Schuyler Stewart v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: April 19, 2016
• Docket: 49A02-1509-CR-1446
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Apr 19 2016, 8:25 am

this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court 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 Ellen M. O’Connor Gregory F. Zoeller Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Tyler G. Banks Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Schuyler Stewart, April 19, 2016 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 49A02-1509-CR-1446 v. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable David Hooper, Appellee-Plaintiff Magistrate Trial Court Cause No. 49G01-1407-CM-34061

Baker, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1509-CR-1446 | April 19, 2016 Page 1 of 4 [1] Schuyler Stewart appeals his conviction for Pointing a Firearm at Another

Person, a class A misdemeanor.1 Stewart argues that the evidence is insufficient

to support the conviction. Finding the evidence sufficient, we affirm.

Facts [2] At some time between one and three in the morning on June 9, 2014, Gilbert

Buford and his daughter, Monica Buford, went to Stewart’s home. Stewart and

Monica were in an “on and off” relationship, tr. p. 8-9, and Monica had asked

her father to help her get her cell phone back from Stewart earlier that night.

Gilbert knocked on the door, and when Stewart answered, Gilbert asked him to

return the cell phone. Stewart responded that he did not have the phone, and at

that point raised a firearm and pointed it in the direction of Gilbert and Monica.

Tr. p. 6-7. At trial, Gilbert testified that the firearm looked like a semi-

automatic and could not have been anything other than a firearm. Tr. p. 7.

After Stewart pointed the firearm toward them, Gilbert and Monica left the

scene.

[3] On July 11, 2014, the State charged Stewart with Pointing a Firearm at Another

Person, a class A misdemeanor. His bench trial took place on August 28, 2015.

The trial court found him guilty as charged, and sentenced him to 365 days,

with 60 days executed and 305 days suspended. Stewart now appeals.

1 Ind. Code § 35-47-4-3(b).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1509-CR-1446 | April 19, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Discussion and Decision [4] The sole argument that Stewart raises on appeal is that there is insufficient

evidence to support his conviction. To convict Stewart of this offense, the State

was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stewart “knowingly or

intentionally” pointed a firearm at Gilbert or Monica. I.C. § 35-47-4-3(b). Our

standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence is well settled:

We neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Instead, we consider the evidence most favorable to the verdict and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. If the evidence and inferences provide substantial evidence of probative value to support the verdict, we affirm.

Rodriguez v. State, 714 N.E.2d 667, 670 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999) (internal citations

omitted). Further, “the uncorroborated testimony of one witness may be

sufficient by itself to sustain a conviction on appeal.” Toney v. State, 715 N.E.2d

367, 369 (Ind. 1999).

[5] In support of his argument, Stewart contends that the evidence is insufficient

because no gun was admitted into evidence, Gilbert did not remember the

firearm’s color, and Gilbert did not see the firearm up close or handle it.

Appellant’s Br. p. 6. Stewart also argues that Gilbert “did not testify about the

lighting or the distance between the men which would have impacted his

opportunity to observe” and that Gilbert’s “bias against [him] was evident.” Id.

at 8.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1509-CR-1446 | April 19, 2016 Page 3 of 4 [6] However, Stewart’s claims amount to a request for this Court to reweigh the

evidence and assess the credibility of the witness. This is the province of the

factfinder, who deemed Gilbert’s testimony credible. Gilbert testified

unequivocally that Stewart pointed a firearm in Gilbert’s direction. Based upon

this testimony, a reasonable factfinder could find that Stewart knowingly or

intentionally pointed a firearm at Gilbert and Monica. Considering the

evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling, we find the

evidence sufficient to sustain the verdict.

[7] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

May, J., and Brown, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1509-CR-1446 | April 19, 2016 Page 4 of 4