Brandon Mockbee v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), 15A01-1703-CR-483

Background

Late June 2016 burglaries occurred at Hibbett Sports (Aurora) and Tri-State Battery (Lawrenceburg); surveillance video linked a Nissan Versa and a white vehicle to the crimes.
Investigators tied the Versa to Rosalie Rahn, who said she had loaned the car to her grandson, Brandon Mockbee; Rahn identified Mockbee in stills from the video.
Police located burglary proceeds and tools at Donna Lacey’s residence and later found stolen items and glass consistent with the break-ins in Melissa Holley’s white vehicle when Mockbee arrived wearing clothing matching the surveillance footage.
During booking, Mockbee discarded red shorts (which matched the surveillance footage) into a jail trash can; footage showed him throwing the shorts and the shorts were later recovered from another inmate.
Indictment: two counts of level 5 burglary, one count of level 5 conspiracy (later acquitted), an amended count of level 6 obstruction of justice (for discarding the shorts), and an allegation that Mockbee was a habitual offender based on prior Ohio felonies.
Jury convicted on both burglary counts, obstruction, and the habitual-offender allegation; the court imposed consecutive terms totaling 20.5 years but did not attach the habitual enhancement to a specific count (court was remanded to fix that clerical issue).

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Mockbee)	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for habitual-offender finding	Prior Ohio felony convictions support enhancement; at least one prior is more serious than level 6 and a 2012 conviction falls within the 10-year window	Priors are too old or not serious enough to qualify	Affirmed: evidence sufficient; remand to attach enhancement to a specific level 5 burglary sentence
Sufficiency of evidence for obstruction conviction	Video and booking records show Mockbee threw incriminating red shorts away to prevent their use as evidence	No intent to prevent evidence; insufficient proof	Affirmed: jury could infer intent from conduct and that the shorts linked him to the burglary
Admission of evidence seized at Lacey’s residence (warrantless entry / plain view)	State: Mockbee lacks standing; no reasonable expectation of privacy in Lacey’s home	Mockbee: officers’ warrantless entry violated Fourth Amendment/Indiana Constitution, so evidence should be excluded	Affirmed: Mockbee failed to show a reasonable expectation of privacy or standing; evidence admissible
Denial of severance of burglary charges	Joinder proper; defendant failed to renew severance motion at trial	Joinder prejudiced Mockbee; severance should have been granted	Waived on appeal: Mockbee did not renew the motion at trial and raised fundamental-error argument too late
Forfeiture of right to self-representation	Court: Mockbee repeatedly engaged in disruptive misconduct after prior warnings	Mockbee: his behavior was spirited discussion or due to untreated mental illness	Affirmed: trial court properly terminated self-representation for deliberate obstructionist misconduct

Key Cases Cited

Woods v. State, 939 N.E.2d 676 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (standard for sufficiency review of habitual-offender finding)
Bell v. State, 31 N.E.3d 495 (Ind. 2015) (standard for sufficiency review of criminal convictions)
Carpenter v. State, 18 N.E.3d 998 (Ind. 2014) (constitutionality of searches is reviewed de novo)
Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (1978) (Fourth Amendment rights are personal and cannot be vicariously asserted)
Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83 (1998) (defendant must show personal expectation of privacy in place searched)
Reffett v. State, 844 N.E.2d 1072 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (habitual-offender finding is an enhancement to an underlying conviction)
German v. State, 373 N.E.2d 880 (Ind. 1978) (court may terminate self-representation for serious obstructionist misconduct)
Fox v. State, 717 N.E.2d 957 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999) (harmless-error analysis for evidentiary rulings)