Opinion
23A-CR-2530
06-25-2024
Tremaine D. Wyatt, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff
Attorney for Appellant Thomas C. Allen Fort Wayne, Indiana Attorneys for Appellee Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General Jesse R. Drum Assistant Section Chief, Criminal Appeals Indianapolis, Indiana
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.
Appeal from the Allen Superior Court The Honorable Frances C. Gull, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 02D05-2008-MR-25
Attorney for Appellant Thomas C. Allen Fort Wayne, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General
Jesse R. Drum Assistant Section Chief, Criminal Appeals Indianapolis, Indiana
MEMORANDUM DECISION
KENWORTHY, JUDGE
Case Summary
[¶1] Tremaine D. Wyatt appeals his convictions for murder, Level 3 felony aggravated battery, and Level 5 felony criminal recklessness, raising one issue for our review: does sufficient evidence support his convictions? We affirm.
Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1 (2018).
I.C. § 35-42-2-1.5 (2014).
I.C. § 35-42-2-2(a) (2019).
Facts and Procedural History
[¶2] In July 2020, Wyatt and his brother Sir Thomas Billingsley were inside their grandmother's home when someone began shooting at the house. Wyatt's family believed the shooter was Allen Ruffin.
[¶3] On July 21, 2020, Ruffin was visiting his girlfriend Reshanae Wilhite at her residence on Lillie Street in Fort Wayne. Wilhite's twelve-year-old daughter was also present. Ruffin was fixing the doorbell camera because it was not functioning. Ruffin was sitting on the ground with his back to the street. Wilhite was standing against the doorway holding the screen door open while talking to Ruffin. Wilhite then saw a "black little car with tinted windows" approaching her home. Tr. Vol. 2 at 163. The car pulled up in front of the house with the driver's window halfway down. Wilhite observed only one person inside the vehicle positioned in the driver's seat. The driver's face was visible from the bridge of the nose up. Wilhite described the driver as having a "nappy afro" and a goatee that did not close on the bottom. Id. at 189. After the vehicle pulled up in front of the house, shooting began nonstop. Wilhite began crawling toward the back of the house until the gunshots stopped. Wilhite's daughter was upstairs when "a lot of shots" began to hit the house. Id. at 165. She attempted to come downstairs, but Wilhite told her to stay upstairs and call 9-1-1. Wilhite's daughter dialed 9-1-1 to alert law enforcement that Ruffin was dead, and her mother was injured. Ruffin was pronounced deceased at the scene. The autopsy determined the cause of death was homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds.
[¶4] Shortly after the police arrived at the crime scene, Wilhite was taken to the hospital. Wilhite was shot in her right hand and both legs. Two different types of bullets (nine-millimeter and .223 caliber) were removed from her body. As a result of these injuries, she suffered permanent loss of function in her hand.
[¶5] At the hospital, a police officer asked Wilhite if she was able to identify the shooter. Wilhite said she "knew who it was, . . . just didn't know his name." Id. at 172. Wilhite was unable to recall Wyatt's name immediately, but stated it was Sir Thomas' brother. Wilhite then provided officers with the initial "W." Wilhite wanted to assist with the investigation before entering surgery because she was afraid she would forget facts or die. As Wilhite was being prepared for surgery, law enforcement assembled three photo arrays to show Wilhite. None of them included Wyatt. Wilhite did not identify Wyatt in any of the three photo arrays. However, Wilhite eventually remembered the defendant's name: Tremaine Wyatt. Wilhite then remembered Wyatt was Sir Thomas' brother. Law enforcement put together a new photo array including an image of Wyatt. Willhite identified Wyatt and began crying. Wilhite was able to identify Wyatt because she once saw him in a club and looked him up on Facebook.
[¶6] After the identification, detectives began surveillance at the residence where Wyatt was located. Officer Michael Long of the Fort Wayne Police Department was given a description of Wyatt's clothing and informed Wyatt was heading into an alley. Officer Long located Wyatt, drew his gun, and ordered Wyatt to get on the ground. Wyatt turned to look at Officer Long and began running backwards with his hands up. Wyatt did not comply, and Officer Long deployed his taser. Wyatt was then taken into custody.
[¶7] Pursuant to a search warrant, police searched Wyatt's 2016 black Nissan Altima. Inside the vehicle were spent .223 caliber casings which were "Norma" brand, an uncommon brand. The casings found in the vehicle were consistent in brand and caliber to those found at the crime scene.
[¶8] During the investigation, police recovered surveillance video showing a black Nissan Altima headed northbound toward Lillie Street. Approximately four seconds after the car is no longer on camera, the recording captures the sound of eighteen to twenty-two rounds of rapid gunfire.
