Juventino Vargas-Rodriguez v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any
court except for the purpose of establishing Aug 09 2017, 9:28 am
the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
estoppel, or the law of the case. Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Thomas P. Keller Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
South Bend, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
James B. Martin
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Juventino Vargas-Rodriguez, August 9, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
71A03-1609-CR-2118
v. Appeal from the Saint Joseph
Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Elizabeth Hurley,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
71D08-1509-MR-13
Vaidik, Chief Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] Juventino Vargas-Rodriguez appeals his conviction for murder. Ricardo
Ramirez shot and killed Jorge Garcia, and Vargas-Rodriguez was convicted of
murder as an accomplice. On appeal, he concedes that he is responsible for
Garcia’s death, but he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support a
murder conviction because the State did not prove that he intended for Garcia
to be killed or that he knew that Garcia would be killed. Instead, Vargas-
Rodriguez argues that he should be convicted only of reckless homicide.
Finding sufficient evidence, we affirm his conviction for murder.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] Around 3:00 a.m. on September 6, 2015, Garcia and his friends left a club in
South Bend. Vargas-Rodriguez was at the same club. As Garcia walked out,
he and Vargas-Rodriguez got into an argument. With encouragement from
friends, Garcia walked away in hopes of continuing his birthday celebration.
Garcia left in a gray truck being driven by his friend. They followed more
friends to a house party. Vargas-Rodriguez then left the club to go get his white
Chevrolet Impala to “ride around and drink” with his friend, Luis Gonzalez.
Tr. Vol. I p. 167.
[3] Later, Vargas-Rodriguez, while driving around, encountered the truck Garcia
was in. Vargas-Rodriguez and Gonzalez felt the truck was “trying to drive
[them] off the road.” Id. at 168. Eventually, Vargas-Rodriguez eluded the truck
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and picked up two more friends, Manuel Vargas and Ricardo Ramirez, who
suggested that they “go find them” and “see if they want to fight.” Id. at 169-
70. Vargas-Rodriguez began searching for the truck with Gonzalez as the front-
seat passenger, Vargas as the right rear passenger, and Ramirez as the left rear
passenger.
[4] After Vargas-Rodriguez found the truck, he began chasing it southbound on
Harris Street. While on Harris Street, Ramirez fired at least nine shots at the
truck within three to four seconds. Most shots struck the back of the truck. The
truck turned west on Sample Street, and Vargas-Rodriguez continued to chase it
at seventy miles per hour. Ramirez announced that he found more bullets in
his pocket and loaded two into his gun. See Tr. Vol. II pp. 74-75. The truck
turned north on Olive Street, and Vargas-Rodriguez followed. Vargas-
Rodriguez pulled up “side by side” to the cab of the truck, and Ramirez fired
two more shots. Id. at 65. One bullet entered the driver’s door, and the other
struck Garcia in the head. Vargas-Rodriguez then proceeded ahead and pulled
over on the side of the road. He and his friends threw Corona bottles at the
truck as it passed.
[5] Garcia was taken to the hospital, where he later died from the gunshot wound
to his head. The State charged Vargas-Rodriguez with murder as an
accomplice to Ramirez.1 A jury trial was held. The jury was instructed on
1
Ramirez was also charged with murder and is currently awaiting trial.
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murder and reckless homicide; it found Vargas-Rodriguez guilty of murder.
The trial court sentenced Vargas-Rodriguez to fifty years in the Indiana
Department of Correction.
[6] Vargas-Rodriguez now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[7] Vargas-Rodriguez contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his
conviction for murder. He concedes that the evidence is “sufficient to convict
him under accomplice liability for his involvement in the death of Jorge
Garcia”; however, he “disputes that the State proved that the crime committed
was Murder.” Appellant’s Br. p. 13. Rather, he claims that the evidence only
supports a finding of reckless homicide.
[8] When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction,
appellate courts must consider only the probative evidence and reasonable
inferences supporting the verdict. Sallee v. State, 51 N.E.3d 130, 133 (Ind.
2016). It is the fact-finder’s role, not that of appellate courts, to assess witness
credibility and weigh the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to
support a conviction. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). To
preserve this structure, when appellate courts are confronted with conflicting
evidence, we must consider the evidence most favorable to the trial court’s
ruling. Id. The evidence is sufficient if an inference may reasonably be drawn
from it to support the verdict. Id. at 147.
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[9] Murder occurs when a person “knowingly or intentionally kills another human
being.” Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1(1). “A person engages in conduct ‘knowingly’ if,
when he engages in the conduct, he is aware of a high probability that he is
doing so.” Ind. Code § 35-41-2-2(b). Here, Vargas-Rodriguez knew that
Ramirez had a gun when he turned west on Sample Street because of the volley
of shots fired into the back of the truck on Harris Street. Vargas-Rodriguez
continued to chase the truck at seventy miles per hour. Ramirez announced
that he found more bullets as he reloaded his gun, and Vargas-Rodriguez knew
that there was a high probability that Ramirez could kill someone when he
pulled his car next to the truck on Olive Street. Therefore, the evidence
presented at trial was sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that Vargas-
Rodriguez committed murder when he chased the truck, pulled up next to it,
and aided Ramirez to make his final two shots.
[10] Affirmed.
Bailey, J., and Robb, J., concur.
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