MAY, Judge.
Frank Jacobs appeals his convictions of Class B felony criminal deviate conduct
We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
On May 11, 2012, Jacobs and G.L., a friend of Jacobs' son, were watching television and eating doughnuts at Jacobs' house. Jacobs left the room to put away the doughnut box, and when he returned, he laid across G.L.'s lap, much to G.L.'s surprise. Jacobs then committed oral sex on G.L. while holding G.L. down on the couch. When the act ended, Jacobs gave G.L. a pack of cigarettes and a five dollar bill and told G.L. not to tell anyone what happened.
G.L. told his mother, S.L., what happened and showed S.L. injuries to his penis. S.L. called the police, who also viewed G.L.'s injuries and heard G.L.'s accusations against Jacobs. The police arrested Jacobs. The State charged Jacobs with Class B felony criminal deviate conduct, Class C felony battery,
During his bench trial, Jacobs attempted to elicit testimony during S.L.'s cross-examination regarding G.L.'s truthfulness. He also attempted to introduce Jacobs' son, Justin, as a previously undisclosed sur-rebuttal witness. The trial court sustained the State's objections during S.L.'s cross examination and denied Jacobs' request to present Justin as a sur-rebuttal witness, though Jacobs made an offer to prove. The trial court found Jacobs guilty of Class B felony criminal deviate conduct and Class C felony criminal confinement. It determined the Class A misdemeanor battery count was a lesser-included offense of Class C felony battery, but it did not enter a conviction on the battery count because of double jeopardy. The trial court sentenced Jacobs to ten years for Class B criminal deviate conduct and four years for Class C criminal confinement, to be served concurrently.
The scope and extent of cross-examination is within the discretion of the trial court and we will reverse only for an abuse of that discretion. Manuel v. State, 971 N.E.2d 1262, 1266 (Ind.Ct.App.2012). We review rulings on the admissibility of evidence for an abuse of discretion. Williams v. State, 898 N.E.2d 400, 402 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. denied. "An abuse of discretion occurs when the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court." Id. We do not reweigh the evidence, but consider the evidence most favorable to the ruling and any uncontroverted evidence favorable to the defendant. Id.
Under Indiana Evidence Rule 103(a), "[e]rror may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected." During Jacobs' cross
(Tr. at 83-85, 87-88.) Jacobs argues the trial court abused its discretion when it did not allow him to ask S.L. questions regarding G.L.'s truthfulness, because his trial was "a credibility contest, with G.L. on one side and Mr. Jacobs on the other." (Br. of Appellant at 8.) He claims, "[b]y limiting the testimony about G.L.'s character for untruthfulness or dishonesty the scales of justice were tipped unfairly in favor of the State." (Id.) We disagree.
Under Indiana Evidence Rule 404(a)(2), evidence of a pertinent character trait of the victim is admissible. Additionally, under Evid. R. 405, a party may present evidence of an admissible character trait through "testimony as to reputation or by testimony in form of an opinion[,]" Evid. R. 405(a), and, on cross examination, inquiry is allowed regarding "specific instances of conduct" when character is "an essential element of a ... defense." Evid. R. 405(b). However, even if the trial court abused its discretion when sustaining the State's objection to Jacobs' questioning regarding G.L.'s propensity toward untruthfulness, the error is harmless. Other evidence, independent of G.L.'s testimony, proved Jacobs committed Class B felony criminal deviate conduct. S.L., Officer Donahue, and Williams all viewed G.L.'s injuries and corroborated G.L.'s testimony, and the bite marks on G.L.'s penis matched Jacobs' pattern of missing teeth. "The improper admission of evidence is harmless error when the reviewing court is satisfied that the conviction is supported by substantial independent evidence of guilt so that there is no substantial likelihood that the challenged evidence contributed to the conviction." Meadows v. State, 785 N.E.2d 1112, 1121 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. denied. Any error in sustaining the State's objection to Jacobs' questioning regarding G.L.'s character was harmless.
