MEMORANDUM DECISION
Jul 08 2015, 8:01 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.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Ruth Johnson Gregory F. Zoeller
Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana
Appellate Division
Richard C. Webster
Indianapolis, Indiana
Deputy Attorney General
Timothy J. Burns Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Anteis Robinson, July 8, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A04-1411-CR-536
v. Appeal from the
Marion Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable David E. Cook,
Judge Pro Tempore
Appellee-Plaintiff.
Cause No. 49G07-1404-CM-17912
Kirsch, Judge.
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[1] Anteis Robinson was convicted after a bench trial of resisting law enforcement 1
as a Class A misdemeanor. He appeals and raises the following restated issue
for our review: whether the State presented sufficient evidence to prove his
identity as the person who fled from the police and to support his conviction for
resisting law enforcement.
[2] We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[3] At approximately 3:00 a.m., on April 7, 2014, Officer Marc Klonne of the
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was patrolling on East 30th
Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Approaching the intersection of 30th Street
with Euclid Avenue, Officer Klonne observed a dark-colored SUV turn from
30th Street onto Euclid Avenue without using a turn signal and proceed
northbound on Euclid Avenue. Officer Klonne also turned northbound behind
the SUV, and the SUV immediately sped up. At the intersection of Euclid
Avenue and 31st Street, the SUV turned westbound onto 31st Street, again
without using a turn signal. The SUV continued on 31st Street for one block
and then turned southbound on Colorado Avenue. At that time, Officer
Klonne turned on his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop of the SUV; he
1
See Ind. Code § 35-44.1-3-1(a)(3). We note that, effective July 1, 2014, a new version of this criminal statute
was enacted. Because Robinson committed his crime prior to July 1, 2014, we will apply the statute in effect
at the time he committed his crime.
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also turned on his spotlight and illuminated the SUV. The SUV slowed and
began to roll to a stop. At that time, Officer Klonne saw a man, later identified
as Robinson, exit from the front passenger window of the SUV and flee
westbound between the houses.
[4] Officer Klonne began to pursue Robinson on foot. The officer was not able to
see Robinson’s face, but was able to see him during the pursuit and observe his
build. During the pursuit, Officer Klonne radioed a description of Robinson as
a black male, wearing a grey sweatshirt and black pants, in his late teens or
early twenties, between six feet and six feet two inches tall, and with dreadlocks
pulled back. The officer also radioed for additional police units to establish a
perimeter in the area, which the units in the area established immediately.
Officer Klonne was able to pursue Robinson westbound between the houses
and observed Robinson turn around the corner of a house and run southbound
behind the house. Officer Klonne yelled at Robinson to stop and identified
himself as a police officer, but Robinson continued to flee. When Officer
Klonne reached the corner of the house, he had to stop for safety reasons to
clear the corner of the house. After doing so, he lost sight of Robinson. At that
time, he radioed to ensure the perimeter was secure and for a K-9 unit to assist
in the pursuit.
[5] While waiting for the K-9 unit, Officer Klonne returned to his police vehicle,
ran the license plate number for the SUV, and discovered that the SUV was a
stolen vehicle. Officer Greg Davis and his K-9 unit arrived within minutes and
began tracking Robinson from the SUV, westbound between the houses and
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following the path of the earlier pursuit. At the corner of the house where
Officer Klonne had lost sight of Robinson, the K-9 turned and followed
Robinson’s path southbound for several houses to the house at 3038 Colorado
Avenue. The K-9 alerted at the back of the house, where a screen had been
removed from a window and was lying on the ground. The officer looked in
the kitchen window and observed Robinson; Officer Davis asked Officer
Klonne if Robinson looked like the man who fled from the SUV, and Officer
Klonne replied that he did. Officer Davis then took the K-9 around the area of
the house, but the K-9 did not pick up any other scents and returned to the
house.
[6] Officer Klonne and another officer knocked on the front door of the house, and
Officer Davis took his K-9 unit to the back door to ensure no one fled through
the rear of the house. The female homeowner answered the door, and after the
officers explained why they were there, she gave them permission to enter the
house and search for Robinson. The officers searched several rooms of the
house and then proceeded to the back bedroom where the homeowner’s two
daughters were located. This was the room where the screen had been removed
from the window. The officers opened the closet door and found Robinson
sitting on top of a pile of clothes, wearing only a pair of shorts and talking on a
cell phone. Officer Klonne positively identified Robinson as the man who the
officer pursued after observing the man flee from the SUV. When the officers
asked for Robinson’s identification, he gave them a name and social security
number, which information was found to be false when checked by the officers.
