MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Apr 02 2019, 9:55 am
this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court 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 Susan D. Rayl Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Samuel J. Dayton Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jason Spears, April 2, 2019 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-2091 v. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Lisa F. Borges, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge Trial Court Cause No. 49G04-1801-F3-531
Altice, Judge.
Case Summary
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 1 of 7 [1] Jason Spears appeals his conviction for Level 3 felony aggravated battery. He
contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, which was
based on the theory of accomplice liability.
[2] We affirm.
Facts & Procedural History
[3] Briceson Roller lived with Spears, as well as Spears’s wife and sister, during the
spring and summer of 2017. Spears and Roller were good friends but
eventually had a falling out. Around September or October of that year, Roller
was told to leave. Roller packed up his things that night and went to live with
his girlfriend, Alexandrea Caudill, and her parents, Jason and Darla Lynn.
[4] Thereafter, Spears messaged multiple threats to Roller because he believed
Roller owed unpaid rent money. Spears harassed Roller by “[d]riving real
slow” past the Lynns’ home in his truck “bumping music trying to be
intimidating.” Transcript at 101.
[5] On the morning of Sunday, November 19, 2017, Spears kept messaging Roller
about wanting to fight. Specifically, Spears told Roller that he would “[b]eat
[Roller’s] ass.” Id. Roller repeatedly asked to be left alone but eventually
relented and responded, “Just come on and do it, whatever.” Id. Around 10:00
a.m., Spears and two of his friends, David Battles and Robbie Lyons, arrived at
the Lynns’ home in Spears’s truck. Spears and Battles exited the truck, and
Lyons remained inside.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 2 of 7 [6] Caudill went outside when she heard her dog barking and saw Spears and
Battles in her front lawn. Spears was holding a wooden bat. Both Spears and
Battles threatened Caudill as she repeatedly told them to leave. Spears warned
that he was going to “beat [her] ass” and “beat [Roller’s] ass.” Id. at 36. Spears
came closer and continued to argue with Caudill. He went to hit Caudill, but
Roller came out of the house, stepped in between the two, and took the blow
instead. Spears struck Roller with the bat on his right temple. The two men
then began to fight, and Spears dropped the bat. While they were wrestling on
the ground, Roller saw Battles by the truck holding a “one-handed sledge
hammer” about a foot and a half long. Id. at 107. Eventually, Spears, who was
much larger, picked up Roller and slammed him on top of a fire pit. The two
continued to fight, as Battles egged on Spears, and Caudill and her mother
yelled for them to leave.
[7] When it appeared that Roller might be gaining the upper hand, Battles moved
in with the sledge hammer that he had gotten from Spears’s truck. He came up
behind Roller, who was bent over wrestling, and struck him hard in the back of
the head with the hammer. Roller stumbled to the ground, with his head
wound spewing blood, and Spears proceeded to kick Roller a couple times.
[8] Around this time, Caudill’s parents, Jason and Darla, armed themselves with a
shotgun and a 9-millimeter handgun and stood on the front porch, ordering the
men off their property. Lyons warned Spears and Battles from the truck about
the guns. Battles responded, “No one’s going to shoot. They’re a bunch of
pussy’s [sic]. They will not shoot.” Id. at 123. Roller was moving to the porch
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 3 of 7 for safety as Battles and Spears continued to approach. At some point, Battles
pulled back to strike Roller again with the hammer, and Caudill stepped
between them. Jason “ratcheted [his] “9 millimeter”, and Battles and Spears
backed up to the truck, yelled a few more profanities, and then sped off in the
truck. Id. at 166.
[9] Roller suffered significant head trauma from the blow to the back of his head.
He lost a lot of blood and went in and out of consciousness waiting for the
ambulance to arrive. The laceration on the back of his head required twelve
staples, and he had a knot on the side of his head from being hit with the bat.
Roller continues to suffer from memory loss and severe headaches as a result.
[10] Following a jury trial in July 2018, Spears was convicted of Level 3 felony
aggravated battery and Level 5 felony intimidation. 1 On August 8, 2018, the
trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of ten years for aggravated
battery and one year for intimidation. The court ordered eight years executed
in prison and two years in community corrections. Spears now appeals,
challenging only his conviction for aggravated battery.
