Quentin Weatherspoon v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: December 7, 2018
• Docket: 18A-CR-1060
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be Dec 07 2018, 9:25 am regarded as precedent or cited before any 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 Donald J. Berger Curtis T. Hill, Jr. South Bend, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Justin F. Roebel Supervising Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Quentin Weatherspoon, December 7, 2018 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-CR-1060 v. Appeal from the St. Joseph Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Steven L. Appellee-Plaintiff. Hostetler, Judge The Honorable Keith C. Doi, Magistrate Trial Court Cause No. 71D03-1705-CM-2246

Friedlander, Senior Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1060 | December 7, 2018 Page 1 of 5 [1] Quentin Weatherspoon appeals his conviction of battery, a Class B 1 misdemeanor. We affirm.

[2] The sole issue Weatherspoon presents for our review is whether the State

presented sufficient evidence to support his conviction.

[3] On April 18, 2017, Weatherspoon physically assaulted his former girlfriend,

Charleta Matthews. Based upon this incident, Weatherspoon was charged with

battery. He was found guilty at a bench trial and sentenced to 120 days, all

suspended, and one year of probation. He now appeals his conviction.

[4] When we review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither

reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Sandleben v.

State, 29 N.E.3d 126 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), trans. denied. Instead, we consider

only the evidence most favorable to the verdict and any reasonable inferences

drawn therefrom. Id. If there is substantial evidence of probative value from

which a reasonable fact-finder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a

reasonable doubt, the judgment will not be disturbed. Labarr v. State, 36 N.E.3d

501 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).

[5] In order to convict Weatherspoon of battery, the State must have proved

beyond a reasonable doubt that he (1) knowingly (2) touched Matthews (3) in a

rude, insolent, or angry manner. See Appellant’s App. Vol. 2, p. 4; Ind. Code §

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1 (2016).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1060 | December 7, 2018 Page 2 of 5 35-42-2-1(c)(1). In this appeal, Weatherspoon challenges the second element

concerning a touching.

[6] At trial, Matthews testified that she parked her car in the parking lot of her

apartment complex upon returning from work and sat in her car finishing a

phone call. Weatherspoon pulled in and parked his car next to Matthews’ car.

Weatherspoon exited his car and approached Matthews’ car, waving his arms.

Matthews partially rolled down her window, at which point Weatherspoon

reached into her car and took her phone. Matthews testified that

Weatherspoon “got really mad” and “started saying bad things” when he saw,

on the screen of Matthews’ phone, to whom she was talking. Tr. p. 5.

Weatherspoon threw Matthews’ phone, which landed on the floor of the front

passenger seat. Matthews testified that after she reached down to get her

phone, Weatherspoon began calling her names and then punched her in the

face. As Weatherspoon ran off, Matthews called him a “coward.” Id. at 6.

Weatherspoon then returned and kicked Matthews’ car. Matthews testified that

one of her contact lenses was knocked out of her eye, and she sustained a cut

and facial pain.

[7] The responding police officer testified that he arrived on scene within three

minutes of receiving the call. He observed redness on the left side of Matthews’

face near her eye and marks on her wrist. He testified that Matthews identified

Weatherspoon as the person who caused her injuries. The officer also observed

a boot print on the lower part of the window and the top portion of the door of

Matthews’ car.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1060 | December 7, 2018 Page 3 of 5 [8] Weatherspoon testified on his own behalf that he “pulled up to talk to

[Matthews]” “holding [his] heart.” Id. at 17. He approached Matthews’ car

and, seeing that she was on the phone, waited. He testified that she rolled the

window down, and he reached into the car to end her phone call so that they

could discuss their personal matters. When he reached into the car, Matthews

“came at [him], and [he] pushed her off.” Id. at 18. He further stated that he

made the boot print on the car in trying to pull away from her. He testified that

he had scratches on his head and neck and that he did not know how

Matthews’ arms got scratched because he “never touched her arms.” Id.

Weatherspoon described Matthews as the aggressor and testified that she “was

coming at” him. Id. He stated he never punched her, and the altercation ended

when she rolled up her window and he walked off.

[9] Weatherspoon’s argument is merely an invitation for this Court to reassess the

credibility of the witnesses. It is within the factfinder’s province to judge the

credibility of the witnesses. Brasher v. State, 746 N.E.2d 71 (Ind. 2001). In

doing so, the trier of fact is entitled to determine which version of the incident

to credit. Schmid v. State, 804 N.E.2d 174 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004), trans. denied.

Further, “[a] conviction may be sustained on the uncorroborated testimony of a

single witness or victim.” Baltimore v. State, 878 N.E.2d 253, 258 (Ind. Ct. App.

2007), trans. denied. Here, Matthews testified unequivocally that Weatherspoon

punched her in the face. In addition, the responding officer testified that he had

observed redness on Matthews’ face and marks on her wrists within minutes of

receiving the call. After hearing all the evidence, the trial court specifically

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1060 | December 7, 2018 Page 4 of 5 stated that it did not find Weatherspoon’s testimony credible but that it found

the officer’s and Matthews’ testimony credible. We decline Weatherspoon’s

invitation to invade the province of the factfinder.

[10] The State presented sufficient evidence to sustain Weatherspoon’s conviction of

battery beyond a reasonable doubt.

[11] Judgment affirmed.

Baker, J., and Pyle, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1060 | December 7, 2018 Page 5 of 5