James W. Wheeler, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] James Wheeler appeals his conviction for Level 3 felony aggravated battery, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence certain hearsay statements made by the forensic nurse who examined his victim. We agree that the hearsay was inadmissible. But given the other evidence of Wheeler's guilt, we find its admission was harmless error. We therefore affirm.

Facts

[2] Wheeler was in a romantic relationship with Alicia Dismore for approximately 23 years, but by September 2022, their relationship was “toxic.” Exhs. Vol. II, #10B (2:25). While staying at an Indianapolis hotel on September 5, the two began arguing. Wheeler ordered Dismore to leave their hotel room, and Dismore tried to comply. But as soon as Dismore opened the door, Wheeler punched her in the mouth. The punch fractured Dismore's upper jawbone where the sockets for her teeth were located. This forcibly displaced half of Dismore's front teeth and surrounding gum tissue backward into her mouth. Dismore also suffered a deep laceration to her lower lip and a “scary” amount of bleeding. Tr. Vol. II, p. 112.

[3] Wheeler immediately called his mother from the hotel room and advised that he was likely going to jail. He then called 911, requested an ambulance, and reported that Dismore had tripped, fallen, and hit her face on a door. While Wheeler was on the phone with 911, Dismore exited the hotel room and walked to the hotel's office. When she arrived, she told a hotel employee what had happened. The employee then called 911 and reported Wheeler's punch. Meanwhile, Wheeler left the hotel and went to pick up his paycheck.

[4] Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Kollim Wheat was dispatched to the hotel and encountered Dismore near the hotel's office. According to Officer Wheat, “[Dismore] was in a lot of pain.” Id. at 50. “Her upper jaw was hanging down,” and “her teeth ․ were angled back towards her throat.” Id. Paramedics took Dismore to the hospital, and there, she was examined by forensic nurse examiner Leslie Copp, among others. According to Nurse Copp, Dismore's injuries were some of “the worst trauma to the mouth” she had ever seen. Id. at 92.

[5] Police arrested Wheeler four days later, and the State charged him with Level 3 felony aggravated battery. Dismore died of cancer before the case was brought to trial, but she was deposed prior to her death. At Wheeler's bench trial, the parties stipulated to the admission of a redacted recording of Dismore's deposition. On this recording, an emotional Dismore testified that Wheeler punched her in the mouth, “knock[ed her] teeth out,” and then tried to pull her teeth back into place. Exh. Vol. II, #10B (7:44). Dismore clarified that, although she fell from the punch, her injuries were not caused by the fall. She also revealed that Wheeler called her after the incident and stated, “I'm not going to prison over this[;] ․ I've got a good story.” Id. (15:14).

[6] The State offered into evidence several photographs of Dismore's injuries, the 911 call log for the incident, and some of Dismore's hospital records. The log entry for Wheeler's 911 call stated: “[Female] hit her face on door.” Exhs. Vol. I, pp. 12, 19 (all caps omitted). The log entry for the hotel employee's 911 call stated: “Female was assaulted by her boyfriend.” Id. at 12, 18 (all caps omitted) And the medical records noted: “45 y/o female s/p hit to face by ex-husband.” Id. at 32. The trial court admitted each of these exhibits into evidence without objection from Wheeler.

[7] The State also offered into evidence a forensic examination report that Nurse Copp prepared during her hospital examination of Dismore. The report included the following narrative as to how Dismore sustained her injuries:

Patient states she was at the Country [H]earth Inn on 21st street when she attempted to gather her things to leave and [Wheeler] stopped her and hit her in the face x1 with [a] closed fist. Patient states she does not believe she lost consciousness and [that Wheeler] stated “why did you make me do that, now I am going to jail”. Patient states [that Wheeler] tried to put her teeth back into place and police [were] called and he got a ride somewhere.

Id. at 21.

[8] Unlike with the other exhibits, Wheeler objected to the admission of Nurse Copp's report. He argued that the report contained Nurse Copp's hearsay statements as to what Dismore said during her examination. The State countered that the hearsay was admissible as statements made for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment under Indiana Evidence Rule 803. The trial court seemingly agreed with the State and admitted the report into evidence.

[9] Wheeler took the stand at trial and testified that, during their hotel argument, Dismore swung a pair of sweatpants at him and hit him in the face. According to Wheeler:

So when that happened, after I ducked down, I raise up, you know, mad. And I was trying -- I was trying to get to her, but she took off. And then I think she -- she fell. I know she fell, and she hit her face on something. I don't know if it was the door or my --or my dumbbells.

Tr. Vol. II, p. 111. Wheeler denied punching Dismore and explained that he left the hotel after the incident because Dismore threatened to blame him for her injuries. According to Wheeler, he feared he would go to jail.

[10] The trial court ultimately found Wheeler guilty of Level 3 felony aggravated battery. Explaining its verdict from the bench, the court stated:

In determining [the] what happened question, specifically was this an accident or an intentional act. If you look very carefully at the credibility of the witness that you have in front [of] you. Part of that is complicated by the fact that Ms. Dismore is no longer with us. But we do have her deposition, and there was nothing in her deposition that caused me any concern as to her credibility when she recited what happened to her.

Conversely, I have had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Wheeler's testimony and observe him on the stand. I made the specific finding that his testimony is not credible, and I do not accept his version of the facts as true.

Id. at 132. The court later sentenced Wheeler to seven years in prison.

