Jeremiah Roberts v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2017 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
FILED
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Oct 31 2017, 10:27 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
Ellen M. O’Connor Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana Christina D. Pace
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jeremiah Roberts, October 31, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A05-1702-CR-289
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Marc
Appellee-Plaintiff. T. Rothenberg, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
49G02-1401-MR-2947
Pyle, Judge.
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Statement of the Case
[1] Jeremiah Roberts (“Roberts”) appeals his conviction by jury of murder.1 He
argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction because the
State failed to prove his identity beyond a reasonable doubt. Concluding that
the evidence is sufficient, we affirm his conviction.
[2] We affirm.
Issue
The sole issue for our review is whether there is sufficient
evidence to support Roberts’ conviction.
Facts
[3] The facts most favorable to the verdict reveal that in January 2014, the owner of
a dog rescue shelter in Indianapolis allowed Roberts, Derek Romano
(“Romano”), and their two dogs to stay in a pole barn on the shelter’s property.
Because Roberts and Romano were homeless and jobless, the shelter’s owner,
Jennifer Fodera (“Fodera”) allowed the men to take care of the shelter dogs and
to do odd jobs in exchange for the room.
[4] On January 18, Roberts ordered a pizza for the sole purpose of robbing the
delivery driver. When the driver, John Sullivan (“Sullivan”), arrived at the
shelter, Roberts attacked him with a hammer in the front entry of the shelter,
1
IND. CODE § 35-42-1-1.
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duct-taped his hands behind his back, and dragged his body to the basement.
After attempting to clean up Sullivan’s blood in the entry and office areas,
Roberts and Romano stole Sullivan’s car and drove west.
[5] When Fodera and a helper arrived at the shelter the following morning, they
noticed blood in the office and on the basement door. Fodera also noticed a
hammer that was usually kept in the pole barn and bleach that was usually kept
under the sink. As Fodera walked down the stairs to the basement, she noticed
blood and possible drag marks. She discovered Sullivan’s body behind a
furnace in the basement. His hands were secured with duct tape, and his body
was covered in plastic that was also secured with duct tape. He wore an empty
gun holster.
[6] Roberts and Romano were subsequently arrested in Wyoming after they
abandoned Sullivan’s car. Police officers found Sullivan’s gun in Roberts’
backpack. During his initial interview with the Wyoming police officers,
Roberts denied that he had ever been in Indiana. Roberts later told the officers
that Sullivan had confronted him with a gun so Roberts had tied him up and
had placed him in the basement.
[7] Roberts subsequently admitted robbing Sullivan but denied killing him.
Specifically, Roberts explained as follows:
We ordered a pizza. Fucking robbed him, tied him up, put him
in the basement. We ain’t killed nobody . . . I don’t know he
must have fell down the stairs or something. I don’t know what
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happened to him, but we just took him and put him in the
basement and we left and we drove down here.
(Ex. 22 at 30).
[8] Roberts was charged in Indiana with robbery and murder. Testimony at
Roberts’ jury trial revealed that Sullivan’s cause of death was multiple blunt
force traumatic injuries to the head. These injuries were consistent with having
been caused by a hammer. Sullivan, who was bound with duct tape, also
suffered from scrapes and bruising to his chest that were consistent with his
body having been dragged. Sullivan’s DNA, which was based on blood
evidence, was found inside the front door, on the front entry landing, along a
pathway from the front door to the basement, and on the basement door.
[9] Testimony at trial also revealed that Roberts’ DNA was found on the out-of-
place hammer’s handle and on the sticky side of a roll of duct tape in the office.
Roberts’ hand print was found on the bleach bottle.
[10] At trial, Roberts testified that Romano had initiated the robbery and had fought
with Sullivan over Sullivan’s gun. Roberts testified that he had intervened to
help Romano, and the two men then walked Sullivan to the basement and told
him to stay there until they were gone. He further testified that they drove off
in Sullivan’s car, but Romano had insisted that they return to the house for his
phone. According to Roberts, he waited in the car while Romano went inside
for five to ten minutes and that they then drove to Wyoming in Sullivan’s car.
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[11] The jury convicted Roberts of robbery and murder. He now appeals the murder
conviction.
Decision
[12] Roberts argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his murder
conviction because the State failed to prove his identity as the perpetrator of the
murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Our standard of review for sufficiency of
the evidence claims is well settled. We consider only the probative evidence
and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d
144, 146 (Ind. 2007). We do not reweigh the evidence or judge witness
credibility. Id. We will affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact finder
could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
The evidence is sufficient if an inference may be reasonably drawn from it to
support the verdict. Id. at 147.
[13] Roberts specifically argues that his “mere presence [at the crime scene] and the
circumstantial evidence were insufficient to convict him [of murder].”
(Roberts’ Br. 11). However, we agree with the State that “ample circumstantial
evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that [Roberts] was the individual who
committed Sullivan’s murder.” (State’s Br. 12).
[14] Specifically, our review of the evidence reveals that Roberts admitted robbing
Sullivan and walking him to the basement but denied killing him. However,
Sullivan’s blood and DNA were found inside the front door, on the front entry
landing, along a pathway from the front door to the basement, and on the
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basement door. He was found dead in the basement. His hands were bound
with duct tape, and he was covered in plastic wrap that was also secured with
duct tape. Sullivan’s death was caused by blunt force traumatic injuries to his
head that were consistent with being struck with a hammer. Sullivan also had
injuries consistent with having been dragged down the stairs to the basement.
Roberts’ DNA was found on a hammer and a bottle of bleach. His DNA was
also found on the sticky side of a roll of duct tape. This evidence, which
supports a reasonable inference that Roberts murdered Sullivan, is sufficient to
support Roberts’ murder conviction. See Drane, 867 N.E.2d at 147.
[15] Roberts’ arguments that he “used supplies and tools to tend to the rescue dogs”
and that Sullivan “was standing and cussing when [Roberts] headed west” are
nothing more than requests that we reweigh the evidence. (Roberts’ Br. at 10,
14). This we cannot do. See id. at 146. There is sufficient evidence to support
Roberts’ conviction.
[16] Affirmed.
Riley, J., and Robb, J., concur.
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