MEMORANDUM DECISION
Mar 10 2015, 8:06 am
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 establishing the defense of res judicata,
collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Tia R. Brewer Gregory F. Zoeller
Marion, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Katherine Modesitt Cooper
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Larry Young, March 10, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Cause No.
27A02-1402-CR-109
v. Appeal from the Grant Superior
Court.
State of Indiana, The Honorable Jeffrey D. Todd,
Judge.
Appellee-Plaintiff.
Cause No. 27D01-1306-FB-49
Riley, Judge.
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STATEMENT OF THE CASE
[1] Appellant-Petitioner, Larry Young (Young), appeals his conviction for battery
resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class C felony, Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1(a)(3)
(2012).
[2] We affirm.
ISSUE
[3] Young raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as follows: Whether the
State submitted sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
Young committed battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[4] Young and his live-in girlfriend, Chelsey Carmichael (Carmichael), were
staying in an apartment in Marion, Indiana. In the early morning of December
4, 2012, Young woke up Carmichael and accused her of stealing money from
his wallet. The two argued for a while before Young ordered Carmichael to
undress. Young then searched Carmichael’s person and her clothes before he
allowed Carmichael to put her clothes back on. At that point, Young’s
demeanor became increasingly angry and Carmichael decided to leave the
room. However, Young grabbed Carmichael and threw her down on the floor.
Young’s cousin, Joey Cummings (Cummings), was in the apartment at the time
but ignored Carmichael’s plea for help. Young strangled Carmichael, pushed
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her down on the ground, grabbed her hair, and spit in her face. During the
scuffle, Carmichael kicked Young in the groin, and in turn, Young forcefully
kicked Carmichael in the lower left ribcage. Eventually, Carmichael was able
to escape to the bathroom and she locked herself in for several hours.
[5] When Carmichael finally exited the bathroom, she found that Young had left
with her vehicle. According to Carmichael, her relationship with Young was
over at that point. Carmichael did not have a cell phone so she knocked on the
neighbor’s door for help, but there was no response. Carmichael returned to the
apartment and started to gather her belongings. When Young returned to the
apartment, he threw the car key at Carmichael and asked her to leave. Young
also informed Carmichael that his mother was coming over to the apartment to
inspect the move. When Young’s mother arrived at the apartment, she allowed
Carmichael to use her cell phone. Carmichael called her mother (Mother), who
arrived shortly thereafter.
[6] When she returned to her parents’ home, Carmichael recounted the morning
events, and she also told Mother that her left rib cage “hurt really bad.”
(Transcript p. 65). Afterwards, Mother left for work and Carmichael fell asleep.
By the time Carmichael’s parents returned home from work later that evening,
Carmichael’s pain had worsened and Carmichael’s father (Father) drove her to
the emergency room (ER).
[7] While Carmichael was being treated, Father contacted the Marion Police
Department and reported the battery. When Officer Mark Kilgore (Officer
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Kilgore) arrived at the hospital, he questioned both Father and Carmichael.
Officer Kilgore observed numerous injuries on Carmichael’s body, including
scratches and redness around her neck, an injury to her left eye, and bruising to
both her legs. Officer Kilgore photographed the injuries and obtained a
videotaped statement from Carmichael.
[8] During her treatment, Carmichael described her pain to the ER personnel as a
ten on a scale of one-to-ten, with ten being the worst pain she could possibly
imagine. A CT scan without contrast was then ordered, but no internal injuries
were detected. However, because Carmichael was in pain, she was prescribed
pain medicine.
[9] Following her discharge from the hospital, Carmichael lacked the energy to
participate in any physical activities for several days and she continued to
experience excruciating pain on her lower left ribcage. Six days after her ER
visit, on December 10, 2012, Carmichael passed out on the living room floor
and her sister, who was present, called for ambulance. Carmichael was rushed
back to the ER. The same day, a CT scan with contrast was administered
revealing a laceration to Carmichael’s spleen and internal bleeding. On
December 12, 2012, Carmichael was transferred to Methodist Hospital in
Indianapolis, Indiana, where she underwent surgery. Even though the surgery
was successful in stopping the bleeding, Carmichael’s spleen had lost a lot of
blood and was permanently impaired in its ability to function; accordingly, it
had to be removed.
