Maurice McGraw Jr. v. State of Indiana

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided September 4, 2024·No. 24A-CR-00016·Published

Opinion

FILED

Sep 04 2024, 9:14 am

CLERK

Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Maurice McGraw, Jr.

Appellant/Defendant

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee/Plaintiff

September 4, 2024

Court of Appeals Case No.

24A-CR-16

Appeal from the Marion Superior Court The Honorable Angela Dow Davis, Judge Trial Court Cause No.

49D27-2210-F3-27157

Opinion by Judge Bradford Judge Crone concurs with opinion and Judge Tavitas concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-16 | September 4, 2024. Page 1 of 21

Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary [1] In September of 2022, Maurice McGraw, Jr., went to the residence of his

sometime girlfriend T.N., with whom he had a then-one-year-old child. McGraw, apparently suspecting that T.N. had become romantically involved with another, punched T.N. in the nose and face, kicked her, and dragged her back inside by the hair when she tried to leave, all in the presence of their child, causing two facial fractures. T.N. called 911 and identified McGraw as her assailant. A jury convicted McGraw of Level 5 felony domestic battery causing serious bodily injury and Level 6 felony domestic battery occurring in the presence of a child, and the trial court sentenced him to six years of incarceration with three years suspended to probation. McGraw contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting several items of evidence and that his convictions violate prohibitions against double jeopardy. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] In September of 2022, McGraw and T.N. were in an on-again-off-again

relationship and were the parents of then-one-year-old M.N. On September 30, 2022, T.N. began getting M.N. ready for bed and was preparing his bottle when McGraw arrived to collect some of his belongings. T.N. walked to her bedroom with M.N. in her arms, and McGraw followed. (McGraw accused T.N. of “messing around with someone” and tried to access her telephone. Ex.

Vol. I p. 66. When T.N. refused to give McGraw access, he punched her on the left side of her head.

[3] T.N. walked to the living room, and McGraw followed, saying, “‘I’ll dock yo a[**] out,’ and ‘b[****] you are not going no where.’” Ex. Vol. I p. 66. McGraw punched T.N. in the face and nose, kicked her, and told her that he was going to kill her. When T.N. tried to leave through a sliding glass door, McGraw dragged her back into the house by her hair. T.N. was short of breath, dizzy, and wheezing. McGraw gathered his things and walked outside. T.N. quickly locked the door behind him, but McGraw broke through it.

[4] When McGraw left again, T.N. ran outside and flagged down a motorist, using his telephone to call 911 and then her mother. T.N. told the 911 dispatcher that “[m]y baby daddy just beat me up […] Maurice McGraw.” State’s Ex. 16 at 0:15–0:16, 0:59. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Elizabeth Saxon was the first officer to arrive, and T.N. told Officer Saxon that McGraw had battered her. Upon arrival at Community Hospital East, T.N. was diagnosed with a fracture on the orbital wall outside of her right eye and a zygomatic fracture over her left eye. After being treated in the emergency department, T.N. was seen by forensic nurse Jessica Cardenas of the Center of Hope, which conducts forensic examinations of alleged victims of violence. T.N., who was free to decline the assessment from Center of Hope, told Cardenas that McGraw had caused her injuries.

[5] On October 5, 2022, the State charged McGraw with Level 3 felony criminal confinement, Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, Level 5 felony domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, Level 5 felony theft, Level 6 felony domestic battery occurring in the presence of a child, and Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent. McGraw’s jury trial began on April 25, 2023. T.N. testified that she did not remember the details of her interaction with McGraw on September 30, 2022, or the details of her conversation with Officer Saxon. The audio recording of T.N.’s 911 call, in which she identified her assailant as McGraw, was played for the jury, with no objection from McGraw. Officer Saxon and Cardenas testified, over McGraw’s objections, that T.N. had told them that McGraw had assaulted her. The jury found McGraw guilty of Level 5 felony domestic battery and Level 6 felony domestic battery, and, on December 22, 2023, the trial court sentenced him to an aggregate sentence of six years of incarceration with three years suspended to probation.

