Ryan Scott Fisher v. State of Indiana

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 24, 2025
Docket24A-CR-02402
StatusPublished

This text of Ryan Scott Fisher v. State of Indiana (Ryan Scott Fisher v. State of Indiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ryan Scott Fisher v. State of Indiana, (Ind. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

FILED Jun 24 2025, 8:59 am

CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Ryan Scott Fisher, Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

June 24, 2025

Court of Appeals Case No. 24A-CR-2402

Appeal from the Sullivan Superior Court

The Honorable Hugh R. Hunt, Judge

Trial Court Cause No. 77D01-2309-F4-436

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-2402 | June 24, 2025 Page 1 of 19 Opinion by Senior Judge Crone Judges May and Bradford concur.

Crone, Senior Judge.

Statement of the Case [1] Ryan Scott Fisher appeals from his convictions of Level 4 felony unlawful

possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (SVF), and Level 5 felony

possession of methamphetamine. Concluding that Fisher has not established

error, we affirm.

Issues [2] Fisher presents the following issues for our review, which we reorder and

restate as follows:

I. Whether Fisher’s convictions for possession of a firearm by a SVF and for possession of methamphetamine, elevated by his possession of a firearm, violate double jeopardy principles. II. Whether the trial court’s admission of a law enforcement officer’s present sense impressions was an abuse of discretion because the evidence was allegedly inadmissible under Evidence Rule 404(b). III. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting a redacted version of Fisher’s Department of Correction (DOC) packet, which omitted evidence of Fisher’s criminal history beyond that necessary to establish his SVF status. IV. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when sentencing Fisher by giving his proffered mitigating factors minimal weight and by allegedly failing to find mitigating factors,

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-2402 | June 24, 2025 Page 2 of 19 as balanced against his criminal history and failure to reform his behavior.

Facts and Procedural History [3] On May 30, 2023, Fisher drove a vehicle at seventy-six miles per hour in a zone

with a posted speed limit of sixty miles per hour when he passed Indiana State

Trooper Justin Bell traveling the opposite direction on U.S. 41 in Sullivan

County. Trooper Bell pursued Fisher’s vehicle, at times reaching speeds of one

hundred miles per hour to stop the driver. Bell observed Fisher’s car make

frequent lane changes. And when Fisher approached the intersection of U.S. 41

and State Road 48, he maneuvered his car from the left lane across two lanes of

traffic to the shoulder. Fisher’s vehicle drove in the gravel and dirt to pass

another vehicle that was waiting to turn at the red light. The officer activated

his patrol car’s lights to initiate a traffic stop.

[4] When the car stopped, Trooper Bell observed two men and one woman in the

vehicle. Based on the erratic driving at high speed, the officer treated the stop

as a high-risk encounter. He ordered the driver and passengers to exit the car.

Fisher, the driver, and the male back-seat passenger, walked to Trooper Bell,

who placed them in handcuffs. Another officer who arrived at the scene

secured the female, who had occupied the front passenger seat.

[5] Fisher and the woman informed Bell that their identification was in the vehicle.

When he approached the vehicle, Trooper Bell smelled the odor of raw and

burnt marijuana. Based on the marijuana smell, Trooper Bell and Sergeant

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-2402 | June 24, 2025 Page 3 of 19 Kristopher Fitzgerald searched the car. They found a loaded firearm with a

holster in the front passenger seat wedged between the seat and the center

console, a black tube with a baggie of methamphetamine in the center console,

a glass smoking pipe under the driver’s seat, and another firearm under the

front passenger seat.

[6] Fisher admitted to Bell that he knew the guns and methamphetamine were in

the car, but he claimed they belonged to the woman who had occupied the front

passenger seat. None of the occupants of the car claimed ownership of the

guns. And the car belonged to a woman from Elkhart who was not in the

vehicle when it was stopped. Fisher told the officers that he had borrowed the

car from her and that he had been repairing the vehicle for the past few weeks.

[7] The State charged Fisher with unlawful possession of a firearm by a SVF,

possession of methamphetamine, and possession of paraphernalia. During the

first phase of the trial, the jury found Fisher guilty of possession of

methamphetamine and possession of a firearm, but acquitted him of possession

of paraphernalia. During the second phase, the jury found Fisher guilty of

possession of a firearm by a SVF. The trial court sentenced Fisher to

consecutive terms of twelve years for unlawful possession of a firearm by a

SVF and five years for possession of methamphetamine. Fisher now appeals.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-2402 | June 24, 2025 Page 4 of 19 Discussion and Decision I. Double Jeopardy Claim [8] Fisher was convicted of possession of a firearm by a SVF and possession of

methamphetamine elevated by his possession of a firearm. His argument on

appeal is based on the premise that he “was twice convicted for possessing the

same firearm on the same occasion[.]” Appellant’s Br. p. 6. There is no

dispute that his double jeopardy argument is governed by our Supreme Court’s

decision in Wadle v. State, 151 N.E.3d 227 (Ind. 2020), as opposed to Powell v.

State, 151 N.E.3d 256 (Ind. 2020) (single criminal act or transaction violates

single statute but harms multiple victims).

[9] The three-step Wadle analysis for such claims was adjusted in A.W. v. State, 229

N.E.3d 1060 (Ind. 2024) as to the second step of the analysis. Thus, we also

look to A.W. for guidance.

[10] The first step in the Wadle analysis begins with the statutory language of the

offenses. “If the language of either statute clearly permits multiple punishment,

either expressly or by unmistakable implication, the court’s inquiry comes to an

end and there is no violation of substantive double jeopardy.” Wadle, 151

N.E.3d at 248. The State concedes that our analysis does not end at this step,

and we agree. Appellee’s Br. pp. 14-15.

[11] Under the second step, “‘a court must then apply our included-offense statutes

to determine statutory intent.’” A.W., 229 N.E.3d at 1066 (quoting Wadle, 151

N.E.3d at 248).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-2402 | June 24, 2025 Page 5 of 19 An ‘included offense,’ as defined by the General Assembly, is an offense

(1) that “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) that “consists of an attempt to commit the offense charged or an offense otherwise included therein,” or (3) that “differs from the offense charged only in the respect that a less serious harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or public interest, or a lesser kind of culpability, is required to establish its commission.

A.W., 229 N.E.3d at 1066 (quoting Ind. Code § 35-31.5-2-168 (2012)). “‘If

neither offense is an included offense of the other (either inherently or as

charged), there is no violation of double jeopardy’ and the analysis ends—full

stop.” A.W., 229 N.E.3d at 1067 (quoting Wadle, 151 N.E.3d at 248). “But if

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