Appeal
from the Tippecanoe Circuit Court The Honorable Sean M.
Persin, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 79C01-1711-F1-6
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Bruce W. Graham Graham Law Firm P.C.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Attorney General
of Indiana Ellen H. Meilaender
May,
Judge.
[¶1]
Loren David Gary appeals his convictions of Level 1 felony
attempted murder, [1]Level 5 felony intimidation, [2] and Level 6
felony intimidation.[3] He presents multiple issues, which we
consolidate and restate as:
1. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence Gary
committed Level 1 felony attempted murder and Level 6 felony
intimidation, and
2. Whether Gary's convictions of Level 1 felony attempted
murder and Level 5 felony intimidation subject him to double
jeopardy.
We
reverse and remand in part and affirm in part.
Facts
and Procedural History [4]
[¶2]
Sometime in October 2017, Gary moved in with his nephew,
Jeramy Deboise, Jeramy's girlfriend, and Jeramy's
infant daughter. On the evening of November 4, 2017, Gary
drank to intoxication. Gary was peaceful at first, but then
left the house to go to the garage. While in the garage, he
called his sister, Tamara Beard, who is Jeramy's mother,
and told her he was "going to shoot Jeramy in the
shoulder and [she] can figure the rest of it out." (Tr.
Vol. II at 97.) Tamara called Jeramy to tell him what Gary
said and then she called 911.
[¶3]
Jeramy confronted Gary and asked him if anything was wrong.
Gary replied "fuck yeah" and "looked quite
angry." (Id. at 106.) Gary told Jeramy that he
"was going to grab the gun and shoot [him] in the
shoulder." (Id.) Gary then walked into a back
room, and Jeramy heard "something that sounded like a
gun cocking." (Id. at 107.) Jeramy gathered his
girlfriend and infant daughter, and they ran out of the
house. Upon arriving at a neighbor's house, Jeramy called
Tamara and 911.
[¶4]
Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Lieutenant Travis Dowell was
dispatched to the scene and arrived in a police-issued Dodge
Ram truck with Sheriff's Office decals on the side.
Lieutenant Dowell did not turn on the truck's lights or
siren because he did not "want the person in the house
if they're that agitated to get more agitated . . . [and
also] not to alert the suspect that we were coming."
(Id. at 156.) Upon his arrival at the scene,
Lieutenant Dowell observed Gary hiding behind a car. He
exited his vehicle and yelled "show me your hands."
(Id. at 157.)
[¶5]
Gary fired a shot that hit the front license plate holder on
Lieutenant Dowell's truck. Lieutenant Dowell ducked
behind the truck door and then moved to the rear of the truck
for cover. Several times Lieutenant Dowell ordered Gary to
drop the weapon, but Gary did not do so. Instead Gary
positioned himself over the trunk of a car with his gun
pointed at Lieutenant Dowell. At some point, Gary's gun
jammed. Lieutenant Dowell then got into position to return
fire, and Gary threw his gun on the ground and raised his
arms. Other officers, who arrived shortly thereafter,
arrested Gary. The entire incident was captured on Lieutenant
Dowell's dashboard camera.
[¶6]
The State charged Gary with Level 1 felony attempted murder,
Level 5 felony attempted battery, [5] Level 5 felony intimidation,
Level 6 felony pointing a firearm, [6] Level 6 felony criminal
recklessness, [7] and Level 6 felony intimidation. The State
also sought a sentencing enhancement for the use of a firearm
in the crime.[8] Following a jury trial on all but the
sentencing enhancement allegation, Gary was found guilty of
all charges. The trial court then held a bench trial on the
State's request for a sentencing enhancement based on the
use of a firearm in the crime and determined Gary had used a
firearm in the commission of the crime. The trial court
vacated the attempted battery, pointing a firearm, and
criminal recklessness convictions on double jeopardy grounds.
On August 10, 2018, the trial court sentenced Gary to
thirty-three years for attempted murder, four years for the
Level 5 felony intimidation conviction enhanced by five years
for the use of a firearm, and two years for the Level 6
felony intimidation conviction. The attempted murder and
enhanced Level 5 felony intimidation sentences were to be
served concurrently, but consecutive to the Level 6 felony
intimidation sentence for an aggregate sentence of
thirty-five years, with three years suspended to probation.
Discussion
and Decision
Sufficiency
of Evidence
[¶7]
When reviewing sufficiency of the evidence in support of a
conviction, we will consider only probative evidence in the
light most favorable to the trial court's judgment.
Binkley v. State,654 N.E.2d 736, 737 (Ind. 1995),
reh'g denied. The decision comes before us with
a presumption of legitimacy, and we will not substitute our
judgment for that of the fact-finder. Id. We do not
assess the credibility of the witnesses or reweigh the
evidence in determining whether the evidence is sufficient.
Drane v. State,867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007).
Reversal is appropriate only when no reasonable fact-finder
could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a
reasonable doubt. Id. ...