Discussion and Decision

[11] Wheeler appeals his aggravated battery conviction, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting Nurse Copp's report into evidence. We review a trial court's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. McHenry v. State, 820 N.E.2d 124, 128 (Ind. 2005). An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court or when the court misinterprets the law. Carpenter v. State, 786 N.E.2d 696, 703 (Ind. 2003). However, “[w]e will sustain a ruling on the admissibility of evidence on any reasonable basis apparent in the record regardless of whether it was relied on by the parties or the trial court.” Turner v. State, 183 N.E.3d 346, 353 (Ind. Ct. App. 2022).

I. Inadmissible Hearsay

[12] Wheeler claims the trial court abused its discretion by admitting Nurse Copp's report because it contained admissible hearsay within inadmissible hearsay. Hearsay is an out-of-court statement “offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted” and “is not admissible unless the rules of evidence or other law provides for its admissibility.” Ind. Evidence Rules 801(c), 802. Likewise, “[h]earsay within hearsay is not excluded by the rule against hearsay if each part of the combined statements conform with an exception to the rule.” Ind. Evidence Rule 805.

[13] At trial, Wheeler conceded that the out-of-court statements attributed to Dismore within Nurse Copp's report were admissible hearsay under Evidence Rule 803(4). That rule excepts from the rule against hearsay certain statements “made by a person seeking medical diagnosis or treatment.” Evid. R. 803(4)(A). Wheeler, however, argued that the report itself (i.e., Nurse Copp's out-of-court restatement of Dismore's statements) was inadmissible hearsay. We agree.

[14] The State claimed that Nurse Copp restated Dismore's statements for the purpose of Dismore's medical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, according to the State, the report itself was admissible under Evidence Rule 803(4)(A). But, as noted above, that rule only applies to statements “made by a person seeking medical diagnosis or treatment.” Evid. R. 803(4)(A). Because Nurse Copp was not seeking medical diagnosis or treatment when she prepared her report, the report was not admissible as proffered by the State and argued on appeal.¹

II. Harmless Error

[15] Though the trial court abused its discretion by admitting Nurse Copp's report into evidence, we find the error harmless. “Generally, errors in the admission of evidence are to be disregarded unless they affect the substantial rights of a party.” Hoglund v. State, 962 N.E.2d 1230, 1238 (Ind. 2012). “In viewing the effect of the evidentiary ruling on a defendant's substantial rights, we look to the probable impact on the fact finder.” Id. “The improper admission is harmless error if the conviction is supported by substantial independent evidence of guilt satisfying the reviewing court there is no substantial likelihood the challenged evidence contributed to the conviction.” Id. “Moreover, ‘[a]ny error in the admission of evidence is not prejudicial, and [is] therefore harmless, if the same or similar evidence has been admitted without objection or contradiction.’ ” Id. (quoting McCovens v. State, 539 N.E.2d 26, 30 (Ind. 1989)).

[16] As the trial court acknowledged when explaining its verdict, the only fact at issue in Wheeler's case was whether Dismore was injured by an intentional punch or an accidental fall. Nurse Copp's report showed that, while Dismore was at the hospital, she claimed Wheeler punched her. But Dismore's hospital records contained the same claim, and they were admitted into evidence without objection. The 911 call log was also admitted without objection, and it indicated that, before departing for the hospital, Dismore told a hotel employee that Wheeler punched her. Given this cumulative evidence, we find Wheeler was not prejudiced by the erroneous admission of Nurse Copp's report.

[17] We also find it substantially unlikely that Nurse Copp's report contributed to Wheeler's aggravated battery conviction. A recording of Dismore's deposition was admitted into evidence by stipulation of the parties, and on that recording, Dismore testified that Wheeler punched her in the mouth and that her injuries were not caused by her subsequent fall. When explaining its guilty verdict, the trial court expressly stated that it did not question the credibility of Dismore's deposition testimony. At the same time, the court specifically found “not credible” Wheeler's trial testimony that he did not punch Dismore and that she was injured simply by tripping and falling. Tr. Vol. II, p. 132.

[18] “It is for the trier of fact to resolve conflicts in the evidence and to decide which witnesses to believe or disbelieve.” Kilpatrick v. State, 746 N.E.2d 52, 61 (Ind. 2001). Though we do not assess witness credibility on appeal, we observe that the trial court's credibility determination is supported by the photographs of Dismore's devastating mouth injuries. The photographs, admitted without objection by Wheeler, depict a fractured upper jawbone that displaced half of Dismore's front teeth and surrounding gum tissue backward into her mouth. These injuries do not suggest that Dismore simply tripped and fell.

Conclusion

[19] Because the trial court committed only harmless error by admitting Nurse Copp's report into evidence, we affirm Wheeler's conviction for Level 3 felony aggravated battery.

FOOTNOTES

1.   We note that, in Perry v. State, 956 N.E.2d 41, 50-51 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), this Court held that a forensic nurse examiner's report was admissible under Indiana Evidence Rule 803(6). That rule excepts from the rule against hearsay certain records that are “kept in the ordinary course of a regularly conducted [business] activity.” Evid. R. 803(6)(B). But the rule requires that its conditions be “shown by the testimony of the [record's] custodian or another qualified witness, or by a certification that complies with Rule 902(11) or (12) or with a statute permitting certification.” Evid. R. 803(6)(D). Only Nurse Copp testified about her report at Wheeler's trial, and her testimony did not directly establish who kept her report or whether its keeping satisfied the requirements of Rule 803(6). Because we ultimately find harmless any error in the report's admission into evidence, we do not consider whether Nurse Copp's testimony indirectly invoked the Rule 803(6) exception or whether the trial court's evidentiary ruling could have been sustained on that basis.

Weissmann, Judge.

Judges May and Scheele concur. May, J., and Scheele, J., concur.