Lance Miller v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: September 10, 2019
• Docket: 19A-CR-732
• Status: 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 Sep 10 2019, 9:58 am

court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Mark S. Lenyo Curtis T. Hill, Jr. South Bend, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Josiah Swinney Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Lance Miller, September 10, 2019 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 19A-CR-732 v. Appeal from the St. Joseph Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Margot F. Reagan, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge The Honorable Keith Doi, Magistrate Trial Court Cause No. 71D04-1806-CM-2289

Altice, Judge.

Case Summary

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-732 | September 10, 2019 Page 1 of 5 [1] Lance Miller appeals his conviction, following a bench trial, for Class A

misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. His sole challenge is to the

sufficiency of the evidence.

[2] We affirm.

Facts & Procedural History

[3] Miller’s mother, Debra Schmidt, owns property in rural St. Joseph County.

Miller lived in the home on that property and kept belongings, including a

motorcycle, in a detached garage. At some point prior to May 27, 2018, Debra

and her husband Rodney Schmidt, Miller’s longtime stepfather, asked Miller to

move off the property because Miller had not been keeping it up or paying the

utility bills. Miller refused.

[4] On May 27, 2018, Debra and Rodney went to the property, where they also

kept a camper, and worked on cleaning out the garage. They pulled everything

out of the garage to power wash the inside. This included pushing out Miller’s

motorcycle, which they covered with plastic while it sat outside. After power

washing, Debra, Rodney, and a friend sat in folding chairs in front of the

camper drinking beer.

[5] While they were sitting outside that afternoon, Miller and his father and brother

pulled into the driveway, and Miller exited the vehicle to go into the home to

feed cats inside. When Miller observed that items had been pulled out of the

garage, he became angry. Debra stood up and Rodney remained in his chair, as

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-732 | September 10, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Miller walked toward them asking about his motorcycle. Miller then bypassed

Debra and ran toward Rodney. Miller head-butted Rodney in the face and then

punched him three or four times in the face and head. Rodney managed to get

Miller off of him, and Debra stepped in between the two. Rodney called 911,

and Miller left with his father and brother within five to ten minutes. As a

result of the attack, Rodney had a laceration on his nose, swelling around one

of his eyes, and a cut on his arm. Photographs were taken of these injuries once

officers arrived on the scene about an hour later.

[6] On July 3, 2018, the State charged Miller with Class A misdemeanor battery

resulting in bodily injury. Three witnesses testified at the short bench trial held

on March 14, 2019. Rodney testified for the State as detailed above. Miller and

his brother Levi testified for the defense. Miller and Levi acknowledged

coming onto the property while Debra and Rodney sat outside the camper.

They claimed, however, that although there was an exchange of words, there

was no physical confrontation between Miller and Rodney. At the conclusion

of the evidence, the trial court found Miller guilty, explaining:

Upon reviewing all the evidence that was presented and in particular due to the physical evidence of the victim’s injuries as depicted in Exhibits 3 and 4, that I find [Rodney’s] testimony to be more credible under the circumstances, that those injuries are consistent with what his testimony was that [Miller] headbutted him and punched him and caused those particular injuries.

Transcript at 34. The trial court then sentenced Miller to a 30-day suspended

sentence and 180 days of reporting probation. Miller now appeals.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-732 | September 10, 2019 Page 3 of 5 Discussion & Decision

[7] “Convictions should be affirmed unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the

elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” T.H. v. State, 92

N.E.3d 624, 626 (Ind. 2018). Further, it is well established that when reviewing

the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, we must consider only the probative

evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the conviction, and we should

not assess witness credibility or weigh the evidence. See Moore v. State, 27

N.E.3d 749, 754 (Ind. 2015). The trier of fact is entitled to determine which

version of the incident to credit and is the sole judge of the effect that any

discrepancies or contradictions might have on the outcome of the case. Scott v.

State, 867 N.E.2d 690, 695 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. denied.

[8] On appeal, Miller does not dispute that Rodney’s testimony – if believed – was

sufficient to support his conviction. He simply contends that Rodney’s account,

which directly conflicted with Miller’s and Levi’s, was not credible because his

testimony was “inconsistent, unpersuasive, and wholly corroborated [sic] by

any other witness testifying at trial of this case.” Appellant’s Brief at 10. Miller

notes in this regard that (1) Rodney gave conflicting testimony regarding

whether Miller left immediately after the attack or went into the house for

several minutes before leaving; (2) Rodney testified that the chair in which he

was sitting collapsed during the attack but in the picture of the folding chair

(taken an hour later), the chair is upright with an intact beer sitting on the side

arm; and (3) Rodney’s testimony “lacked any detail or clarity.” Id. at 11.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-732 | September 10, 2019 Page 4 of 5 [9] We reject Miller’s blatant invitation for us to reassess Rodney’s credibility.

Miller made these same arguments to the trial court. The trial court rejected

Miller’s position and expressly found Rodney’s testimony more credible than

Miller’s and Levi’s, noting that Rodney’s injuries were consistent with his

account. This credibility determination was entirely within the province of the

trial court, and the conviction is, thus, supported by ample evidence. See Scott,

867 N.E.2d at 695.

[10] Judgment affirmed.

Brown, J. and Tavitas, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-CR-732 | September 10, 2019 Page 5 of 5