Rodrigo Hernandez v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided July 6, 2016·No. 49A05-1510-CR-1686·Published

Opinion

FILED

MEMORANDUM DECISION Jul 06 2016, 9:26 am

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

this Memorandum Decision shall not be and Tax Court

regarded as precedent or cited before any 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 Mark Edward Hervey Gregory F. Zoeller Krasutsky & Hervey, LLC Attorney General of Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Larry D. Allen

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Rodrigo Hernandez, July 6, 2016 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.

49A05-1510-CR-1686

v. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court

State of Indiana, The Honorable Appellee-Plaintiff. Angela D. Davis, Judge The Honorable Allan W. Reid, Commissioner

Trial Court Cause No.

49G16-1407-FD-33869

Kirsch, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A05-1510-CR-1686 | July 6, 2016 Page 1 of 19

[1] Following a bench trial, Rodrigo Hernandez (“Hernandez”) was convicted of Class D felony criminal confinement1 and Class D felony domestic battery committed in the presence of a child.2 Hernandez appeals and raises four issues that we consolidate and restate as:

I. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to convict Hernandez of Class D felony criminal confinement and Class D felony domestic battery; and

II. Whether Hernandez’s convictions violate double jeopardy principles.

[2] We affirm.3

Facts and Procedural History [3] Over the course of seven to ten years, Hernandez and a woman named

Gabriela Plata (“Plata”) were involved in an “on and off” relationship, although during that time Hernandez was married to another woman. Tr. at 4- 5, 27. According to Plata, she and Hernandez lived together, at one point, for a couple of months. She also maintains that they have one daughter together, a fact which Hernandez neither admits nor denies. That child, who was age six

1 See Ind. Code § 35-42-3-3(a)(1). We note that the statutes under which Hernandez was convicted were amended effective July 1, 2014; however, we apply the statutes that were in effect at the time he committed his offenses in May 2014. 2 See Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1.3(a).

3 Hernandez was also convicted of Class D felony battery resulting in bodily injury, Class A misdemeanor domestic battery, and Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury, but those three convictions were merged into the Class D felony domestic battery conviction.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A05-1510-CR-1686 | July 6, 2016 Page 2 of 19 at the time of the incident at issue, lived with Plata and Plata’s other minor daughter (together, “Daughters”) in an Indianapolis apartment.

[4] On May 30, 2014, around 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., Plata went to Hernandez’s place of employment, a night club where Hernandez worked as a disc jockey, and she brought Daughters with her. According to Plata, she went there to confront Hernandez about a rude and vulgar voicemail that he had left her earlier in the day; however, Hernandez asserted that she came to his employment to confront him because he had ignored texts that Plata had sent to him earlier in the day. Plata and Daughters did not ever leave the car, but Plata exchanged words with Hernandez, and then she left.

[5] Later that night, at around 2:00 a.m. on May 31, Plata was home and asleep in her bed. Daughters were also there, sleeping with Plata in her bed. Plata was awakened by the sound of loud knocking at her front door. She got up, went to another room, looked out, and upon seeing that it was Hernandez, she started walking back to her bedroom. However, the knocking continued and was loud, so she went to the door and opened it slightly. She told him, “[T]here is no reason for you to be here knocking at my door.” Tr. at 9. She tried to shut the door, but Hernandez pushed the door open with one hand and pushed her with the other. Plata fell to the floor, and “at the same time . . . he shut[ ] the door behind him.” Id. at 11.

[6] When Plata tried to stand up, Hernandez held her to the floor by pushing with his hand or arm on her left arm. He hit and kicked her while she was on the

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A05-1510-CR-1686 | July 6, 2016 Page 3 of 19 ground. She struggled, and when she was able to get herself up, she told Hernandez to leave, but he sat down in her nearby dining room and laughed at her, saying, “Look at you, always thinking you’re so tough.” Id. at 13. Plata could not call the police, as her cell phone remained in her bedroom, and she was “trying to prevent . . . all of that ending up happening in my room in front of my [D]aughters.” Id. at 14. Hernandez warned Plata to “be careful,” stating, “I can kill you myself.” Id. After running his finger across her neck, in a slicing motion, he left her apartment.

[7] Plata immediately contacted police, who responded and spoke with her, but did not take any photographs because the officer did not see any visible signs of injury. After police left, Plata returned to bed, and when she woke in the morning, Plata was sore. She noticed some scratch marks, redness, and bruising on her arms and legs, so she took pictures. On Tuesday, June 2, 2014, Plata applied for and obtained a protective order against Hernandez. While applying for the protective order, the employee assisting her noticed bruising. Police thereafter arrived and took pictures of Plata’s arms, back, and legs.

[8] On July 7, 2014, the State charged Hernandez with the following five counts: Count I, Class D felony criminal confinement; Count II, Class D felony domestic battery; Count III, Class D felony battery resulting in bodily injury; Count IV, Class A misdemeanor domestic battery; and Count V, Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. Hernandez waived his right to a jury trial.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A05-1510-CR-1686 | July 6, 2016 Page 4 of 19

[9] At the July 24, 2015 bench trial, Plata testified that Hernandez’s knocking at her door was loud, and she did not want to wake the neighbors or Daughters, so she opened the door enough to allow her to tell him to leave. She said that, after he pushed the door open and she fell, he held her to the ground. She described, “He’s holding me down,” and “I can’t get up.” Id. at 12. Hernandez kicked Plata in her back, arms, and legs. Plata testified that Hernandez was “mad and loud.” Id. at 10. She said she was “praying for” Daughters and was trying to prevent the altercation “from happening in my room,” where Daughters were asleep. Id. at 13. The pictures that Plata took of herself that morning when she awoke were admitted into evidence, as were the ones taken by police on June 2.

[10] Thereafter, Hernandez testified in his defense.4 He explained that Plata came to his place of employment because she was angry that he had not answered her earlier text messages. He stated that Daughters were in the car with Plata at his place of employment, as she angrily spoke to him, and they exchanged heated words. As to why he went to her apartment at about 2:00 a.m., after he left work, Hernandez testified, “[B]ecause she left when she was angry and she drinks and I was worried about her drinking and driving and I was worried about the [D]aughters.” Id. at 32. Hernandez testified that, contrary to what Plata had said while testifying, he knocked quietly at her door, one time. He

4 The record reflects that a Spanish interpreter was used during Hernandez’s testimony. Tr. at 34; Appellant’s App. at 28 (“Interpreter services used”).

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