Lamont Hudgins v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2015 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Dec 30 2015, 5:59 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
Deborah Markisohn Gregory F. Zoeller
Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Katherine Modesitt Cooper
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Lamont Hudgins, December 30, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1505-CR-330
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court.
The Honorable Lisa F. Borges,
State of Indiana, Judge.
Appellee-Plaintiff. Cause No. 49G04-1408-F4-39542
Shepard, Senior Judge
[1] The State accused Lamont Hudgins of possessing a razor blade while
incarcerated. After a bench trial, the court found Hudgins guilty of being a
prisoner in possession of a deadly weapon, a Level 4 felony. Ind. Code § 35-
44.1-3-7 (2014).
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[2] Hudgins challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. At trial, the State presented
evidence that Hudgins attacked another inmate, that the inmate suffered
slashing wounds as a result of the fight, and that a razor blade bearing Hudgins’
and the victim’s DNA was later found where the fight had occurred.
Concluding that this evidence is sufficient, we affirm.
Issue
[3] Hudgins raises one issue: whether there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that he possessed a deadly weapon.
Facts and Procedural History
[4] On August 13, 2014, Hudgins was incarcerated at a jail in Marion County. He
was assigned to a large room, Dormitory 2D. Hudgins shared the dormitory
with several other inmates, including Shayne Hairston. Tensions were high
that day because a prisoner had smuggled contraband into the dorm, and jail
authorities had revoked the inmates’ commissary privileges upon discovering
the contraband.
[5] Much of the event giving rise to the conviction was recorded on Dormitory
2D’s security camera. Hudgins accused Hairston of being a snitch, and a
recording shows the two men arguing. Hairston threw Hudgins’ bedding on the
ground. A guard ordered Hairston to leave the dorm in an attempt to defuse
the situation. As Hairston walked toward the door, he spit at Hudgins.
Hairston heard someone shout “watch out!” Tr. p. 14.
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[6] Hudgins followed Hairston into the hallway. The security recording shows
Hudgins attacking Hairston, and the two men struggling. Hairston felt “a
stinging sensation” on his neck, hand, and arm during the fight. Id. at 15. Jail
employees arrived and separated the two. They noticed Hairston was bleeding
from his neck. Hudgins had blood on his hand but was not injured. There was
“a lot of blood, on the walls and on the floor” where the two men had fought.
Id. at 124.
[7] Hairston was taken to the jail’s infirmary, where employees determined that he
had lacerations on his neck, hand, and arm. The neck laceration was several
inches long and needed stiches.
[8] Meanwhile, jail staff cleaned up the blood at the scene of the fight. An
employee discovered a small razor blade on the floor. One end of the razor had
been wrapped with tape or a label. Samples were taken from the razor, and a
forensic scientist compared DNA profiles generated from those samples against
Hudgins’ and Hairston’s DNA profiles. The untaped end of the razor blade
matched a mixture of Hudgins and Hairston’s profiles. The taped end of the
razor blade was a mixture of at least four individuals, and Hudgins and
Hairston could not be excluded.
[9] The State charged Hudgins, who waived his right to jury. A bench trial
produced guilty verdicts for being a prisoner in possession of a deadly weapon,
a Level 4 felony, and battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony.
At the sentencing hearing, the court entered judgments on being a prisoner in
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possession of a deadly weapon and on battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class
A misdemeanor, as a lesser included offense of battery.
Discussion and Decision
[10] Hudgins argues that the State failed to prove that he possessed the razor blade.
In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we affirm unless no
reasonable trier of fact could have found each of the elements of a crime proven
beyond a reasonable doubt. Smith v. State, 8 N.E.3d 668 (Ind. 2014). A
conviction may be sustained on circumstantial evidence if that evidence
supports a reasonable inference of guilt. Fry v. State, 25 N.E.3d 237 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2015), trans. denied.
[11] To obtain a conviction for possession of a deadly weapon by an inmate, the
State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hudgins (1) while
incarcerated in a penal facility (2) knowingly or intentionally (3) possessed a
deadly weapon (4) that was used in a manner capable of causing bodily injury.
Ind. Code § 35-44.1-3-7.
[12] Hairston was uninjured before Hudgins attacked him in the hallway outside
their dormitory. As they fought, Hairston felt stinging sensations on his neck,
arm, and hand, locations where he was later found to have sustained
lacerations. After jail employees ended the fight, there was a lot of blood on the
floor and a nearby wall. Hudgins was unhurt, but Hairston was wounded and
needed stitches. Jail employees found the razor blade that bore Hairston’s and
Hudgins’ DNA.
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[13] Hudgins notes that Hairston instigated the fight and speculates that he may
have brought the razor to the fight, only to have Hudgins turn it against him.
He also points to evidence that blades were sometimes simply found in jail,
their origin unexplained. This is a request to reweigh the evidence.
[14] We conclude that a reasonable finder of fact could find this circumstantial
evidence proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Hudgins possessed the razor
blade. See Peters v. State, 959 N.E.2d 347 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (circumstantial
evidence established that defendant illegally possessed a firearm).
[15] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
[16] Affirmed.
Bailey, J., and Crone, J., concur.
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