Regarding the admission of testimony of late-disclosed witnesses, our Indiana Supreme Court has held:
Vasquez v. State, 868 N.E.2d 473, 476 (Ind. 2007).
When determining whether the trial court abused its discretion when it excluded the testimony of a late-disclosed witness,
Cook v. State, 675 N.E.2d 687, 691 n. 5 (Ind.1996). "With respect to rebuttal witnesses, nondisclosure is excused when that witness was unknown and unanticipated." Beauchamp v. State, 788 N.E.2d 881, 892 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). Jacobs argues the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his request to present his son, Justin, who had not been previously disclosed as a witness, as a sur-rebuttal witness to rebut G.L.'s testimony regarding whether Justin was present in Jacobs' apartment during the crime. We disagree.
During Jacobs' direct and cross examinations, Jacobs denied he committed the crimes with which he was charged. He indicated that, on the night of the alleged crime, he, G.L., and Justin ate doughnuts, and then Jacobs fell asleep on the couch only to be awakened by G.L. stealing items from his house. On rebuttal, G.L. testified:
(Tr. at 167-68.) After G.L. testified, Jacobs attempted to introduce Justin as a sur-rebuttal witness:
(Id. at 168-70.) Jacobs' counsel indicated while Justin's testimony did not pertain to the time the crime was committed, Justin's testimony was presented because "it's a credibility issue with my client at this point that they're trying to say he's lying about inconsequential fact." (Id. at 169.)
However, like the admissibility of S.L.'s testimony, this error is harmless because there existed evidence independent of G.L.'s testimony to prove Jacobs committed Class B felony criminal deviate conduct. "The improper admission of evidence is harmless error when the reviewing court is satisfied that the conviction is supported by substantial independent evidence of guilt so that there is no substantial likelihood that the challenged evidence contributed to the conviction." Meadows, 785 N.E.2d at 1121. As noted above, S.L., Officer Donahue, and Williams all viewed G.L.'s injuries and corroborated G.L.'s testimony, and the bite marks on G.L.'s penis matched Jacobs' pattern of missing teeth. Thus, any error in the exclusion of Justin as a witness was harmless.
Article 1, Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution provides that "no person shall be put in jeopardy twice for the same offense." Two or more offenses are the same if, "with respect to either the statutory elements of the challenged crimes or the actual evidence used to convict, the essential elements of one challenged offense also establish the essential elements of another challenged offense." Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32, 49 (Ind. 1999). Double jeopardy may also be proven when there is a "reasonable probability 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 the second offense." Id. at 53.
Jacobs argues his convictions of Class B felony criminal deviate conduct and Class C felony criminal confinement subjected him to double jeopardy because the force Jacobs used was the same to commit both criminal deviate conduct and criminal confinement. Our Indiana Supreme Court has held a person who "commits rape or criminal deviate conduct necessarily `confines' the victim at least long enough to
The State concedes Jacobs' convictions violate double jeopardy, and we agree. Jacobs confined G.L. by lying on top of him while committing criminal deviate conduct, and G.L. testified after the act, Jacobs "just stopped and he just got off me." (Tr. at 33.) Therefore, Jacobs did not use more force than was necessary to commit criminal deviate conduct, and Jacobs' conviction of confinement based on the same force subjected him to double jeopardy.
Any errors that may have occurred when the trial court excluded S.L.'s testimony regarding G.L.'s truthfulness or the exclusion of Justin as a witness were harmless because there existed independent evidence of Jacobs' guilt. Therefore, we will not reverse Jacobs' convictions based on the trial court's decisions regarding the admissibility of S.L. or Justin's testimony. However, Jacobs' convictions of Class B criminal deviate conduct and Class C criminal confinement subjected him to double jeopardy, and we remand for the trial court to vacate his conviction of Class C felony criminal confinement.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
BAILEY, J., and BRADFORD, J., concur.