Chad M. Farrell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 15, 2017
Docket76A05-1705-CR-1002
StatusPublished

This text of Chad M. Farrell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) (Chad M. Farrell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chad M. Farrell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Nov 15 2017, 8:31 am Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as CLERK Indiana Supreme Court precedent or cited before any court except for the Court of Appeals and Tax Court purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Victoria L. Bailey Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Christina D. Pace Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Chad M. Farrell, November 15, 2017

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 76A05-1705-CR-1002

v. Appeal from the Steuben Circuit Court State of Indiana, The Hon. Allen N. Wheat, Judge Trial Court Cause No. Appellee-Plaintiff. 76C01-1602-F1-104

Bradford, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 76A05-1705-CR-1002 | November 15, 2017 Page 1 of 6 Case Summary [1] Appellant-Defendant Chad Farrell feigned illness to lure his ex-girlfriend A.B.

to his Steuben County trailer home, where he forcibly raped her at knifepoint.

When A.B. attempted to flee, Farrell prevented her escape by standing in the

doorway, brandishing the same knife. The State charged Farrell with Level 1

felony rape and Level 3 felony criminal confinement, a jury convicted him as

charged, and the trial court sentenced him to an aggregate term of forty-five

years of incarceration. Farrell contends that his convictions violate prohibitions

against double jeopardy. Because we disagree, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] On February 18, 2016, at around 11:50 p.m., Farrell called A.B., with whom he

had previously been romantically involved, and asked her to take him from

work to the hospital because he claimed to be having chest pains. A.B. started

driving to the hospital, but Farrell told her to just take him home so he could lie

down. The duo arrived at Farrell’s trailer at approximately midnight. Once

inside, Farrell asked A.B. to help him to his bed. As they neared the bed,

Farrell threw A.B. on the bed and yelled that she “deserved this.” Tr. Vol. II p.

173.

[3] Farrell pulled off A.B.’s shoes, jeans, and underwear. Farrell told A.B. “that

[she] deserve[d] this … this is what you get[.]” Tr. Vol. II p. 175. Farrell

removed his shoes, jeans, and underwear; climbed on top of A.B.; put his penis

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 76A05-1705-CR-1002 | November 15, 2017 Page 2 of 6 inside of A.B.’s vagina; and began to rape her. Farrell produced a knife and

held it in his right hand, telling A.B. that she was not leaving until she watched

him slit his wrists. Farrell ejaculated during his rape of A.B.

[4] A.B. asked Farrell for a drink of water. After Farrell climbed off A.B., put his

clothes on, and walked to the kitchen for the glass of water, A.B. dressed and

ran for the door. Farrell, however, beat A.B. to the door and prevented her

from exiting by standing between her and the door. Farrell still had the knife in

his hand.

[5] A.B. went to the kitchen for a glass of water and returned to find that Farrell

was still between her and the door. A.B. pleaded with Farrell to let her leave,

but he told her that she was not leaving until she watched him slit his wrists.

A.B. continued to plead with Farrell to let her out of the door. Farrell leaned

against the door and closed his eyes, and, at some point, appeared to lose

consciousness. A.B. hid the knife in Farrell’s couch between the armrest and

the cushion and managed to move Farrell enough to leave.

[6] On February 19, 2016, the State charged Farrell with Level 1 felony rape and

Level 3 felony criminal confinement. A jury trial was held on March 15 and

16, 2017, and the jury found Farrell guilty as charged. On April 10, 2017, the

trial court sentenced Farrell to thirty-five years of incarceration for rape, ten

years for criminal confinement, and order that the sentences would run

consecutively for an aggregate sentence of forty-five years.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 76A05-1705-CR-1002 | November 15, 2017 Page 3 of 6 Discussion and Decision [7] Farrell argues that his convictions for Level 1 felony rape and Level 3 felony

criminal confinement violate prohibitions against double jeopardy. In

Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999), the Indiana Supreme Court held

“that two or more offenses are the ‘same offense’ in violation of Article I,

Section 14 of the Indiana Constitution, if, with respect to … the actual evidence

used to convict, the essential elements of one challenged offense also establish

the essential elements of another challenged offense.” Id. at 49-50.

To show that two challenged offenses constitute the “same offense” in a claim of double jeopardy, a defendant must demonstrate a reasonable possibility that the evidentiary facts used by the fact-finder to establish the essential elements of one offense may also have been used to establish the essential elements of a second challenged offense. Id. at 53. Merely a remote or speculative possibility is not enough; rather, the

record must establish that the jury used the same evidentiary facts to establish

the essential elements of the two offenses. Hopkins v. State, 759 N.E.2d 633, 640

(Ind. 2001) (citations omitted). “In determining the facts used by the fact-finder

to establish the elements of each offense, it is appropriate to consider the

charging information, jury instructions, and arguments of counsel.” Lee v. State,

892 N.E.2d 1231, 1234 (Ind. 2008) (citing Spivey v. State, 761 N.E.2d at 832

(Ind. 2002); Richardson, 717 N.E.2d at 54 n.48).

[8] Farrell was charged with Level 1 felony rape for “knowingly or intentionally

hav[ing] sexual intercourse with A.B., when A.B. was compelled by force or

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 76A05-1705-CR-1002 | November 15, 2017 Page 4 of 6 imminent threat of force … while armed with a deadly weapon, to-wit: a

knife[.]” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 20. Farrell was also charged with Level 3

felony criminal confinement for “knowingly or intentionally confin[ing] A.B.

without A.B.’s consent … while armed with a deadly weapon, to wit [sic]: a

knife.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 21. As the Indiana Supreme Court has

noted in a similar case, “[c]ertainly, one who commits rape or criminal deviate

conduct necessarily ‘confines’ the victim at least long enough to complete such

a forcible crime.” Gates v. State, 759 N.E.2d 631, 632 (Ind. 2001). The

question, then, is “whether the confinement exceeded the bounds of the force

used to commit the rape[.]” Id. On this record, we conclude that the State

easily established that Farrell’s confinement of A.B. exceeded the bounds of the

force he used during his rape of her.

[9] First and foremost, the two convictions were proved by largely separate bodies

of evidence. The State presented evidence that Farrell lured A.B. to his trailer,

forced her onto his bed, undressed her, and forcibly raped her while holding a

knife. After the rape was complete and Farrell had put his clothing back on, he

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Related

Lee v. State
892 N.E.2d 1231 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2008)
Gates v. State
759 N.E.2d 631 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Hopkins v. State
759 N.E.2d 633 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Richardson v. State
717 N.E.2d 32 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)

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