Roy C. Robinson v. State of Indiana

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided February 13, 2025·No. 24A-CR-01814·Published

Opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Roy C. Robinson, FILED Appellant-Defendant Feb 13 2025, 9:21 am

CLERK

v. Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

February 13, 2025

Court of Appeals Case No.

24A-CR-1814

Appeal from the Marion Superior Court The Honorable Angela D. Davis, Judge The Honorable Ross F. Anderson, Magistrate Trial Court Cause No.

49D27-2303-F1-7865

Opinion by Judge Bradford Judge Foley concurs.

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

Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary [1] In March of 2023, the armed Roy Robinson forced K.F. into his car in

Indianapolis, forced her to touch his penis and fellate him, and penetrated her vagina and anus with a prosthetic penis. K.F. managed to escape and alert the authorities, who apprehended Robinson after he crashed his car into another vehicle, injuring its two passengers.

[2] The State charged Robinson with two counts of Level 1 felony rape, Level 1 felony attempted rape, Level 3 felony kidnapping, Level 3 felony criminal confinement, Level 5 felony kidnapping, Level 5 felony criminal confinement, Level 6 felony operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement while operating a vehicle, and Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury. After a jury convicted Robinson as charged and he pled guilty to being a habitual offender, the trial court entered judgment of conviction on all counts except Level 5 felony kidnapping and Level 5 felony criminal confinement and sentenced Robinson to an aggregate term of forty-four years of incarceration.

[3] Robinson contends that fundamental error occurred when the trial court failed to instruct the jury that it must unanimously agree on which particular acts supported each charge of Level 1 felony rape. Robinson also contends that his convictions for Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement while operating a vehicle and Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury violate Indiana prohibitions against substantive double jeopardy. Because we disagree with both contentions, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [4] On March 13, 2023, K.F. was near the corner of 16th and Dequincy in

Indianapolis when Robinson drove by and asked her if she needed a ride. Robinson’s car had a “Lyft or, you know, Uber thing in the window[,]” and he drove off when K.F. told him that she did not need a ride. Tr. Vol. III p. 169. Robinson soon returned and said that he was going to take the bus because he had had too much to drink. Robinson approached, and K.F. felt something in the side of her stomach. Robinson said, “Don’t say anything, or I’ll put it in your belly” and forced her into his car. Tr. Vol. III p. 170.

[5] Robinson, who was smoking crack cocaine and drinking alcohol, drove off and eventually arrived at the parking lot of what appeared to be an old warehouse. K.F. had noticed knives, binoculars, and what appeared to be a gun in the car. Robinson parked his car in such a way as to prevent K.F.’s escape from the parking lot but allowed her out of the car briefly to urinate and defecate. Robinson, who had already forced K.F. to touch his penis, smacked her in the face with a strap-on prosthetic penis as she relieved herself. Robinson drove to a park, where he forced K.F. to fellate him and penetrated K.F.’s vagina with the prosthetic penis because he was unable to get an erection. Tr. Vol. III p. 174. While this was occurring, Robinson told K.F. to call him “Daddy J” and

“Master J” and said, “I want to hear you say f[***] me like your step daddy used to do.” Tr. Vol. III pp. 174, 175. After Robinson repeatedly penetrated K.F.’s vagina and anus with the prosthetic penis, K.F. told him that she had a friend who liked being dominated and hurt and suggested that they go to her.

[6] At K.F.’s direction, Robinson returned to the area of K.F.’s abduction and, when he allowed her out of the car, she ran to a nearby liquor store and contacted police. After police arrived, K.F. identified Robinson’s car when he happened to drive by. Police followed, stopped Robinson’s car, and commanded him to exit. Instead of exiting, Robinson fled westbound on 16th Street with police in pursuit at approximately ninety-two miles per hour, finally crashing into a van at the intersection of 16th and Sherman Drive. Jose Robert Leon Utrera and Marcelo Leon Utrera were in the van; Jose suffered “pain in the back of [his] head and [his] back” that became worse over time and lasted until trial, Tr. Vol. IV p. 57,1 while Marcello eventually “started feeling pain in [his] neck and [his] back” severe enough to cause sleep deprivation. Tr. Vol. IV p. 66.

[7] On March 19, 2023, the State charged Robinson with two counts of Level 1 felony rape, Level 1 felony attempted rape, Level 3 felony kidnapping, Level 3 felony criminal confinement, Level 5 felony kidnapping, Level 5 felony criminal confinement, Level 6 felony operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic

1 Volume IV of the transcript is mistakenly identified as “VOLUME 3 OF 5” on its title page. Tr. Vol. IV p.

1.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 4 of 18 violator, Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement while operating a vehicle, and Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury to Jose and/or Marcelo. On December 29, 2023, the State filed notice of intent to seek a habitual-offender enhancement.

[8] A two-day jury trial was held, and Robinson did not object to the trial court’s jury instructions or tender his own instructions regarding jury unanimity. The jury found Robinson guilty as charged, and Robinson pled guilty to being a habitual offender. At sentencing, the trial court vacated one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal confinement due to double jeopardy concerns. The trial court sentenced Robinson to thirty-eight years of incarceration for each of his rape and attempted rape convictions, twenty years for kidnapping, ten years for criminal confinement, two years for operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, and two years for each count of resisting law enforcement, with all sentences to run concurrently. The trial court enhanced Robinson’s sentence six years by virtue of Robinson’s status as a habitual offender.

Discussion and Decision I. Jury-Unanimity Instruction [9] Robinson argues that because the State chose not to allege specific acts for

counts one and three, the jurors should have been instructed that they must be unanimous on which act supports each count. “In Indiana, a verdict in a criminal case must be unanimous.” Calvert v. State, 177 N.E.3d 107, 111 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) (citing Fisher v. State, 259 Ind. 633, 646, 291 N.E.2d 76, 82

(1973)), trans. denied. A potential unanimity problem may exist where there is a disjunctive charging information or jury instruction, or where the State presents evidence of a greater number of separate criminal offenses than that with which the defendant is charged. Baker v. State, 948 N.E.2d 1169, 1175 (Ind. 2011). An information or instruction is disjunctive if it joins “separate and distinct offenses in one and the same count.” Id. (citing Vest v. State, 930 N.E.2d 1221, 1225 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010), trans. denied). “A single count of a charging pleading may include but a single offense.” Townsend v. State, 632 N.E.2d 727, 730 (Ind. 1994). When one count improperly alleges two or more separate offenses, “[d]uplicity” occurs. Vest, 930 N.E.2d at 1225. “Duplicity is unacceptable because it prevents the jury from deciding guilt or innocence on each offense separately and may make it difficult to determine whether the conviction rested on only one of the offenses or both.” Id. (citation and quotation marks omitted).

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