Ricky L. Taylor, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Ricky L. Taylor was convicted of Level 1 felony aiding, inducing, or causing dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death; Level 5 felony dealing in a narcotic drug; and Level 5 felony conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug, and sentenced to an aggregate, forty-one-year term of incarceration. In challenging his convictions, Taylor contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence during trial. The State agrees that the challenged evidence should not have been admitted but contends that Taylor's conviction should be upheld because the challenged evidence was cumulative of other unchallenged evidence and its admission was therefore harmless. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] In 2023, Taylor was living in Muncie and selling illegal drugs, including pills that are commonly known as M30s. M30s are pills that contain Fentanyl. Fentanyl is an opioid that is “forty to fifty times more potent than heroin” and “a hundred to two hundred times more potent than morphine.” Tr. Vol. II p. 124.

[3] Beginning in May of 2023, Taylor sold M30s to Jaxon Engle. In arranging drug deals, Taylor and Engle would communicate via text message and the messaging feature on Facebook. During these communications, Taylor would often reaffirm to Engle that he had the good ones, meaning that his M30s were strong. On September 11, 2023, Engle asked Taylor what he had “on deck[ ]” and Taylor responded that he “got good ones bro[.]” Ex. Vol. II p. 100. On September 14, 2023, Engle again contacted Taylor about purchasing M30s.

[4] On September 15, 2023, Engle sold M30s to seventeen-year-old K.L. At some point on September 16, 2023, K.L.’s grandmother found him unresponsive and called 911. K.L. was pronounced dead and his cause of death was subsequently determined to be “Fentanyl intoxication[.]” Tr. Vol. II p. 110. A partial blue pill, which appeared to be a partial M30 and later tested positive for Fentanyl, was found “in close proximity to” K.L. Tr. Vol. II p. 70.

[5] During the investigation into K.L.’s death, police discovered the connection between Engle and K.L., including their interaction on the night prior to K.L.’s death. Engle was interviewed, during which he admitted that he had sold M30s to K.L. and indicated that his supplier of the M30s had been Taylor. Police also interviewed Engle's father, and the first person he identified as Engle's supplier of M30s was Taylor. Engle's father later indicated that Engle would also buy drugs from Matt Sheets. Electronic records indicate frequent contact between Taylor and Sheets, with the two discussing “getting the pills,” and “splitting or sharing the plays[,]” referring to drug deals. Tr. Vol. III p. 52. While Taylor indicated that he could not be sure that he had sold the M30s in question to Engle, he admitted to police that he had sold M30s to Engle.

[6] On November 20, 2023, the State charged Taylor with Level 1 felony aiding, inducing, or causing dealing in a controlled substance resulting in K.L.’s death (“Count 1”) and Level 5 dealing in a narcotic drug (“Count 2”). On December 12, 2023, the State filed additional charges of Level 1 felony aiding, inducing, or causing dealing in a controlled substance resulting in Javon Nichols's ¹ death (“Count III”) and Level 5 felony conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug (“Count IV”). The case proceeded to a bench trial.

[7] During trial, Delaware County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Coffman testified about being called to K.L.’s home and the scene around K.L.’s lifeless body. Deputy Coffman further testified that, at some point in his investigation, he had learned of the connection between Engle and K.L. Taylor objected to Deputy Coffman's testimony regarding his interview with Engle, with his counsel stating the following:

I received an e-mail from the State D.P.A. Ramirez stating that in anticipation of the trial, him, Prosecutor Investigator Heather Stanley, Jaxon Engle, and Jaxon Engle's counsel, Ron Smith met in preparation of a trial. And Mr. Engle stated some contradictory things than what was in the police reports. Specifically, he stated that an individual named Matt Sheets sold him the blue [thirty] pills approximately one hour before Jaxon Engle went to the Muncie Dragway on September 15th, 2023. And then it just continues. There's a lot of, you know, different versions of events that were not provided for at discovery. And ultimately, the State said that they were revoking the immunity agreement that they entered into with Mr. Engle. And they would not be contacting him to testify. I've reached out to Mr. Engle's attorney to see if he would be willing to testify in this matter. And his attorney informed me that he was planning on taking the 5th. I think that it comes to a point where the defense might call him. And, so that's the reason for the objection request.

