James Vibbert v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2017 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
FILED
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
09/18/2017, 10:11 am
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
CLERK
regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
court except for the purpose of establishing and Tax Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Timothy J. Burns Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Henry A. Flores, Jr.
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
James Vibbert, September 18, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A04-1704-CR-665
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Angela Dow
Appellee-Plaintiff. Davis, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G16-1603-CM-12242
Barnes, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] James Vibbert appeals his conviction for Class A misdemeanor domestic
battery. We affirm.
Issue
[2] Vibbert raises one issue, which we restate as whether the evidence is sufficient
to sustain his conviction.
Facts
[3] On March 25, 2016, Samantha Vibbert was at her parents’ apartment in
Indianapolis with Vibbert, and she and Vibbert got into an argument.1
Samantha told him to leave, and he went outside to his vehicle where he started
sending threatening texts to Samantha. Samantha went outside to talk to
Vibbert and sat in his truck. They started arguing again, and Vibbert punched
Samantha twice and put her “in a chokehold.” Tr. Vol. II p. 12. Samantha was
able to get out of the vehicle, and she returned to her parents’ apartment.
Samantha’s stepmother, Mari Capps, saw that Samantha’s lip was bleeding.
[4] The State charged Vibbert with Class A misdemeanor domestic battery and
Class A misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. Vibbert represented
himself at a bench trial, and the trial court found him guilty as charged. The
1
Samantha testified that they got married in February 2016. Vibbert testified that he was married to
Samantha but later discovered that he was “never divorced from [his] second wife.” Tr. Vol. II p. 60.
According to Vibbert, a court in Kentucky invalidated the marriage.
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trial court entered judgment of conviction on the domestic battery charge and
sentenced Vibbert to 365 days suspended to probation. Vibbert now appeals.
Analysis
[5] Vibbert challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction. In
reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we neither reweigh the evidence nor
judge the credibility of witnesses. Willis v. State, 27 N.E.3d 1065, 1066 (Ind.
2015). We only consider “the evidence supporting the judgment and any
reasonable inferences that can be drawn from such evidence.” Id. A conviction
will be affirmed if there is substantial evidence of probative value supporting
each element of the offense such that a reasonable trier of fact could have found
the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. “‘It is the job of the fact-
finder to determine whether the evidence in a particular case sufficiently proves
each element of an offense, and we consider conflicting evidence most
favorably to the trial court’s ruling.’” Id. at 1066-67 (quoting Wright v. State, 828
N.E.2d 904, 906 (Ind. 2005)).
[6] At the time of Vibbert’s offense, Indiana Code Section 35-42-2-1.3(a)2 provided:
A person who knowingly or intentionally touches an individual
who:
(1) is or was a spouse of the other person;
2
Indiana Code Section 35-42-2-1.3 was later amended by Pub. L. No. 65-2016, § 34 (eff. July 1, 2016).
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(2) is or was living as if a spouse of the other person as provided
in subsection (c); or
(3) has a child in common with the other person;
in a rude, insolent, or angry manner that results in bodily injury
to the person described in subdivision (1), (2), or (3) commits
domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
[7] Vibbert does not dispute that he was either married to Samantha or living with
her as if he was her spouse. Rather, he argues that he did not hit Samantha and
that her testimony is insufficient to sustain the conviction.
[8] Vibbert merely requests that we reweigh the evidence, which we cannot do.
Willis, 27 N.E.3d at 1066. The State presented evidence through Samantha’s
testimony that Vibbert punched her twice and put her in a chokehold. Capps
testified that Samantha’s lip was bleeding after Samantha talked to Vibbert.
This evidence is sufficient to sustain Vibbert’s conviction for Class A
misdemeanor domestic battery.
Conclusion
[9] The evidence is sufficient to sustain Vibbert’s conviction. We affirm.
[10] Affirmed.
May, J., and Bradford, J., concur.
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