Ely v. State

655 N.E.2d 372, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1139, 1995 WL 557586
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 22, 1995
Docket20A03-9410-CR-369
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 655 N.E.2d 372 (Ely v. State) 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
Ely v. State, 655 N.E.2d 372, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1139, 1995 WL 557586 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

GPINION

HOFFMAN, Judge.

Appellant-defendant Raymond B. Ely, Jr. appeals from his conviction for confinement, a Class B felony, and battery, a Class C felony. The facts relevant to appeal are summarized below.

On January 25, 1998, Ely went to the office of his apartment complex, Woodwind Apartments, located in Elkhart, Indiana. TN., the manager, was working in the office. He asked TN. for a pass to the gym located on the grounds of the apartment complex. She responded that passes were no longer being disbursed but that if he had a photocopy of his lease, he would be admitted to the gym without a problem. When he stated that he did not have a copy, T.N. offered to make one for him. When she went into the back room of the office to retrieve the lease, Ely followed her. TN. bent down to retrieve the papers from the filing cabinet. When she stood up, Ely grabbed her, placed her in a headlock, pointed a knife at her chest area, and told her in a low voice to "be quiet." 'T.N. began screaming, grabbed the blade of the knife, and a struggle ensued. T.N. eventually broke free and Ely fled. Later, Ely was arrested at his apartment.

Based on the above, on January 28, 1993, the State charged Ely as follows:

"LCOUNT] I.
[Oln or about the 25th day of January, 1993, at the County of Elkhart and State of Indiana, one RAYMOND B. ELY, JR., did then and there unlawfully, knowingly, and feloniously confine another person, to-wit: one [TN.], Manager of the Woodwind Condominiums, 111 Clarinet Boulevard, Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana, without her consent, said acts being committed by the said RAYMOND B. ELY, JR., while armed with a deadly weapon, to-wit: a knife; all of which is contrary to the form of I.C. 35-42-3-38; contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided; and, against the peace and dignity of the State of Indiana.
[COUNT] II.
[Oln or about the 25th day of January, 1993, at the County of Elkhart and State of Indiana, one RAYMOND B. ELY, JR., did then and there attempt to commit the crime of Rape by knowingly, unlawfully, and feloniously engaging in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex by the use of force, in that the said RAY *374 MOND B. ELY, JR., did go to the office of [TN.], Manager of Woodwind Condominiums, 111 Clarinet Boulevard, Elkhart, Elk-hart County, Indiana, and did threaten the said [TN.] and did physically restrain the said [T.N.], and the said RAYMOND B. ELY, JR., did have in his possession a quantity of duct tape for use in restraining and tying up the said [TN.], and the said RAYMOND B. ELY, JR. did then and there commit said acts with the avowed purpose of forcibly engaging in sexual intercourse with the said [T.N.] against her will; all of which said conduct constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of the crime of Rape; all of which is contrary to the form of .C. 85-41-5-1 and I.C. 35-42-4-1; contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided; and, against the peace and dignity of the State of Indiana."

Ely received a jury trial and was found guilty of confinement, a Class B felony, and battery with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony, as a lesser-included offense of attempted rape. The trial court sentenced Ely to ten years' imprisonment for the confinement offense and four years' imprisonment for the battery offense, with the sentences to be served concurrently. Ely appeals his convictions.

On appeal, Ely raises several issues, which we consolidate into two:

(1) whether Ely's conviction for both confinement and battery as a lesser-included offense of attempted rape subjects him to a double jeopardy violation; and
(2) whether the trial court erred in admission of evidence of his prior bad acts.

Ely claims his convictions for both battery and confinement violate his right to be free from double jeopardy. To determine whether this is the case, Indiana applies a two-step analysis. First, if the same act constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions which do not require proof of an additional fact, double jeopardy exists. Wethington v. State (1990), Ind., 560 N.E.2d 496, 506 (citing Blockburger v. United States (1932), 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (same elements test)). If double jeopardy is not apparent from the application of the statutory provisions, the informations and evidence are then reviewed to determine whether the offenses charged are based on the same continuous conduct or a single act. Derado v. State (1993), Ind., 622 N.E.2d 181, 183. When two crimes necessarily rely on the same conduct, same harm to the victim, and over the same short span of time, double jeopardy exists and one conviction must fail. Stwalley v. State (1989), Ind., 534 N.E.2d 229, 281.

Here, Ely concedes both the offense of confinement and the offense of battery each contain elements the other does not, and, thus, double jeopardy through application of the statutory provisions does not, standing alone, exist from the facts of this case. Nevertheless, he complains his right to be free from double jeopardy has been violated because the charging informations supported by the evidence adduced at trial rely on the same facts to support both the convictions for confinement and battery.

In its information, the State alleged the confinement occurred when Ely placed a knife to T.N.'s chest. The information for attempted rape alleged TN. was restrained and that Ely had in his possession duct tape to tie her up and restrain her in order to commit the offense. At trial, however, T.N. supplied the testimony most favorable to the convictions. T.N. stated, in sum, that at the filing cabinet she bent over, came up, and then "was grabbed and ... was in a headlock with a knife pointed at [her] ... chest area." These inclusive facts were used to support Ely's conviction for confinement, as a Class B felony. See IND.CODE § 85-42-3-3(a) (1992 Supp.) (confinement with deadly weapon). The same conduct, and more specifically Ely's use of a deadly weapon or knife, was also necessarily relied upon and used to con-viet Ely for battery, as a Class C felony. See IND.CODE § 35-42-2-2(b) (1988 Ed.) (battery by means of a deadly weapon). The evidence discloses that no other confinement with a deadly weapon existed above and beyond that which was necessary to effectuate the battery with a deadly weapon. Therefore, Ely's convictions for confinement, a *375 Class B felony, and battery, as a Class C felony, violate double jeopardy. See Griffin v. State (1991), Ind.App., 583 N.E.2d 191, 193 (violation of double jeopardy for conviction of attempted rape and confinement where only evidence of extraneous interference with vie-tim's liberty was that necessary to effectuate rape); Wethington, 560 N.E.2d at 508 (double jeopardy existing where acts constituting confinement were same to support force element of robbery conviction); cf. May v.

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Bluebook (online)
655 N.E.2d 372, 1995 Ind. App. LEXIS 1139, 1995 WL 557586, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ely-v-state-indctapp-1995.