MEMORANDUM DECISION
FILED
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
Jan 13 2017, 9:50 am
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
regarded as precedent or cited before any CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
court except for the purpose of establishing Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Kimberly A. Jackson Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Ellen H. Meilaender
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Craig Nesbitt, January 13, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1606-CR-1233
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Lisa F. Borges,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G04-1506-F2-19293
Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1606-CR-1233 | January 13, 2017 Page 1 of 5
[1] Craig Nesbitt appeals his convictions for Kidnapping,1 a Level 3 Felony, and
Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon,2 a Level 5 Felony. He argues that there
is insufficient evidence supporting his convictions. Finding the evidence
sufficient, we affirm.
Facts
[2] In May 2015, Brandon McClendon, Andreas Wells, and Terrell Gordon shared
an apartment in Indianapolis. On the morning of May 26, McClendon was
getting ready for work while Wells was asleep and Gordon was in the
bathroom. As McClendon opened his apartment door to leave, two males
brandishing guns pushed their way into the apartment and grabbed McClendon
by his shirt. One of the men pointed the gun in McClendon’s face and pushed
him back into the apartment. He continued to push McClendon from the living
room into the hallway. The man repeatedly asked, “Where’s the money?” Tr.
p. 28. As the man pushed McClendon backwards, the two tripped over a piece
of furniture. The man struck McClendon on the head with the gun and the gun
fired, shooting a bullet into the ceiling. The man grabbed McClendon’s shirt
again and dragged him, “like a dog,” through the hallway towards the bedroom
and bathroom. Id. at 34.
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-3-2.
2
Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1606-CR-1233 | January 13, 2017 Page 2 of 5
[3] Meanwhile, Gordon had retrieved his own gun. As the intruders made their
way down the hallway, Gordon aimed his gun through an open door and began
firing. He hit the man who had been dragging McClendon several times,
including once in the face. The intruders ran out, and McClendon barricaded
himself in the bedroom and called the police.
[4] Less than half an hour later, the police received a report of a man being treated
for a gunshot wound at a nearby hospital. At the hospital, they found Nesbitt,
who had been shot in the jaw and the left shoulder. Forensic investigators later
matched Nesbitt’s blood to blood found on the apartment door, the staircase
leading to the apartment, the back door of the apartment building, and the patio
outside.
[5] On June 4, 2015, the State charged Nesbitt with Level 2 felony burglary, Level
3 felony kidnapping, and Level 5 felony battery by means of a deadly weapon.
The State later added another Level 2 felony burglary charge. After an April
25-26, 2016, trial, a jury found Nesbitt guilty of kidnapping and battery, but not
guilty of the two burglary charges. On May 13, 2016, the trial court sentenced
Nesbitt to twelve years on the kidnapping conviction, with two years
suspended, and four years on the battery conviction, to be served concurrently.
Nesbitt now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[6] Nesbitt argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his kidnapping or
battery convictions. He argues that the evidence shows that he did not
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1606-CR-1233 | January 13, 2017 Page 3 of 5
“remove” McClendon, but rather that McClendon’s movements were of his
own volition. Nesbitt also argues that he did not strike McClendon, but that
the two engaged in a mutual struggle over the gun.
[7] When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction, we will
neither reweigh the evidence nor assess witness credibility. Harbert v. State, 51
N.E.3d 267, 275 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016). We will consider only the evidence
supporting the judgment and any reasonable inferences that may be drawn
therefrom, and we will affirm if a reasonable trier of fact could have found the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
[8] To convict Nesbitt of Level 3 felony kidnapping, the State was required to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nesbitt “knowingly or intentionally
remove[d] another person by . . . force, or threat of force, from one place to
another” while armed with a deadly weapon. I.C. § 35-42-3-2(a); -2(b)(2)(A).
To convict him of Level 5 felony battery, the State was required to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that Nesbitt “knowingly or intentionally touche[d]
another person in a rude, insolent or angry manner” and that he did so with a
deadly weapon. I.C. § 35-42-2-1(c)(1); -2(g)(2).
[9] McClendon testified that Nesbitt dragged him by his shirt through the
apartment from the living room down the hallway “like a dog.” Tr. p. 34.
McClendon also testified that Nesbitt “trie[d] to pistol-whip me with the gun,”
and that “in that same motion, the gun hit[] my head.” Id. at 31. The jury
accepted McClendon’s account, which readily supports Nesbitt’s convictions,
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1606-CR-1233 | January 13, 2017 Page 4 of 5
as accurate. Nesbitt’s request that we reinterpret the situation in his favor
amounts to an invitation for us to reweigh the evidence, an invitation that we
decline. Because the uncorroborated testimony of a single witness is sufficient
to support a conviction, Thompson v. State, 612 N.E.2d 1094, 1098 (Ind. Ct.
App. 1993), Nesbitt’s convictions are supported by sufficient evidence.
[10] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Mathias, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1606-CR-1233 | January 13, 2017 Page 5 of 5