Tr. Vol. II p. 233. In making this objection, Taylor's counsel indicated that Deputy Coffman's testimony regarding statements made by Engle was inadmissible hearsay and would violate his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him. The trial court overruled Taylor's objections and allowed Deputy Coffman to testify about his interview with Engle, during which Engle had stated that he had purchased the M30s from Taylor. Ultimately, the trial court found Taylor guilty of Counts 1, 2, and 4, and sentenced him to an aggregate forty-one-year term of incarceration.

Discussion and Decision

[8] Taylor contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Deputy Coffman's testimony regarding Engle's interview with police on the basis that it violated his constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him. For its part, the State concedes that Taylor's Sixth Amendment right to cross-examine Engle “was violated,” but asserts that “not every violation of the Confrontation Clause demands reversal.” Appellee's Br. p. 10. Specifically, the State argues that “[t]he admission of Engle's statement does not necessitate reversal because it was harmless.” Appellee's Br. p. 10. It is generally true that the “admission of evidence at trial is a matter we leave to the discretion of the trial court.” Clark v. State, 994 N.E.2d 252, 259–60 (Ind. 2013) (internal citation omitted). However, “[e]ven when a decision on the admissibility of evidence is an abuse of discretion, we will not reverse a judgment where that error is harmless, that is, where the error did not affect the substantial rights of a party.” Dixon v. State, 967 N.E.2d 1090, 1092 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

[9] Both the United States Supreme Court and the Indiana Supreme Court have held that violations of the Confrontation Clause do not require reversal if the State can show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless and did not contribute to the guilty finding. See Del. v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 684 (1986); Koenig v. State, 933 N.E.2d 1271, 1273 (Ind. 2010).

Whether such an error is harmless in a particular case depends upon a host of factors, all readily accessible to reviewing courts. These factors include the importance of the witness’ testimony in the prosecution's case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution's case.

Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 684.

[10] In this case, the unchallenged evidence is sufficient to support Taylor's conviction, rendering any error resulting from the admission of the Engle's statements to Deputy Coffman harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The unchallenged evidence proved that Taylor had been selling Fentanyl in the form of M30s at the time relevant to this appeal. Taylor knew he was selling a strong product because he would often refer to his pills as the “good” ones, indicating that he believed that his product had a stronger potency than some of the other product available. Taylor told police he knew if the pills were good based on their color.

[11] Taylor began selling M30s to Engle in May of 2023 and continued to sell to Engle for the next several months, including in September of 2023. Just prior to K.L.’s death, Engle had messaged Taylor about purchasing M30s from him. Engle then sold M30s to K.L., who died of Fentanyl intoxication a short time later. A partial blue pill, which appeared to be a partial M30 and later tested positive for Fentanyl, was also found was found near K.L.’s lifeless body.

[12] While Taylor equivocated in a police interview about whether he had sold M30s on that date in question to Engle, in that same interview, he admitted that he had been selling M30s and indicated that he could not rule out or deny that he had sold the drugs in question to Engle. Engle's father also told police that Taylor was Engle's supplier of M30s. Furthermore, although Engle's father later claimed that Engle had also purchased drugs from Sheets, there was evidence in the record indicating that Taylor and Sheets had been working together with communication between the two discussing “getting the pills,” and “splitting or sharing the plays[,]” referring to drug deals. Tr. Vol. III p. 52.

[13] Again, a violation of the Confrontation Clause does not require reversal if the State can show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless and did not contribute to the guilty finding. See Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. at 684; Koenig, 933 N.E.2d at 1273. Given the unchallenged evidence supporting Taylor's conviction, we agree with the State that admission of Deputy Coffman's testimony regarding Engle's prior statement was cumulative of the unchallenged evidence and, as a result, cannot be said to have contributed to the verdict. While the challenged evidence should not have been admitted because it was hearsay and its admission violated Taylor's Sixth Amendment rights to confront the witnesses against him, its admission was nonetheless harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Koenig, 933 N.E.2d at 1274.

[14] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   It appears from the record that Nichols had also obtained M30s from Engle.

Bradford, Judge.

Judges Pyle and Kenworthy concur. Pyle, J., and Kenworthy, J., concur.