Michael Edison Whitehead, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Michael Edison Whitehead appeals his conviction for dealing in methamphetamine as a level 2 felony. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] At approximately 8:00 a.m. on January 29, 2022, Marion Police Officer Joseph Smith responded to a call at Marion General Hospital and observed Whitehead in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound. When asked for his address, Whitehead answered, “4355 East 100 North.” State's Exhibit 12 at 2:07-2:12. Whitehead said that he and his girlfriend, Jessica Bollhoeffer, picked up a tall male hitchhiker, and, when they stopped at a traffic light, the hitchhiker, who was in the backseat, pulled a gun and told them to give him all their money. According to Whitehead, they told the hitchhiker they did not have any money, and the hitchhiker struck Bollhoeffer in her head with his pistol and again demanded all their money. Whitehead stated that he grabbed the pistol, an altercation “broke out over the pistol,” “and the gun went off and shot [him] in the thigh.” Transcript Volume II at 25. Whitehead also told Officer Smith that the hitchhiker exited the vehicle and “took off on foot.” Id.

[3] In the emergency room, Officer Smith observed cash which belonged to Whitehead. Grant County Sheriff's Detective Erin Keppler responded to the hospital and collected a thirty-two caliber handgun that Whitehead said he had located in the floorboard of the vehicle and that the hitchhiker had used to shoot him in the leg.

[4] Grant County Sheriff's Sergeant James Kinsey, II, spoke with Whitehead at the hospital and received information regarding the alleged location of the shooting. Grant County Sheriff's Lieutenant Jason Ewer went to that location to look for any evidence. Snow was on the ground, and none of what he observed matched the information relayed to him.

[5] At some point, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the vehicle driven by Whitehead. Law enforcement discovered a spent nine millimeter shell casing on the front passenger side floorboard as well as “a live round” or “twenty-two round” under the driver seat.¹ Id. at 98. Several boxes were in the backseat “where it was extremely cramped,” and the boxes were situated in such a way that it would be “really, really tough even for a small person to be sitting there in that passenger side rear seat where the boxes were located.” Id. at 157. A box “went across on the floorboard,” and, due to it being “very wet and snowy out,” if there “had been somebody out walking there would have been some sort of wetness or snow or something like that on the box and it was clear that that was not.” Id. at 157-158. Given what Whitehead told law enforcement and what law enforcement “were seeing weren't matching up,” Detective Keppler applied for a search warrant for the house. Id. at 99.

[6] Law enforcement executed a search warrant on the address provided by Whitehead, which was Bollhoeffer's residence.² After observing drug paraphernalia in plain view, law enforcement began to search for drugs. Lieutenant Ewer observed red liquid on the floor, which he believed to be blood, as well as bandages and other first aid items. Lieutenant Ewer observed only one bed that was “available” in the residence. Id. at 65. He discovered male clothing, several pairs of men's shoes, “[s]ome crystal like substance,” and a safe. Id. The safe contained multiple handguns and multiple bags of an off-white crystal-like substance.³ Lieutenant Ewer discovered an AR rifle in the bedroom. He also discovered “[a] lot of packaging” including “dime bags or jewelry bags ․ scattered throughout the house” as well as sandwich baggies. Id. at 67. He discovered a large tote, which contained a smoking pipe and some scales, in the living room area. Law enforcement discovered a debit card that said “Mike Whitehead” on it, mail containing Whitehead's name, several scales throughout the residence, pills, and a broken smoking pipe. Id. at 68. Law enforcement also collected over 500 grams of the off-white crystal-like substance, which later tested positive for methamphetamine. Detective Keppler collected a surveillance system from the residence and reviewed video from the system. Grant County Sheriff's Detective Shawn Shields obtained a cell phone from Whitehead.

[7] During an interview, Whitehead confirmed that Bollhoeffer was his girlfriend, she lived at the residence, he had dated her for about eight months, and he stayed over “every once in awhile.” State's Exhibit 114 at 4:45-4:55. Detective Shields referenced a message Whitehead sent to someone indicating that he “needed to get out of the hospital now because [he was] about to be f-----.” Id. at 25:35-25:48. When asked what he meant by that, Whitehead said, “It might have been sexual. I don't know․ What's that mean? F-----.” Id. at 25:52-25:59. Detective Shields said that the message led him to believe that Whitehead was indicating that he was about to be charged. Whitehead said, “Sexual is what f----- means.” Id. at 26:09-26:11. Detective Shields asked, “So you were saying you needed to get out of the hospital because you were about to be f-----.” Id. at 26:12-26:15. Whitehead answered, “Yeah. Maybe.” Id. at 26:15-26:17. Detective Keppler asked Whitehead if he had “something set up with somebody?” Id. at 26:22-26:24. Whitehead answered, “I couldn't tell you․ I was just recently shot.” Id. at 26:24-26:28.

[8] On February 11, 2022, the State charged Whitehead with: Count I, dealing in methamphetamine as a level 2 felony; Count II, carrying a handgun without a license as a class A misdemeanor; and Count III, false informing as a class B misdemeanor.

[9] In April 2024, the court held a jury trial. The State presented the testimony of multiple witnesses including Officer Smith, Sergeant Kinsey, Lieutenant Ewer, Detective Keppler, and Detective Shields. The jury found Whitehead guilty as charged. The court sentenced Whitehead to concurrent terms of twenty-five years with twenty years executed and the balance suspended to probation on Count I, one year executed on Count II, and 180 days on Count III.