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[10] On June 11, 2013, the State filed an Information charging Young with Count I,
battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class C felony, I.C. § 35-42-2-
1(a)(3); Count II, criminal confinement, a Class C felony, I.C.§ 35-42-3-3; and
Count III, strangulation, a Class D felony, I.C.§ 35-42-2-9. A two-day jury trial
was held from June 17-18, 2013, and at the close of the evidence, the jury
returned a guilty verdict on Count I, and a not guilty verdict on Counts II and
III. On February 3, 2014, the trial court conducted a sentencing hearing where
it imposed a four-year sentence, with three years executed and one year
suspended to probation.
[11] Young now appeals. Additional information will be provided as necessary.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
I. Sufficiency of the Evidence
[12] Young argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction for
battery resulting in serious bodily injury. The standard of review for claims of
insufficient evidence is well settled. We do not reweigh the evidence or judge
the credibility of the witnesses, and we respect the jury’s exclusive province to
weigh conflicting evidence. Jackson v. State, 925 N.E.2d 369, 375 (Ind. 2010).
We consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting
the verdict and affirm if the probative evidence and reasonable inferences drawn
from the evidence could have allowed a reasonable trier of fact to find the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
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[13] Pursuant to Ind. Code section 35-42-2-1(a)(3), a person who knowingly or
intentionally touches another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner that
results in serious bodily injury to the other person commits battery, as a Class C
felony. “A person engages in conduct ‘knowingly’ if, when he engages in the
conduct, he is aware of a high probability that he is doing so.” I.C. § 35-41-2-
2(b).
[14] Young claims that there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction.
Specifically, he states that the CT scan administered on December 4, 2012, did
not display Carmichael’s spleen injury. Young maintains that Carmichael’s
injuries resulted from a previous bout of abdominal discomfort that occurred
months before the incident. We disagree. Here, the evidence shows that on
December 4, there was heated argument between Carmichael and Young about
the missing money from Young’s wallet. After Carmichael denied the
allegations and attempted to leave the room, an upset Young grabbed
Carmichael and threw her down on the ground, grabbed her hair, and spit on
her face. When Carmichael kicked Young in the groin to protect herself from
further beating, Young reacted by kicking Carmichael powerfully on the left
side of her lower ribcage. When Carmichael was rushed to the ER later that
day, the CT scan did not detect any injuries, however, since Carmichael was in
agonizing pain, she was given pain medication. Six days later, Carmichael was
rushed to the hospital after passing out on her living room floor. This time, the
CT scan displayed that Carmichael had a transverse laceration to her spleen
and that she had internal bleeding. At trial, Dr. Dean explained that it was
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possible for the injuries to go undetected with the first CT scan conducted on
December 4, 2012. Dr. Dean explained that the subsequent CT scan that was
administered with contrast exposed Carmichael’s injuries. Specifically, Dr.
Dean explained that by using an “x-ray dye,” a CT scan with contrast makes
organs and blood vessels stand out with a more contrasted image for the
purpose of detecting diseases or injuries. (Tr. p. 226). Dr. Dean further stated
that Carmichael’s spleen laceration may have been caused by a “significant
blunt force trauma.” (Tr. p. 228).
[15] Given the serious nature of Carmichael’s injuries, and the severe pain suffered
at the outset, coupled with the fact that she lost the complete function of her
spleen as a result of the injury, we cannot say that the evidence was insufficient
to sustain the jury’s determination that Young inflicted the injuries upon
Carmichael. Young’s other arguments, including that Carmichael was addicted
to pain medicine, and that she only exaggerated her pain so as to get the pain
medicine are nothing but an invitation for this court to reweigh the evidence,
which we will not do. See Jackson, 925 N.E.2d at 375.
CONCLUSION
[16] Based on the foregoing, we find that there was sufficient evidence beyond a
reasonable doubt to convict Young of the instant offense.
[17] Affirmed.
Mathias, J. and Crone, J. concur
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