Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
regarded as precedent or cited before
any court except for the purpose of Aug 15 2014, 6:15 am
establishing the defense of res judicata,
collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
CHRISTOPHER L. CLERC GREGORY F. ZOELLER
Columbus, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
JUSTIN F. ROEBEL
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
IN THE MATTER OF Q.F., )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No.03A01-1401-JV-45
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
APPEAL FROM THE BARTHOLOMEW CIRCUIT COURT
The Honorable Stephen R. Heimann, Judge
Cause No. 03C01-1310-JD-5682
August 15, 2014
MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION
FRIEDLANDER, Judge
Q.F. appeals his adjudication as a delinquent based upon acts that would constitute
class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury and class B misdemeanor disorderly
conduct if committed by an adult. Q.F. presents the following restated issues for review:
1. Did the State present sufficient evidence to support the true finding of
battery resulting in bodily injury?
2. Did the victims’ in-court identifications of Q.F. constitute a violation
of due process?
3. Did the entry of true findings of both battery and disorderly conduct
constitute double jeopardy under our state constitution?
We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
The facts favorable to the adjudication follow. Around 8:00 p.m. on October 15,
2013, twenty-year-old Teddy Albertson and two friends, Erik Moody and Jeffery Holmes,
were walking a few blocks to a friend’s house in Columbus, Indiana. As they turned a
corner, they were approached by a group of six or more males, including Q.F. and P.D.
Q.F. initiated a confrontation by asking Albertson and his friends if they wanted to fight,
while the others were “fanning out” around the three men. Transcript at 22. Feeling like
there was no way out of the situation, Albertson punched Q.F. Albertson then immediately
began “getting punched from like everywhere, all sorts of ways”. Id. at 10. Everyone
began throwing punches. Albertson suffered injuries to both eyes and abrasions on his
neck, while Moody received even more severe injuries. Holmes was able to defend himself
and remained unharmed.
Because things happened so fast, Albertson could not recall if Q.F. hit him, but he
was sure that P.D. struck him at least once in the face. About two hours after the incident,
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Q.F. provided a voluntary statement to police, in which he admitted involvement in the
fight. Q.F. stated that he punched Albertson at least three or four times. When asked by
police where he struck Albertson, Q.F. responded: “Like in the face. I really wasn’t even
paying attention where I hit him”. Id. at 72.
The State alleged Q.F. to be a delinquent based on acts that would be three counts
of battery resulting in bodily injury and one count of disorderly conduct if committed by
an adult.1 At the fact-finding hearing on November 18, 2013, Albertson, Moody, and
Holmes testified and identified Q.F. as a participant in the fight, though they could not say
whether Q.F. ever struck Albertson. The State, however, presented Q.F.’s admissions to
police that he repeatedly struck Albertson. Further, at the delinquency hearing, P.D.
testified that Albertson and Q.F. were “going at it”. Id. at 81.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the juvenile court took the matter under advisement
and then issued an order on November 21, 2013. With respect to Q.F., the court found that
he had committed the following delinquent acts: “Battery Resulting In Bodily Injury, a
Class A Misdemeanor (as it relates to Teddy Albertson) [and] Disorderly Conduct, a Class
B Misdemeanor.” Appendix at 13. Following the dispositional hearing on December 11,
2013, the court ordered Q.F. confined for ninety days in a secure detention facility. Q.F.
now appeals.
1.
1
The State made the same allegations against A.D., who was tried with Q.F.
3
Q.F. initially challenges the sufficiency of the evidence regarding the true finding
of battery resulting in serious bodily injury. Our standard of review in this regard is well
settled.
When the State seeks to have a juvenile adjudicated to be a delinquent for
committing an act which would be a crime if committed by an adult, the State
must prove every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Upon
review of a juvenile adjudication, this court will consider only the evidence
and reasonable inferences supporting the judgment. We will neither reweigh
the evidence nor judge witness credibility. If there is substantial evidence of
probative value from which a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the
defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, we will affirm the
adjudication.
J.S. v. State, 843 N.E.2d 1013, 1016 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (citations omitted), trans. denied.
At the time of Q.F.’s delinquent act, class A misdemeanor battery was defined, in
relevant part, as “knowingly or intentionally touch[ing] another person in a rude, insolent,
or angry manner…result[ing] in bodily injury to any other person”. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-
42-2-1 (West, Westlaw 2013).