Discussion

[10] Whitehead argues that the State presented “significant evidence that methamphetamine was possessed with the intent to deliver, showing a very large quantity of methamphetamine, over 500 grams, was located in the home, but does little to present evidence that [he] himself was the one in possession, constructive or otherwise, of the methamphetamine.” Appellant's Brief at 8. He asserts that the State speculated that the reason he was dishonest “must have been to prevent law enforcement from coming to be at the residence,” and this is “mere conjecture.” Id. at 9.

[11] When reviewing claims of insufficiency of the evidence, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses. Jordan v. State, 656 N.E.2d 816, 817 (Ind. 1995), reh'g denied. We look to the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom that support the verdict. Id. The conviction will be affirmed if there exists evidence of probative value from which a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

[12] Ind. Code § 35-48-4-1.1 provides that “[a] person who ․ possesses, with intent to ․ deliver; or finance the delivery of ․ methamphetamine, pure or adulterated ․ commits dealing in methamphetamine” and “[t]he offense is a Level 2 felony if ․ the amount of the drug involved is at least ten (10) grams.” It is well-established that possession of an item may be either actual or constructive. See Lampkins v. State, 682 N.E.2d 1268, 1275 (Ind. 1997), modified on reh'g, 685 N.E.2d 698 (Ind. 1997).

[13] Constructive possession occurs when a person has the capability and intent to maintain control over the contraband. Id. The capability element is met when the State shows the defendant is able to reduce the contraband to his personal possession. Goliday v. State, 708 N.E.2d 4, 6 (Ind. 1999). To show the intent element, the State must demonstrate the defendant's knowledge of the presence of the contraband. Id. This knowledge may be inferred from either the exclusive control over the premises containing the contraband or, if the control is non-exclusive, evidence of additional circumstances pointing to the defendant's knowledge of the contraband's presence. Id. Some possible examples of such circumstances include (1) incriminating statements; (2) attempting to leave or making furtive gestures; (3) the location of contraband like drugs in settings suggesting manufacturing; (4) the item's proximity to the defendant; (5) the location of contraband within the defendant's plain view; and (6) the mingling of contraband with other items the defendant owns. Gray v. State, 957 N.E.2d 171, 175 (Ind. 2011).

[14] The record reveals that Whitehead's assertions regarding being shot by a hitchhiker and the investigation conducted by law enforcement “weren't matching up.” Transcript Volume II at 99. During the interview, Whitehead confirmed that he dated Bollhoeffer for about eight months and acknowledged that he stayed at the residence “every once in awhile.” State's Exhibit 114 at 4:45-4:55. The jury also heard Whitehead's statements during the interview regarding his message that he was “about to be f-----.” Id. at 25:45-25:48.

[15] In the residence, which Whitehead had identified as his address, law enforcement discovered drug paraphernalia in plain view, several scales throughout the residence, over 500 grams of methamphetamine, packaging including dime bags scattered throughout the house, a debit card that said “Mike Whitehead” on it, and mail containing Whitehead's name. Transcript Volume II at 68. Lieutenant Ewer observed only one bed that was “available” in the residence and discovered male clothing and several pairs of men's shoes. Id. at 65. Detective Shields testified that, during the execution of the search warrant of the residence, Bollhoeffer had “some sort of ledger ․ like a notebook ․ that I recall seeing documentation on there that Michael Whitehead was paying rent there at that residence ․” Id. at 160-161.

[16] Detective Keppler reviewed video from the surveillance system from November 2021 through January 2022 and observed “several individuals that would come at random times nothing consistently,” “a few males they would come hang out between an hour to eight hours and then leave,” and “[n]othing that appeared that there was somebody else living at the residence other than Mr. Whitehead and Ms. [Bollhoeffer].” Id. at 106-107. Detective Keppler reviewed video from the surveillance system for the day of the shooting and observed Whitehead and Bollhoeffer exit the residence at 7:15 a.m., Whitehead was limping, and they entered the vehicle, which was later discovered at the hospital. When asked if it was fair to say that other than people visiting the residence, it appeared that only Whitehead and Bollhoeffer stayed at the residence, Detective Keppler answered affirmatively. She also testified that the surveillance video revealed that Whitehead would enter the residence by using a key on a keychain that he had in his hand or pocket and that Whitehead and Bollhoeffer always entered through the garage door.

[17] Based upon the record, we conclude the State presented evidence of probative value from which a reasonable trier of fact could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Whitehead constructively possessed the methamphetamine found in the residence and committed dealing in methamphetamine as a level 2 felony.

[18] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Whitehead's conviction.

[19] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Detective Keppler testified that she did not believe that a thirty-two caliber firearm, such as the one Whitehead claimed was used by the hitchhiker, was capable of firing a nine millimeter bullet.

2.   On cross-examination of Detective Keppler, the following exchange occurred:Q ․ [T]his home ․ is and was at that time Jessica [Bollhoeffer's] principal place of residence, correct?A From my understanding, yes.Q And she had been living there for some time?A I don't know how long she'd been living there.Q But that was her residence?A Correct.Transcript Volume II at 110.

3.   Defense counsel referenced the safe in the bedroom, and Lieutenant Ewer testified that he did not remember it being locked and did not recall having “any trouble getting into it.” Transcript Volume II at 84.

Brown, Judge.

Judges Bailey and Weissmann concur. Bailey, J., and Weissmann, J., concur.