Amanda Gonzales v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Mar 11 2016, 5:34 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
Donald E. Hamilton Gregory F. Zoeller
New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Brian Reitz
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Amanda Gonzales, March 11, 2016
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
30A01-1509-CR-1308
v. Appeal from the Hancock Superior
Court.
The Honorable Terry K. Snow,
State of Indiana, Judge.
Appellee-Plaintiff. Cause No. 30D01-1409-F6-1620
Shepard, Senior Judge
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[1] After a bench trial, the court determined that Amanda Gonzales was guilty of
1
battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a Level 6 felony, and conspiracy to
2
commit battery, a Level 6 felony, in connection with a jail assault. She appeals
only the conspiracy conviction, and we affirm.
Issue
[2] Gonzales raises a single issue: whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain
her conspiracy conviction.
Facts and Procedural History
[3] On the evening of September 18, 2014, Corrections Officer Michael McPherson
was on patrol in the Hancock County Jail when he heard screaming coming
from Cell Block H. He entered the cell block and approached a cell, where he
saw inmates Gonzales and Laquita Griggs repeatedly hitting another inmate,
Kristy Campbell, as she screamed for help. Officer McPherson ordered
Gonzales and Griggs to desist, but they continued attacking Campbell until he
drew his Taser. Campbell was taken to the infirmary for treatment.
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1 (2014).
2
Ind. Code § 35-41-5-2 (2014).
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[4] The State charged Gonzales with battery, conspiracy to commit battery, and
obstruction of justice. During a bench trial, the court dismissed the obstruction
charge and found Gonzales guilty of battery and conspiracy to commit battery.
Discussion and Decision
[5] Gonzales does not dispute that she battered Campbell but claims there is
insufficient evidence that she conspired with others for the attack. 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). We neither reweigh
evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses. Id.[6] To obtain a conviction for conspiracy to commit battery, the State was required
to prove that Gonzales (1) with the intent to commit battery (2) agreed with
other persons (3) to commit battery (4) and either Gonzales or another party to
the agreement performed an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. Ind.
Code § 35-41-5-2. An agreement may be inferred from circumstantial evidence,
which may include the overt acts of the parties in furtherance of the criminal
act. Dickenson v. State, 835 N.E.2d 542 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005), trans. denied.
[7] Prior to September 18, 2014, Campbell had given information to law
enforcement about a pending criminal case against Gonzales. On September
18, an inmate asked Campbell to go to a cell. Campbell went into the cell and
sat down on a mattress on the floor.
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[8] Next, Gonzales and Griggs entered the cell together. Gonzales asked
Campbell, “What did you do, Kristy?” Tr. p. 45. Campbell responded, “What
do you mean?” Id. Gonzales told Campbell, “You know what you did. Now
would be the time to be honest.” Id. Campbell said, “You need to be more
specific.” Id. Griggs hit Campbell, and Gonzales followed suit. Campbell
curled up in a fetal position and screamed for help as Griggs and Gonzales
continued to hit her and pulled out her hair. Gonzales told Campbell, “No one
is gonna help you.” Id. at 49. After several minutes, Officer McPherson heard
Campbell’s screams and ended the attack. Later, a police officer reviewed
security camera recordings of the cell block during the time of the battery. He
saw one inmate turn up a television’s volume to drown out the sounds of the
battery, and another inmate guarded an alarm button to prevent others in the
cell block from requesting help.
[9] The evidence that Gonzales and Griggs approached Campbell in a cell and
attacked her in concert, asserting that no one would help her, while an inmate
tried to cover up the sound of Campbell’s screams and another inmate guarded
the alarm button, establishes that Gonzales and others agreed to batter
Campbell and took steps to carry out the agreement. See Whittle v. State, 542
N.E.2d 981 (Ind. 1989) (where defendant and companions appeared at victims’
clubhouse together and jointly attacked the victims, evidence of conspiracy
adequate), overruled in part on other grounds by Scisney v. State, 701 N.E.2d 847(Ind. 1998).
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Conclusion
[10] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
[11] Affirmed.
Vaidik, C.J., and Bailey, J., concur.
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