James F. Morris v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided March 21, 2017·No. 42A01-1604-CR-920·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 21 2017, 5:53 am court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK

the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Stephen T. Owens Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Public Defender of Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Kimberly A. Jackson Larry D. Allen

Indianapolis, Indiana Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

James F. Morris, March 21, 2017 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

42A01-1604-CR-920

v. Appeal from the Knox Superior Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Appellee-Plaintiff. Gara U. Lee, Judge Trial Court Cause No.

42D01-1602-F3-2

Kirsch, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 42A01-1604-CR-920 | March 21, 2017 Page 1 of 17

[1] Following a jury trial, James F. Morris (“Morris”) was convicted of Level 3 felony aggravated battery1. He appeals and raises the following two restated issues:

I. Whether the trial court committed reversible error when it admitted witness testimony and videotaped evidence that included the victim’s out-of-court statements; and

II. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to prove that Morris inflicted injuries on the victim that created a substantial risk of death.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [3] On January 22, 2016, Alissa Yarber (“Yarber”) was dating and living with

Morris. Morris’s brother, Donald Morris (“Donald”) also lived at the residence. That morning, Yarber and Morris, while in their bedroom, injected themselves with bath salts. Yarber sensed that her reaction to the drug “was different” than usual, and she “couldn’t breathe[.]” Tr. at 417. Morris told Yarber to perform oral sex on him, and when she told Morris that she could not, Morris became angry. He grabbed her by the back of the head and punched her in the back of the head. He took off Yarber’s pants and got on top of her, despite Yarber’s protests. At some point, he kicked her in the crotch and

1 See Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1.5.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 42A01-1604-CR-920 | March 21, 2017 Page 2 of 17 said he was “tired of wasting his drugs on [her].” Id. at 419. At some point, he shoved her toward the bathroom, telling her to get dressed and leave. She took her purse and clothes and went to the bathroom, which adjoined the bedroom, and got dressed. Yarber had Morris’s cell phone in her purse, and because she was scared and wanted to leave, she called her ex-husband, Jason Yarber2 (“Jason”). When she removed the cell phone from her purse, she also removed a small can of mace to use on Morris “if [she] needed it[.]” Id. at 421. Meanwhile, Morris was in the other room, yelling and cussing and throwing things around.

[4] Yarber called Jason, but before she had a chance to say anything, Morris opened the door to the bathroom. He grabbed Yarber’s hair and tried to pull her by the hair out of the bathroom; although her head was down, Yarber sprayed the mace. She was screaming at Morris to stop and telling him that she would leave the house, and, although she was not sure the phone call had gone through, she was screaming to Jason, “come help me, he’s gonna kill me[.]” Id. at 423. The two were still in the bathroom, and when she sprayed the mace, Morris grabbed and choked Yarber. She hit her head on the bathtub, and when she was on the floor, Morris kicked Yarber and stomped on her chest and stomach. He also put one knee on Yarber to hold her down and “cracked” her neck. Id. at 424. She urinated in her pants “and couldn’t move[.]” Id.

2 Jason and Yarber are the biological parents of three children, and Jason testified that, therefore, he and Yarber were in contact with each other most days.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 42A01-1604-CR-920 | March 21, 2017 Page 3 of 17

[5] Morris summoned Donald to come and stand in the doorway to keep an eye on Yarber, while Morris left the room, went to the kitchen, and came back with a wet cloth on his eyes. At some point, Donald heard a knock at the front door, and believed that the police had been called and were at the door. Morris shoved Yarber back in the bathroom, and locked her inside it but putting a chair under the door knob so that she could not open it and leave.

[6] At the door was Jason. Yarber, still screaming in the bathroom, broke a small window hoping to be able to crawl through it. Morris opened the bathroom door and told Yarber to get out; she ran to the dining room, where she saw Jason standing at the front door talking to Donald and asking for Yarber. Jason told Morris and Donald that he was “getting her out of here.” Id. at 505. He could see that she appeared to have been in a fight and that her pants were wet. Jason’s nephew had accompanied Jason to Morris’s house, and the nephew got in Yarber’s car and drove her to the hospital.

[7] At the hospital, Yarber told medical personnel that she had injected what she believed to be bath salts. She said that she “hurt all over” and could not get her breath. Id. at 432. She was taken for a chest x-ray and, ultimately, was admitted to the intensive care unit for three days. Yarber suffered a broken rib, which had punctured her lung. As a result, she had surgery to implant a chest tube to alleviate pressure and re-inflate her lung. She also had bruises and scrapes to her body.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 42A01-1604-CR-920 | March 21, 2017 Page 4 of 17

[8] While at the hospital, before receiving treatment, Yarber spoke with Vincennes Police Department Officer Jordan Christie (“Officer Christie”), who was dispatched after the Vincennes Police Department received a call from the hospital. Officer Christie observed physical injuries and believed that Yarber was under the influence of drugs. Yarber told him that Morris was the person who had battered her. Officer Christie determined that he was unable to take a full statement from Yarber, and he left. The next evening, Officer Donald Halter (“Officer Halter”) went to the hospital after receiving a call from Yarber’s father. Yarber told Officer Halter that she desired to press charges against Morris. On January 29, 2016, Yarber gave a videotaped statement to Detective Joshua Burke (“Detective Burke”) at the police station, and Yarber described what Morris had done to her. Detective Burke also met with Jason, who provided a videotaped statement to police. Later that same day, police brought Morris into headquarters and took a statement from him.

[9] On February 5, 2016, the State charged Morris with Level 3 felony aggravated battery. At the four-day jury trial in April 2016, the State called as witnesses, in this order, the following individuals: Officer Christie, Officer Halter, Detective Burke, Carl Holt. M.D. (“Dr. Holt”), Yarber, and Jason. After his motion for judgment on the evidence was denied, Morris testified, along with his brother Donald.

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