J.Q.R. v. State

232 N.E.3d 654

J.Q.R., Appellant-Respondent

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Petitioner

Court of Appeals Case No. 23A-JV-1879

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Filed April 3, 2024

Appeal from the Hendricks Superior Court, The Honorable Ryan W. Tanselle, Judge, Trial Court Cause No. 32D03-2303-JD-49

Attorney for Appellant: Zachary J. Stock, Zachary J, Stock, Attorney at Law, P.C., Carmel, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee: Theodore E. Rokita, Indiana Attorney General, Catherine E. Brizzi, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana

Crone, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] J.Q.R appeals his adjudication as a delinquent child for committing acts that, if committed by an adult, would be level 1 felony dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, level 5 felony dealing in a narcotic drug, and level 6 felony possession of a narcotic drug. He argues that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting his statements to police because the State failed to demonstrate that the waiver of his constitutional rights was made after meaningful consultation with his father. He also contends that the trial court abused its discretion by granting the State’s motion to continue the factfinding hearing. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] In the spring of 2023, J.Q.R., R.J., and B.H. were high school freshmen. On March 14, R.J. and B.H. texted J.Q.R. and asked to purchase Percocet from him. J.Q.R. went to B.H.’s house and gave R.J. and B.H. eleven round blue pills marked "M30" in exchange for $110. Tr. Vol. 2 at 166. R.J. paid his share electronically using his cellphone, and B.H. paid his share in cash. J.Q.R. stayed a couple hours at B.H.’s house and then left. R.J. and B.H. each took one-eighth of a pill while at B.H.’s house. R.J. went home with the remaining pills and took more at his house. The following day, B.H. learned that R.J. had died from an overdose. An autopsy revealed that R.J. died of fentanyl intoxication.

[3] Police were called to R.J.’s house, and they found nine round blue pills marked "M30" and part of a tenth pill in R.J.’s nightstand. B.H. told the police that the pills had been purchased from J.Q.R. and gave them his address. Police then obtained a warrant to search J.Q.R.’s home. When the search was executed, J.Q.R., his parents, his brother, and his grandparents were home. Police found a wallet that contained both an expired driver’s license that belonged to J.Q.R.’s father (Father) and a small bag of white powder, which was later determined to be heroin.¹ Police found J.Q.R.’s cell phone in his pants pocket. Avon Police Department Detective Cason Elkin spoke with J.Q.R. and Father and advised them of their Miranda rights. Detective Elkin offered them an opportunity to talk privately and told them to come and get him if they were willing to speak to him after they consulted with each other. J.Q.R. and Father went into a bedroom and shut the door.

[4] When J.Q.R. and Father came out of the bedroom, they informed Detective Elkin that they were willing to speak with him. The three went into the same bedroom to talk. Their conversation was recorded and admitted at J.Q.R.’s factfinding hearing as State’s Exhibit BB. After Detective Elkin confirmed that J.Q.R. and Father understood their rights, he began questioning J.Q.R. Father also asked J.Q.R. some questions, including whether J.Q.R. knew that the pills contained fentanyl, and J.Q.R. that said he knew. State’s Ex. BB at 8:48. Detective Elkin asked J.Q.R. where the pills were, and J.Q.R. led him to a closet in his bedroom. Detective Elkin found a bottle of pills that were the same size and shape as the pills found in R.J.’s nightstand. Subsequent testing revealed that J.Q.R.’s pills were consistent with R.J.’s pills. Tr. Vol. 4 at 38.

[5] After locating the pills, Detective Elkin spoke again with J.Q.R. and Father in the hallway while police continued to search the bedroom. Detective Elkin questioned J.Q.R. about whether there were any additional pills, where he had gotten the pills, and how much he had paid for them. Father told J.Q.R., "I’m going to kick your f**king ass, seriously, because I cannot believe what I am hearing and seeing right now." State’s Ex. BB at 12:10-12:16; Tr. Vol. 4 at 93-94.