Q.F. claims the evidence was insufficient because none of the three victims testified
that he punched anyone. While Q.F. acknowledges that he admitted to police that he
punched Albertson several times, he claims the State failed to establish a connection
between these punches and any injury or pain being caused to Albertson. In other words,
Q.F. argues that Albertson’s injuries could have “just as easily” been caused by one of the
other males in Q.F.’s group. Appellant’s Brief at 5.
We reject Q.F.’s request to reweigh the evidence. The evidence favorable to the
adjudication establishes that Q.F. instigated the fight and punched Albertson at least three
to four times, including in the face. Although Albertson was likely struck by others too,
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the trier of fact could reasonably infer that at least some of Albertson’s injuries and pain
was caused by Q.F.2 Sufficient evidence supports the true finding of battery causing bodily
injury.
2.
Q.F. contends that the in-court identifications of him violated due process because
“they were tainted by an unduly suggestive pre-trial confrontation and no independent
factual basis exists independent of the pre-trial confrontation.” Appellant’s Brief at 6. This
issue is waived because Q.F. did not object to this evidence below. See Shoultz v. State,
995 N.E.2d 647, 654 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (“failure to make a contemporaneous objection
to evidence when it is offered waives any claim of error in its admission on appeal”), trans.
denied. Moreover, any error in the admission of the identification evidence, which placed
Q.F. at the scene, was harmless due to Q.F.’s own admission of involvement in the fight.
See Willis v. State, 776 N.E.2d 965, 967 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (“[w]e do not reverse
judgments based upon harmless errors in the admission of evidence”, such as where the
evidence “was merely cumulative of other evidence properly admitted”).
3.
Finally, Q.F. contends that the true findings entered for both battery and disorderly
conduct violate principles of double jeopardy under the Indiana Constitution. He claims
2
We note that accomplice liability would apply here, even if Q.F. did not directly cause the injuries to
Albertson. “The evidence need not show that the accomplice personally acted in the commission of each
element of the offense. It is only necessary to show that the accomplice acted in concert with the actor”.
Rivera v. State, 575 N.E.2d 1072, 1074 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991), trans. denied.
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there is a reasonable possibility that the juvenile court used the same evidence to establish
both offenses.
Two or more offenses are the same offense in violation of article 1, section 14 of
the Indiana Constitution if, with respect to either the statutory elements of the challenged
crimes or the actual evidence used to obtain convictions, the essential elements of one
challenged offense also establish the essential elements of another challenged offense.
Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999). Under the actual evidence test, we
examine the evidence and arguments presented at trial in order to determine whether each
challenged offense was established by separate and distinct facts. Id. See also Lee v. State,
892 N.E.2d 1231, 1234 (Ind. 2008) (“[i]n determining the facts used by the fact-finder to
establish the elements of each offense, it is appropriate to consider the charging
information, jury instructions, and arguments of counsel”). To find a double jeopardy
violation under this test, we must conclude there is “a reasonable possibility that the
evidentiary facts used by the fact-finder to establish the essential elements of one offense
may also have been used to establish the essential elements of a second challenged
offense.” Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d at 53.
The State essentially concedes that a double jeopardy violation exists, noting that
“the deputy prosecutor specifically asked the court to find disorderly conduct based on the
act of fighting.” Appellee’s Brief at 9. In fact, the thrust of the State’s closing argument
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was that disorderly conduct was an available alternative to battery if the juvenile court
found that the batteries were not sufficiently established.3
On the record before us, we agree that entering true findings of both battery and
disorderly conduct violates Indiana constitutional double jeopardy principles. See D.B. v.
State, 842 N.E.2d 399 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (holding that juvenile adjudications can
implicate double jeopardy). Accordingly, we remand with instructions to vacate Q.F.’s
true finding of disorderly conduct. We note, however, that the adjudication of delinquency
is unaffected, as it is supported by the true finding of battery resulting in bodily injury,
which we have affirmed.
Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with instructions.
VAIDIK, C.J., and MAY, J., concur.
3
The prosecutor explained:
I would just also remind the Court that both individuals are charged with disorderly
conduct, as well. So, even if the evidence isn’t necessarily, oh we know beyond a
reasonable doubt that this person hit this victim, under the disorderly conduct, as long as
the Court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that they were engaging in fighting or
tumultuous conduct, that was [sic] suffice without, you know, having to specify which
victim was hit by one specific individual….So, I think, especially, with regard to disorderly
conduct against [Q.F.], it’s very clear. He admits he was involved in the fight.
Transcript at 94-95.
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