Discussion & Decision
[11] On appeal, Spears contends that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to
support his aggravated battery conviction. He correctly observes that this count
1 The jury also found Spears guilty of battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, but the trial court vacated that count on double jeopardy grounds.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 4 of 7 was based on the blow to Roller’s head by the sledge hammer, which was
performed by Battles. Thus, Spears’s conviction was based on the theory of
accomplice liability. Spears asserts that he had no reason to know or foresee
that Battles would retrieve a sledge hammer from the truck and strike Roller, as
the fight was between Spears and Roller and Battles had no quarrel with Roller.
[12] When we consider a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither
reweigh the evidence nor assess the credibility of the witnesses. Suggs v. State,
51 N.E.3d 1190, 1193 (Ind. 2016). Instead, we consider only the evidence and
reasonable inferences supporting the conviction. Id. We will affirm if there is
probative evidence from which a reasonable trier of fact could have found the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
[13] The accomplice liability statute provides that a person who “knowingly or
intentionally aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense
commits that offense”. Ind. Code § 35-41-2-4. Thus, a person who aids
another in the commission of a crime is just as guilty as the actual perpetrator.
Anthony v. State, 56 N.E.3d 705, 714 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), trans. denied. An
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Apr 02 2019, 9:55 am
this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court 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 Susan D. Rayl Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Samuel J. Dayton Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jason Spears, April 2, 2019 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-2091 v. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Lisa F. Borges, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge Trial Court Cause No. 49G04-1801-F3-531
Altice, Judge.
Case Summary
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 1 of 7 [1] Jason Spears appeals his conviction for Level 3 felony aggravated battery. He
contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, which was
based on the theory of accomplice liability.
[2] We affirm.
Facts & Procedural History
[3] Briceson Roller lived with Spears, as well as Spears’s wife and sister, during the
spring and summer of 2017. Spears and Roller were good friends but
eventually had a falling out. Around September or October of that year, Roller
was told to leave. Roller packed up his things that night and went to live with
his girlfriend, Alexandrea Caudill, and her parents, Jason and Darla Lynn.
[4] Thereafter, Spears messaged multiple threats to Roller because he believed
Roller owed unpaid rent money. Spears harassed Roller by “[d]riving real
slow” past the Lynns’ home in his truck “bumping music trying to be
intimidating.” Transcript at 101.
[5] On the morning of Sunday, November 19, 2017, Spears kept messaging Roller
about wanting to fight. Specifically, Spears told Roller that he would “[b]eat
[Roller’s] ass.” Id. Roller repeatedly asked to be left alone but eventually
relented and responded, “Just come on and do it, whatever.” Id. Around 10:00
a.m., Spears and two of his friends, David Battles and Robbie Lyons, arrived at
the Lynns’ home in Spears’s truck. Spears and Battles exited the truck, and
Lyons remained inside.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 2 of 7 [6] Caudill went outside when she heard her dog barking and saw Spears and
Battles in her front lawn. Spears was holding a wooden bat. Both Spears and
Battles threatened Caudill as she repeatedly told them to leave. Spears warned
that he was going to “beat [her] ass” and “beat [Roller’s] ass.” Id. at 36. Spears
came closer and continued to argue with Caudill. He went to hit Caudill, but
Roller came out of the house, stepped in between the two, and took the blow
instead. Spears struck Roller with the bat on his right temple. The two men
then began to fight, and Spears dropped the bat. While they were wrestling on
the ground, Roller saw Battles by the truck holding a “one-handed sledge
hammer” about a foot and a half long. Id. at 107. Eventually, Spears, who was
much larger, picked up Roller and slammed him on top of a fire pit. The two
continued to fight, as Battles egged on Spears, and Caudill and her mother
yelled for them to leave.
[7] When it appeared that Roller might be gaining the upper hand, Battles moved
in with the sledge hammer that he had gotten from Spears’s truck. He came up
behind Roller, who was bent over wrestling, and struck him hard in the back of
the head with the hammer. Roller stumbled to the ground, with his head
wound spewing blood, and Spears proceeded to kick Roller a couple times.
[8] Around this time, Caudill’s parents, Jason and Darla, armed themselves with a
shotgun and a 9-millimeter handgun and stood on the front porch, ordering the
men off their property. Lyons warned Spears and Battles from the truck about
the guns. Battles responded, “No one’s going to shoot. They’re a bunch of
pussy’s [sic]. They will not shoot.” Id. at 123. Roller was moving to the porch
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 3 of 7 for safety as Battles and Spears continued to approach. At some point, Battles
pulled back to strike Roller again with the hammer, and Caudill stepped
between them. Jason “ratcheted [his] “9 millimeter”, and Battles and Spears
backed up to the truck, yelled a few more profanities, and then sped off in the
truck. Id. at 166.
