Amanda Gonzales v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: March 11, 2016
• Docket: 30A01-1509-CR-1308
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Mar 11 2016, 5:34 am Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Donald E. Hamilton Gregory F. Zoeller New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Brian Reitz Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Amanda Gonzales, March 11, 2016

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 30A01-1509-CR-1308 v. Appeal from the Hancock Superior Court. The Honorable Terry K. Snow, State of Indiana, Judge. Appellee-Plaintiff. Cause No. 30D01-1409-F6-1620

Shepard, Senior Judge

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 1 of 5 [1] After a bench trial, the court determined that Amanda Gonzales was guilty of 1 battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a Level 6 felony, and conspiracy to 2 commit battery, a Level 6 felony, in connection with a jail assault. She appeals

only the conspiracy conviction, and we affirm.

Issue [2] Gonzales raises a single issue: whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain

her conspiracy conviction.

Facts and Procedural History [3] On the evening of September 18, 2014, Corrections Officer Michael McPherson

was on patrol in the Hancock County Jail when he heard screaming coming

from Cell Block H. He entered the cell block and approached a cell, where he

saw inmates Gonzales and Laquita Griggs repeatedly hitting another inmate,

Kristy Campbell, as she screamed for help. Officer McPherson ordered

Gonzales and Griggs to desist, but they continued attacking Campbell until he

drew his Taser. Campbell was taken to the infirmary for treatment.

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1 (2014).

2 Ind. Code § 35-41-5-2 (2014).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 2 of 5 [4] The State charged Gonzales with battery, conspiracy to commit battery, and

obstruction of justice. During a bench trial, the court dismissed the obstruction

charge and found Gonzales guilty of battery and conspiracy to commit battery.

Discussion and Decision [5] Gonzales does not dispute that she battered Campbell but claims there is

insufficient evidence that she conspired with others for the attack. In reviewing

a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we affirm unless no reasonable

trier of fact could have found each of the elements of a crime proven beyond a

reasonable doubt. Smith v. State, 8 N.E.3d 668 (Ind. 2014). We neither reweigh

evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses. Id.

[6] To obtain a conviction for conspiracy to commit battery, the State was required

to prove that Gonzales (1) with the intent to commit battery (2) agreed with

other persons (3) to commit battery (4) and either Gonzales or another party to

the agreement performed an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. Ind.

Code § 35-41-5-2. An agreement may be inferred from circumstantial evidence,

which may include the overt acts of the parties in furtherance of the criminal

act. Dickenson v. State, 835 N.E.2d 542 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005), trans. denied.

[7] Prior to September 18, 2014, Campbell had given information to law

enforcement about a pending criminal case against Gonzales. On September

18, an inmate asked Campbell to go to a cell. Campbell went into the cell and

sat down on a mattress on the floor.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 3 of 5 [8] Next, Gonzales and Griggs entered the cell together. Gonzales asked

Campbell, “What did you do, Kristy?” Tr. p. 45. Campbell responded, “What

do you mean?” Id. Gonzales told Campbell, “You know what you did. Now

would be the time to be honest.” Id. Campbell said, “You need to be more

specific.” Id. Griggs hit Campbell, and Gonzales followed suit. Campbell

curled up in a fetal position and screamed for help as Griggs and Gonzales

continued to hit her and pulled out her hair. Gonzales told Campbell, “No one

is gonna help you.” Id. at 49. After several minutes, Officer McPherson heard

Campbell’s screams and ended the attack. Later, a police officer reviewed

security camera recordings of the cell block during the time of the battery. He

saw one inmate turn up a television’s volume to drown out the sounds of the

battery, and another inmate guarded an alarm button to prevent others in the

cell block from requesting help.

[9] The evidence that Gonzales and Griggs approached Campbell in a cell and

attacked her in concert, asserting that no one would help her, while an inmate

tried to cover up the sound of Campbell’s screams and another inmate guarded

the alarm button, establishes that Gonzales and others agreed to batter

Campbell and took steps to carry out the agreement. See Whittle v. State, 542

N.E.2d 981 (Ind. 1989) (where defendant and companions appeared at victims’

clubhouse together and jointly attacked the victims, evidence of conspiracy

adequate), overruled in part on other grounds by Scisney v. State, 701 N.E.2d 847

(Ind. 1998).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 4 of 5 Conclusion [10] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

[11] Affirmed.

Vaidik, C.J., and Bailey, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 5 of 5