[¶9] Joel Slygh, a detective in the Fort Wayne Police Department's digital forensics unit, downloaded text messages Wyatt sent around the time of the shooting. Wyatt sent text messages to his friend, Shawndrell Franklin, two days before the crime stating he needed nine-millimeter rounds. In another text message, Wyatt stated there was "some money on AG head." Ex. Vol. at 126. AG was Ruffin's nickname. The day before the shooting, Wyatt texted, "If I go to jail tomorrow love ma thug it ain't life long hold it down for me seed or seeds." Id. at 127. Finally, on the night of the crime, Wyatt sent another text message, stating: "Check on yo people bro look at wane.com." Id. at 128. Information about Wyatt's location was obtained by analyzing cell phone tower data, which indicated he was near the crime scene at the time of the crimes.
[¶10] The State charged Wyatt with murder, Level 3 felony aggravated battery, and Level 5 felony criminal recklessness. Following a jury trial, Wyatt was found guilty as charged.
Sufficient Evidence Supports Wyatt's Convictions
[¶11] Wyatt claims the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support his convictions. When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we "neither reweigh the evidence nor judge witness credibility, instead reserving those matters to the province of the jury." Owen v. State, 210 N.E.3d 256, 264 (Ind. 2023) (quoting Brantley v. State, 91 N.E.3d 566, 570 (Ind. 2018), cert. denied). We "consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict." Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007) (quoting McHenry v. State, 820 N.E.2d 124, 126 (Ind. 2005)). When presented with conflicting evidence, we consider it "most favorably to the trial court's ruling." Id. (quoting Wright v. State, 828 N.E.2d 904 (Ind. 2005)). "[T]he evidence is sufficient if an inference may be reasonably drawn from it to support the verdict." Pickens v. State, 751 N.E.2d 331, 334 (Ind.Ct.App. 2001). We will affirm unless "no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt." Young v. State, 198 N.E.3d 1172, 1176 (Ind. 2022) (quoting Jenkins v. State, 726 N.E.2d 268, 270 (Ind. 2000)).
[¶12] On appeal, Wyatt argues the State presented insufficient evidence to prove he was the shooter. We disagree. Wilhite saw the driver from the "bridge of their nose up" and identified Wyatt as the driver. Tr. Vol. 2 at 181. Wilhite provided Wyatt's full name to the officers at the hospital and identified Wyatt from a photo array. Wyatt argues this identification was "unreliable." Appellant's Br. at 15. However, this is a request to reweigh the evidence and judge Wilhite's credibility, which we cannot do. See Owen, 210 N.E.3d at 264. The "uncorroborated testimony of one witness is sufficient to convict, even if the witness in question is the victim." Ferrellv. State, 565 N.E.2d 1070, 1072-73 (Ind. 1991).
[¶13] Furthermore, the State provided evidence to demonstrate Wyatt had a motive to murder Ruffin. On or about July 2020, before Ruffin was killed, someone shot at Wyatt's grandmother's house. Wyatt was inside the house when this incident occurred and had reason to believe Ruffin was involved. Also, prior to Ruffin's death, Wyatt sent text messages stating there was money on Ruffin's "head" and asking for "9 shells," referring to nine-millimeter ammunition. Ex. Vol. at 125-26. A day before the murder, Wyatt texted, "If I go to jail tomorrow love ma thug it ain't life long hold it down for me seed or seeds." Id. at 127. The day of the murder Wyatt also texted his friend, "Check on yo people bro look at wane.com." Id. at 128. These text messages indicate Wyatt was attempting to obtain ammunition and planning to do something which could cause him to go to jail.
[¶14] At the crime scene, police recovered shell cases from two different weapons: a nine-millimeter handgun and .223 rifle. The police found a .223 casing inside Wyatt's car "between the crevice of the seat and the seat back" which matched the casings at the crime scene. Tr. Vol. 3 at 85-86. Also, in the residence where Wyatt was located, police collected a "nine-millimeter cartridge case" matching the cartridge cases found at the crime scene. Id. at 81.
[¶15] The State also presented evidence indicating Wyatt's cell phone was near the crime scene when Ruffin was shot. Furthermore, on the day of the shooting, video surveillance recorded Wyatt's car leaving a parking lot near Lillie Street. Approximately four seconds after the car pulls out of view of the camera, the camera captures an audio recording of rapid gun fire of approximately eighteen to twenty-two rounds.
[¶16] It is unnecessary that evidence "overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence." Sallee v. State, 51 N.E.3d 130, 133 (Ind. 2016) (quoting Moore v. State, 652 N.E.2d 53, 55 (Ind. 1995)). There is substantial evidence of probative value that Wyatt was the shooter, and the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions. See Bailey v. State, 979 N.E.2d 133, 135 (Ind. 2012).
Conclusion
[¶17] Sufficient evidence supports Wyatt's convictions.
[¶18] Affirmed.
May, J., and Vaidik, J., concur.