[6] Detective Elkin continued questioning J.Q.R. and asked how he had gotten to B.H.’s house. State’s Ex. BB at 14:88. J.Q.R. told Detective Elkin that Father had taken him. Id. at 14:40; 15:15. Father acknowledged that he took J.Q.R. to B.H.’s house but denied that he had any knowledge of the drug deal. Id. at 15:28. Father "voluntarily" told Detective Elkin, "[Y]ou’re probably gonna find an old bag of dope." Tr. Vol. 2 at 204. Detective Elkin informed him that they had already found it. Father responded, "[W]ow, where’d you guys find that at. I’ve been looking for it[,]" and he explained that it "was an old baggie from when he was struggling with his addiction." Id. at 204, 197. Father was later charged with possession of the illegal substance. By the time police concluded the search of the home, they had found a box of THC vape cartridges in the bedroom where the pills had been discovered. The box was addressed to Father and had been shipped from California. Police had also found a notebook that contained a ledger with a list of names and amounts owed totaling roughly $9,000. State’s Ex. DD at 25:18.

[7] Detective Elkin transported J.Q.R. and Father to the police station for additional questioning. After he led them to an interview room, Father spoke to Detective Elkin in the hallway. According to Detective Elkin, "[H]e was a concerned father trying to make sure that his child is going to be okay. So, he was just trying to understand … if … his son does speak, what is going to happen with that information." Tr. Vol. 2 at 198. Father then went back into the interview room, and the ensuing conversation was recorded and admitted at J.Q.R.’s factfinding hearing as State’s Exhibit DD. Father told J.Q.R., "Here’s the deal. This conversation isn't going to leave this room." State’s Ex. DD at 4:46. He told J.Q.R., "Just be honest with him." Id. at 4:55. Regarding the pills, Father said, "You should have never f**king got involved in that." Id. at 7:37. At one point Father said, "We had … what was going on just there, they’re not worried about that." Id. at 7:40.

[8] Detective Elkin entered the interview room and went over their Miranda warnings again. Detective Elkin asked them for the passcode to J.Q.R.’s phone. He told them that he was going to apply for a search warrant for the phone and that the phone would be returned if the warrant was not granted. J.Q.R. and Father agreed to provide the passcode. At one point, Detective Elkin asked about the notebook that police found in the home that contained a list of names and amounts owed totaling roughly $9,000. Id. at 25:18. Father explained that it was his and was "old stuff" from when he "used to f**k around years ago." Id. at 26:00.

[9] Detective Elkin obtained a search warrant for J.Q.R.’s phone. The phone revealed a cash transaction between J.Q.R. and R.J. According to Detective Elkin, the phone also revealed conversations between J.Q.R. and Father that indicated that they were dealing marijuana or THC vape cartridges together. Tr. Vol. 4 at 38.

[10] On March 17, 2023, the State filed a petition alleging that J.Q.R. was a delinquent child for committing acts that would constitute the following crimes if committed by an adult: level 1 felony dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, level 4 felony dealing in a narcotic drug, level 6 felony possession of a narcotic drug, class A misdemeanor dealing in marijuana, and class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana.² The petition was later amended to allege that J.Q.R. committed level 6 felony theft if committed by an adult. On March 20, the trial court held a probable cause hearing, authorized the State to file the delinquency petition, and found that J.Q.R. should be detained because he was a threat to himself and the community’s safety. The court set the factfinding hearing for April 14, 17, and 18.

[11] On March 22, the State sent the pills recovered from J.Q.R.’s bedroom to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laboratory, requested a "rush[,]" and informed the laboratory of the date of the factfinding hearing. Appellant’s App. Vol. 2 at 68. On April 5, the State filed a motion to continue the factfinding hearing because it had learned that it would take one to two months to receive the test results and the State intended to call the DEA analyst who performed the lab tests to confirm the pills’ contents. On April 10 and 11, the trial court held an attorneys-only hearing on the State’s motion, at which J.Q.R.’s counsel objected to the continuance. The trial court granted the State’s motion in part, ordered that the factfinding hearing commence on April 14 as scheduled in accordance with Indiana Code Section 31-37-11-2, vacated the allday settings on April 17 and 18, and in-formed the parties that the hearing would be resumed at a date to be determined at the April 14 hearing.

[12] On April 14, the factfinding hearing commenced. The State called Detective Elkin and asked him eight questions, including whether his investigation into R.J.’s overdose led him to interview J.Q.R. and whether J.Q.R. was present in the courtroom that day. The State then requested that the matter be continued to a later date. The court granted the request over J.Q.R.’s objection. After the court continued the factfinding hearing, the court held a detention hearing and found that J.Q.R. should continue to be detained. The court then set a scheduling conference for April 24. At the scheduling conference, the court continued the factfinding hearing to May 15.

[13] On May 14, J.Q.R. filed a motion to suppress evidence of his statements to Detective Elkin. The factfinding hearing recommenced the following day, and the court heard evidence on the...