James A. Love v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 25, 2016
Docket11A05-1507-CR-965
StatusPublished

This text of James A. Love v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) (James A. Love 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
James A. Love v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), May 25 2016, 8:39 am

this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK Indiana Supreme Court regarded as precedent or cited before any Court of Appeals and Tax Court 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 Kimberly A. Jackson Gregory F. Zoeller Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Katherine Modesitt Cooper Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

James A. Love, May 25, 2016 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 11A05-1507-CR-965 v. Appeal from the Clay Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable J. Blaine Akers, Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge Trial Court Cause No. 11D01-1408-CM-579 11D01-1501-CM-26

May, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 11A05-1507-CR-965 | May 25, 2016 Page 1 of 19 [1] James A. Love appeals his convictions in two causes. Under cause number

11D01-1408-CM-579 (“Cause 579”) the trial court convicted Love of Class A

misdemeanor invasion of privacy. 1 Under cause number 11D01-1501-CM-26

(“Cause 26”), the trial court convicted Love of Class A misdemeanor invasion

of privacy and Class A misdemeanor intimidation. 2 He presents three issues for

our review, which we restate as:

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed the State to amend the information against Love after its cause- in-chief in Cause 579;

2. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence Love committed the offenses of which he was convicted; and

3. Whether Love’s convictions of Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy and Class A misdemeanor intimidation in Cause 26 subjected him to double jeopardy.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [3] On September 10, 2013, the trial court issued an ex parte protective order (“2013

Order”) prohibiting Love from “harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting

or directly or indirectly communicating with [M.L.], except: making

1 Ind. Code § 35-46-1-15.1 (2010). 2 Ind. Code § 35-45-2-1 (2013).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 11A05-1507-CR-965 | May 25, 2016 Page 2 of 19 arrangements through a 3rd party for parenting time.” (Ex. Vol. at 8.) On July

21, 2014, police served Love a copy of the 2013 Order and the petition filed by

M.L. that the court considered in granting the 2013 Order.

[4] On July 27, 2014, Love called M.L. at her home, where she resided with the

couple’s daughter, and told M.L. “that no matter what he wasn’t going to leave

[M.L.] alone. That he was goin’ [sic] get [M.L.].” (Tr. at 14.) M.L. ended the

call without responding to Love. The State charged Love with Class A

misdemeanor invasion of privacy under Cause 579 for violating the 2013 Order.

The information alleged the crime occurred “on or about August 13, 2014.”

(App. at 73.) On October 13, 2014, the trial court issued a no contact order

(“2014 Order”) as part of Cause 579, ordering Love, in relevant part,

to have no contact with [M.L.] in person, by telephone or letter, through an intermediary, or in any other way, directly or indirectly, except through attorney of record, while released from custody pending trial. This includes, but is not limited to, acts of harassment, stalking, intimidation, threats, and physical force of any kind.

(Ex. Vol. at 11.)

[5] On July 9, 2015, while the 2014 Order from Cause 579 was in effect, Love and

M.L. appeared in court for their divorce hearing. During the hearing, M.L.

testified about incidents of domestic violence Love had committed against her.

After the hearing “[M.L.] was sitting there with [her] attorney, and [Love] came

up to the table and he scowled at [M.L.] and he looked at [M.L.’s attorney] and

he looked at [M.L.], and told [M.L.], he said, [sic] ‘It’s not over yet, I’m not Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 11A05-1507-CR-965 | May 25, 2016 Page 3 of 19 done with you yet.’” (Tr. at 27.) This exchange occurred after “the Judge had

left the room.” (Id. at 32.) M.L. took Love’s words to be a threat

[b]ecause, he has been driving up and down the streets, uh, the other phone call, uh that you mentioned, he did call and say he wanted to talk to the grandchildren. 3 You know, he’s [sic] will not leave me alone, he’s [sic] has been threatening my friends, he’s threatened my daughter, he’s threatened my boyfriend, uh, he’s came, [sic] he’s called Wal-Mart and tried to get me fired from my position. Um, it went all the way up to the (inaudible) office and they called back down and my uh store manager had to talk to him, and she called me in and told me that you know that he was still harassing me and everything and trying to get me fired. And you know it didn’t work, but you know that she had to talk to him and she talked to him for quite a while and then he hung up on her. . . . And he has beat me up and put me in the hospital.

(Id. at 27-8) (footnote added). Based thereon, the State charged Love under

Cause 26 with Class A misdemeanor intimidation and Class A misdemeanor

invasion of privacy for violating the 2014 Order.

[6] On April 8, 2015, the trial court held bench trials on Cause 579 and Cause 26.

At the end of the State’s presentation of evidence in Cause 579, the State moved

to amend the charging information against Love to indicate the date of the

alleged phone call was July 27, 2014, rather than “on or about August 13,

2014,” (App. at 73), as charged in the original information. The trial court

3 It is unclear from the record to whom M.L. is referring - she indicated in her earlier testimony she lived with her daughter, who was subject to parenting time guidelines, but did not mention grandchildren.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 11A05-1507-CR-965 | May 25, 2016 Page 4 of 19 granted the State’s request over Love’s objection. Love then moved for a

directed verdict, alleging the 2013 Order was invalid, but the court denied that

motion. The trial court found Love guilty of Class A misdemeanor invasion of

privacy in Cause 579 for violating the 2013 Order.

[7] During the bench trial regarding Cause 26, Love again moved for a directed

verdict. He argued the 2014 Order, which the court put into place as part of

Cause 579, was void because Cause 579 should not have been filed based on the

2013 Order, which Love insisted was void. The trial court denied Love’s

motion for a directed verdict and found Love guilty in Cause 26 of Class A

misdemeanor invasion of privacy and Class A misdemeanor intimidation. The

trial court sentenced Love to an aggregate sentence of one and one-half years.

Discussion and Decision I. Amendment to Charging Information [8] We review a decision to allow the State to amend an information for an abuse

of discretion. Ramon v. State, 888 N.E.2d 244, 253 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). The

trial court permitted the State to amend the charging information for Cause 579

to change the date of the alleged phone call that violated the 2013 Order from

“on or about August 13, 2014,” (App. at 73), to July 27, 2014, to match M.L.’s

testimony. Love argues the trial court abused its discretion because his right to

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