[9] Roller suffered significant head trauma from the blow to the back of his head.
He lost a lot of blood and went in and out of consciousness waiting for the
ambulance to arrive. The laceration on the back of his head required twelve
staples, and he had a knot on the side of his head from being hit with the bat.
Roller continues to suffer from memory loss and severe headaches as a result.
[10] Following a jury trial in July 2018, Spears was convicted of Level 3 felony
aggravated battery and Level 5 felony intimidation. 1 On August 8, 2018, the
trial court sentenced him to concurrent sentences of ten years for aggravated
battery and one year for intimidation. The court ordered eight years executed
in prison and two years in community corrections. Spears now appeals,
challenging only his conviction for aggravated battery.
Discussion & Decision
[11] On appeal, Spears contends that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to
support his aggravated battery conviction. He correctly observes that this count
1 The jury also found Spears guilty of battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, but the trial court vacated that count on double jeopardy grounds.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 4 of 7 was based on the blow to Roller’s head by the sledge hammer, which was
performed by Battles. Thus, Spears’s conviction was based on the theory of
accomplice liability. Spears asserts that he had no reason to know or foresee
that Battles would retrieve a sledge hammer from the truck and strike Roller, as
the fight was between Spears and Roller and Battles had no quarrel with Roller.
[12] When we consider a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither
reweigh the evidence nor assess the credibility of the witnesses. Suggs v. State,
51 N.E.3d 1190, 1193 (Ind. 2016). Instead, we consider only the evidence and
reasonable inferences supporting the conviction. Id. We will affirm if there is
probative evidence from which a reasonable trier of fact could have found the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
[13] The accomplice liability statute provides that a person who “knowingly or
intentionally aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense
commits that offense”. Ind. Code § 35-41-2-4. Thus, a person who aids
another in the commission of a crime is just as guilty as the actual perpetrator.
Anthony v. State, 56 N.E.3d 705, 714 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), trans. denied. An
accomplice is “criminally responsible for everything which follows incidentally
in the execution of the common design, as one of its natural and probable
consequences, even though it was not intended as part of the original design or
common plan.” Id. (quoting Griffin v. State, 16 N.E.3d 997, 1003 (Ind. Ct. App.
2014)).
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 5 of 7 [14] The particular facts and circumstances of each case are considered to determine
whether a person participated in the offense as an accomplice. Id. “Each
participant must knowingly or intentionally associate himself with the criminal
venture, participate in it, and try to make it succeed.” Id. (quoting Griffin, 16
N.E.3d at 1003-1004). “In determining whether there was sufficient evidence
for purposes of accomplice liability, we consider such factors as the defendant’s
presence at the scene of the crime; companionship with another at the scene of
the crime; failure to oppose commission of the crime; and course of conduct
before, during, and after occurrence of the crime.” Id.
[15] Here, the evidence favorable to the conviction establishes that Spears and
Battles came to the Lynns’ residence that Sunday morning looking for a fight.
Both men exited the truck and angrily confronted Caudill, with Spears
indicating that he was going to beat Caudill’s ass, along with Roller’s. Spears’s
threats were made while wielding a wooden bat. Spears then struck Roller in
the temple with the bat when Roller intervened. Thereafter, Spears and Roller
began to brawl, with Battles nearby and encouraging Spears. At some point,
Battles grabbed a sledge hammer from Spears’s truck and entered the fight. He
struck Roller in the head with the hammer and then Spears stood up and kicked
Roller, who had fallen to the ground. Battles attempted to strike Roller again
but was stopped by Caudill and her armed parents. Battles and Spears then
sped off together in Spears’s truck.
[16] The State sufficiently established that Spears knowingly or intentionally aided,
induced, or caused Battles to commit the aggravated battery. Spears voluntarily
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 6 of 7 came to the scene with Battles intending to batter Roller. Both Spears and
Battles were armed with weapons that were transported in Spears’s truck. At
no point did Spears oppose Battles’s actions at the scene or attempt to aid
Roller. Rather, Spears kicked Roller when he was down, and both Spears and
Battles continued to pursue Roller until stopped by Caudill and the Lynns, at
which time Spears and Battles fled the scene together. Spears and Battles
clearly worked in concert before, during, and after the crime. The jury acted
reasonably in rejecting Spears’s argument regarding accomplice liability.
[17] Judgment affirmed.
Kirsch, J. and Vaidik, C.J., concur.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2091 | April 2, 2019 Page 7 of 7