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Robinson then gave the officers his real name, and when it was checked, the
officers discovered Robinson had an outstanding warrant. Robinson was
arrested on that warrant and for the crimes of auto theft and resisting law
enforcement.
[7] The State charged Robinson with Class A misdemeanor resisting law
enforcement. At the conclusion of the bench trial, he was found guilty as
charged. The trial court sentenced him to 365 days with 361 days suspended.
Robinson now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[8] The deferential standard of review for sufficiency claims is well settled. This
court will neither reweigh the evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses.
Tooley v. State, 911 N.E.2d 721, 724 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009), trans. denied; Elisea v.
State, 777 N.E.2d 46, 48 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). Rather, we will consider only
the evidence and reasonable inferences most favorable to the trial court’s ruling.
Elisea, 777 N.E.2d at 48. We will affirm unless no reasonable fact-finder could
find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Tooley, 911
N.E.2d at 724-25. Thus, if there is sufficient evidence of probative value to
support the conclusion of the trier of fact, then the verdict will not be disturbed.
Trimble v. State, 848 N.E.2d 278, 279 (Ind. 2006).
[9] Robinson argues that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support
his conviction for resisting law enforcement. He specifically asserts that the
State presented insufficient evidence of identification of Robinson as the man
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who exited the SUV and fled from Officer Klonne. Robinson contends that,
because Officer Klonne never saw the face of the man who fled from him, the
identification of Robinson as the suspect is ambiguous and not sufficient to
sustain his conviction.
[10] Robinson does not argue that the evidence was insufficient to prove all of the
necessary elements of the crime of resisting law enforcement; he only argues
that the evidence identifying him as the man who fled from the police was not
sufficient. Identification testimony need not necessarily be unequivocal to
sustain a conviction. Holloway v. State, 983 N.E.2d 1175, 1178 (Ind. Ct. App.
2013). Elements of offenses and identity may be established entirely by
circumstantial evidence and the logical inferences drawn therefrom. Id. (citing
Bustamante v. State, 557 N.E.2d 1313, 1317 (Ind. 1990)). As with other
sufficiency matters, we will not weigh the evidence or resolve questions of
credibility when determining whether the identification evidence is sufficient to
sustain a conviction. Id. Rather, we examine the evidence and the reasonable
inferences therefrom that support the conviction. Id.
Where circumstantial evidence is used to establish guilt, the question
for the reviewing court is whether reasonable minds could reach the
inferences drawn by the jury; if so, there is sufficient evidence.
Furthermore, we need not determine whether the circumstantial
evidence is adequate to overcome every reasonable hypothesis of
innocence, but rather whether inferences may be reasonably drawn
from that evidence which supports the verdict beyond a reasonable
doubt.
Klaff v. State, 884 N.E.2d 272, 274-75 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (internal quotations
and citations omitted).
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[11] In the present case, the evidence presented showed that, immediately after
Robinson fled from the SUV, Officer Klonne began to pursue him, and
although the officer could not see Robinson’s face, he was able to observe his
build. Officer Klonne was also able to observe that Robinson was wearing a
grey sweatshirt and black pants, was in his late teens or early twenties, and was
between six feet and six feet two inches in height. When Robinson turned the
corner of a house, Officer Klonne lost sight of him, but immediately called for a
K-9 unit to continue the pursuit. Within five minutes, the K-9 unit began
tracking the path that Robinson took from the SUV. When the K-9 unit turned
the corner where Officer Klonne had lost sight of Robinson, the K-9 tracked a
couple of houses farther south and went to the back window of the house at
3038 Colorado Avenue, where a screen had been removed from a window. As
the K-9 neared the house, he lifted his nose in the air, which indicated that he
smelled the actual suspect and not just the scent on the ground. When the K-9
was taken to search the area around the house, he found no other scent and
returned to the house four different times. The K-9 also alerted to the side of
the house where the screen had been removed. The total time from the start of
the K-9’s tracking until it alerted on the house was about one minute.
[12] When the officers looked into the kitchen window, Officer Klonne saw a man
inside that looked like the man he had observed during the pursuit. Officers
entered into the house and found Robinson hiding in a closet. Officer Klonne
positively identified Robinson as the man who fled from the SUV and who
ignored the officer’s commands to stop. When the police asked Robinson for
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identification, he gave them a false name. Although the majority of the
evidence presented was circumstantial in nature, we conclude that it was
sufficient to support the inference that Robinson was the man who fled from the
SUV and ignored Officer Klonne’s commands to stop after identifying himself
as a police officer. The evidence was sufficient to support Robinson’s
conviction for resisting law enforcement.
[13] Affirmed.
Vaidik, C.J., and Bradford, J., concur.
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