Marvin Moyers v. State of Indiana

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 31, 2024·No. 24A-CR-00939·Published

Opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana FILED

Marvin Moyers, Dec 31 2024, 10:04 am

Appellant-Defendant CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

v. Court of Appeals and Tax Court

State of Indiana

Appellee-Plaintiff

December 31, 2024

Court of Appeals Case No.

24A-CR-939

Appeal from the Ohio Circuit Court The Honorable F. Aaron Negangard, Judge Trial Court Cause No.

58C01-2206-F1-1

Opinion by Judge Bradford Judges Foley concurs.

Judge Bailey concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.

Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary [1] In July of 2022, Gregory Luhrsen came upon Marvin Moyers as Moyers was

attempting to steal items out of the garage of his Ohio County home. When confronted, Moyers lunged at Luhrsen and beat him unconscious. Moyers forced Luhrsen back into his home and removed many more of his belongings from the home; this process involved Moyers tying Luhrsen up a total of three times, periodically removing Luhrsen’s restraints so that he could assist in removing the belongings. For much of this time, Moyers was armed with a handgun that he had found in Luhrsen’s kitchen.

[2] A jury ultimately found Moyers guilty of Level 1 felony burglary, Level 2 felony burglary, Level 3 felony criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, Level 4 felony criminal confinement resulting in moderate bodily injury, two counts of Level 5 felony battery, and two counts of Level 6 felony theft. The jury also found Moyers guilty of a firearm enhancement and that he was a habitual offender. The trial court merged Moyers’s convictions for Level 2 felony burglary, both counts of battery, and both counts of theft into the count of Level 1 felony burglary due to double jeopardy concerns and sentenced him to an aggregate term of 100 years of incarceration. Moyers contends that his convictions for Level 3 felony criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon and Level 4 felony criminal confinement resulting in moderate bodily injury violate Indiana prohibitions against substantive double jeopardy. Because we disagree, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [3] On June 26, 2022, Luhrsen woke up at around 8:15 a.m. and heard a car

running in his driveway, which struck him as odd. Luhrsen saw what he believed to be his ex-girlfriend’s car from a window and went downstairs and out into the garage to investigate, only to find Moyers holding his table saw. When Luhrsen asked Moyers what he was doing in his house, Moyers lunged at him, knocking him over. Moyers punched Luhrsen in the face repeatedly, causing him to lose consciousness.

[4] When Luhrsen came to, he was on the floor and Moyers had his left arm behind his back and was attempting to put his right arm behind his back as well. Luhrsen’s nose was bleeding, and his right eye “was hurt pretty bad and it was painful.” Tr. Vol. III p. 179. Moyers took Luhrsen’s wallet and the key fob for his car. While restraining Luhrsen, Moyers maneuvered him into the house and upstairs. Moyers left Luhrsen in the living room and retrieved Luhrsen’s cellular telephone and a twelve-gauge shotgun from a bedroom. Moyers told Luhrsen to sit down on a love seat and proceeded to bind his arms and legs with a telephone cord.

[5] At some point, Moyers found a .45 caliber handgun in the kitchen and carried it in his hand as he continued to rummage. After filling luggage, duffel bags, and a garbage can with some of Luhrsen’s belongings, Moyers untied Luhrsen’s feet and had him help carry the belongings to the garage. When the belongings had been carried to the garage, Moyers tied up Luhrsen in the garage and rummaged through it and Luhrsen’s car. Moyers cut Luhrsen’s bindings so that he could help him carry more of Luhrsen’s belongings to the garage and, when that was accomplished, tied him to a chair in the dining room. While Moyers was moving even more of Luhrsen’s property to the garage, Luhrsen untied himself, ran out the front door, and eventually had a neighbor contact the police, who identified Moyers after an investigation.

[6] The State eventually charged Moyers with Level 1 felony burglary, Level 2 felony burglary, Level 3 felony aggravated battery, Level 3 felony criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, Level 3 felony criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of Level 5 felony battery, and two counts of Level 6 felony theft. The State also filed a firearm enhancement and alleged that Moyers was a habitual offender.

[7] Moyers’s jury trial began on January 16, 2024. The jury found Moyers guilty of Level 1 felony burglary, Level 2 felony burglary, Level 3 felony criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon, the lesser-included Level 4 felony criminal confinement resulting in moderate bodily injury, two counts of Level 5 felony battery, and two counts of Level 6 felony theft. The jury also found Moyers guilty of the firearm enhancement and that he was a habitual offender. The trial court merged Moyers’s convictions for Level 2 felony burglary, both counts of battery, and both counts of theft into the conviction for Level 1 felony burglary due to double jeopardy concerns and sentenced him to an aggregate term of 100 years of incarceration.

Discussion and Decision [8] Moyers contends only that his two criminal-confinement convictions violate

Indiana prohibitions against substantive double-jeopardy. “Substantive double- jeopardy claims principally arise in one of two situations: (1) when a single criminal act or transaction violates multiple statutes with common elements, or (2) when a single criminal act or transaction violates a single statute and results in multiple injuries.” Powell v. State, 151 N.E.3d 256, 263 (Ind. 2020). The analysis laid out in Wadle v. State, 151 N.E.3d 227 (Ind. 2020), governs the first category of cases, while Powell’s analysis covers the second. Powell, 151 N.E.3d at 263. Even though the parties both argue that the Powell test applies to Moyers’s claim, we do not agree.

[9] The two offenses at issue in this case are, in fact, “multiple statutes with common elements,” to which Wadle applies, even if they are defined by different subsections of the same section of the Indiana Code. Id. Despite the Indiana Supreme Court’s use of the term “single statute,”1 there is nothing imprecise about Powell’s explicit statement that it applies to “‘two counts of the same offense[,]’” Powell, 151 N.E.3d at 263 (citation and footnote omitted, emphasis in Powell), and it almost goes without saying that if two offenses have

1 Black’s Law Dictionary defines “statute” as “[a] law enacted by a legislative body; specif., legislation enacted by any lawmaking body[.]” Statute, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019). By this definition, it is possible to have any number of “statutes” included in the same unit of code.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-939 | December 31, 2024 Page 5 of 19 different elements (as do the two offenses that concern us here), they are not, in fact, the “same offense.”2 [10] That said, the Wadle test requires us to “first look to the statutory language” for each charge. 151 N.E.3d at 248. If the language of either statute “clearly permits” multiple punishments, there is no double-jeopardy violation. Id. Here, neither of the relevant subsections of Indiana Code section 35-42-3-3 clearly permits multiple punishments, so we proceed to step two.

[11] The second step is to determine whether either of the offenses is inherently or factually included in the other. Wadle, 151 N.E.3d at 248. An offense that is inherently included in another is one that

(1) is established by proof of the same material elements or less than all the material elements required to establish the commission of the offense charged;

(2) consists of an attempt to commit the offense charged or an offense otherwise included therein; or (3) differs from the offense charged only in the respect that a less serious harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or

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