBNA credit card to Mohammad, a sales clerk at Gold N Gems, as
the means for paying for the gold herringbone necklace from Gold N Gems;
that Hilda signed the receipt for the necklace as Mrs. Matthew Utterback; that
Hilda presented the same MBNA credit card later that day to a sales
associate at J.C. Penney when she attempted to purchase a diamond ring; that
Hilda had not been authorized by Matthew, David or Amy to use their
credit cards; and, that Hilda knew she was not authorized to use the
MBNA credit card. Thus, the trial court would have considered this evidence
in light of the forgery elements set forth in the States charging informations
when it determined that Hilda was guilty of forgery.
In support of the theft conviction, the trial evidence and reasonable inferences established
that the MBNA, Citibank, J.C. Penney, and L.S. Ayres credit cards were stolen
prior to Hildas commission of the alleged offenses, that Hilda purchased the stolen
credit cards for twenty dollars on Post Road on February 2, 1999, and
that she purchased the credit cards for the purpose of pas[sing] [them] on
to others who needed to pay their utility bills and werent able to.
Record at 162. The trial court would have considered this evidence
in light of the theft elements set forth in the States charging informations
when it determined that Hilda was guilty of theft.
Considering the evidence presented, we find no reasonable possibility that the evidence used
to establish the essential elements of forgery might also have been used to
establish the essential elements of theft. The evidence submitted was sufficient for
the trial court to conclude that Hilda committed three separate offenses on the
same day when she purchased four stolen credit cards, used one of the
credit cards to purchase a gold herringbone necklace, and presented one of the
credit cards in an attempt to purchase a diamond ring from yet a
different store. Thus, under the actual evidence test, Hildas convictions for theft
and forgery are not the same offense.
See footnote As such, the convictions do not
violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Indiana Constitution.
The judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the
trial court to vacate two of the theft convictions.
NAJAM, J., and BROOK, J., concur.