Discussion and Decision I. Evidence The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admission or exclusion of

evidence. Salle v. State, 785 N.E.2d 645, 650 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003), trans. denied. A ruling on the admissibility of evidence will be disturbed only upon showing an abuse of discretion. Id. A trial court abuses its discretion when its decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Smith v. State, 754 N.E.2d 502, 504 (Ind. 2001).

A. T.N.’s Statements Identifying McGraw as her Assailant [6] McGraw contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting T.N.’s statements to Officer Saxon and Cardenas, in which she identified him as the person who had battered her, because they were inadmissible hearsay. Hearsay is “a statement that: (1) is not made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing; and (2) is offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted.” Ind. Evidence Rule 801(c). Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by law or by other court rules. Ind. Evidence Rule 802.

1. Statement to Officer Saxon [7] The State argues that T.N.’s statement to Officer Saxon is admissible as an excited utterance. For a statement to be admitted as an excited utterance, three elements must be met: a startling event occurred, the declarant was still under the stress of the startling event when she made the statement, and the statement concerned the startling event. Boatner v. State, 934 N.E.2d 184, 186 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (citation omitted). The timing of the statement in relation to the startling event is not dispositive, and the inquiry ultimately focuses on whether the statement was reliable. Id.

[8] We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that T.N.’s identification to Officer Saxon of McGraw as her assailant was admissible as an excited utterance. When Officer Saxon spoke with T.N., she was crying, nervous, scared, stressed, and appeared to be in and out of shock. T.N.’s face, knees, and feet were visibly injured, and Officer Saxon was concerned that T.N. was going to pass out from her injuries. T.N. reported, even after being taken to the hospital following her conversation with Officer Saxon, that her pain level was nine out of ten. This is sufficient to establish that T.N. was still under the stress of the startling event when she identified McGraw as her assailant to Officer Saxon. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting that identification as an excited utterance. See, e.g., id. (concluding that statements made by declarant who was crying and disoriented were excited utterances).

[9] McGraw argues that T.N. had had time to recover from the stress of the startling event.

While a declaration is generally less likely to be admitted if it is made long after the startling event, e.g., Lewis v. State, 554 N.E.2d 1133 (Ind.1990), reh’g denied, the amount of time that has passed is not dispositive. Webb v. Lane, 922 F.2d 390, 394 (7th Cir. 1991).

In some cases, we have held hearsay declarations made minutes after the startling event to be inadmissible. See, e.g., Kelley v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Maurice McGraw Jr. v. State of Indiana, (Ind. Ct. App. 2024).

Maurice McGraw Jr. v. State of Indiana (Maurice McGraw Jr. v. State of Indiana) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Smith v. State
754 N.E.2d 502 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Alkhalidi v. State
753 N.E.2d 625 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Richardson v. State
717 N.E.2d 32 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1999)
Gerald P. VanPatten v. State of Indiana
986 N.E.2d 255 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2013)
Yamobi v. State
672 N.E.2d 1344 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1996)
Massey v. State
803 N.E.2d 1133 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)
Simmons v. State
793 N.E.2d 321 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Sallee v. State
785 N.E.2d 645 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2003)
Mathis v. State
859 N.E.2d 1275 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2007)
Lewis v. State
554 N.E.2d 1133 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1990)
Bigler v. State
602 N.E.2d 509 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1992)
Kelley v. Dickerson
13 N.E.2d 535 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1938)
Wiley W. Walters, Jr. v. State of Indiana
68 N.E.3d 1097 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2017)
Boatner v. State
934 N.E.2d 184 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)
Norris v. State
943 N.E.2d 362 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2011)
United States v. Johnnie Haynes
62 F.4th 454 (Eighth Circuit, 2023)