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FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: GREGORY PAUL KAUFFMAN South Bend, Indiana ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana ZACHARY J. STOCK Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED
Oct 17 2008, 9:32 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
CHRISTOPHER MANN, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CLERK

No. 71A03-0708-CR-355

APPEAL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Jane Woodward Miller, Judge Cause No. 71D01-0509-FB-116

October 17, 2008

OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION

ROBB, Judge

Case Summary and Issues Following a jury trial, Christopher Mann appeals his conviction and sentence for aggravated battery, a Class B felony. On appeal, Mann raises two issues, which we restate as 1) whether sufficient evidence supports Mann's conviction and 2) whether Mann's sentence violates the Proportionality Clause of Article I, Section 16, of the Indiana Constitution. Concluding that sufficient evidence supports Mann's conviction and that his sentence does not violate the Proportionality Clause, we affirm. Facts and Procedural History On the evening of August 1, 2005, Aareon Neely, Mann's friend, was arguing on the telephone with sixteen-year-old C.B., who was a high school classmate of Neely and Mann, though several years younger. The argument escalated to the point that Neely stated he was "on his way" to the fast food restaurant where C.B. was working so he could "whoop" C.B. Transcript at 163. While en route, Neely contacted Mann, explained to Mann that he had been in an "altercation" with C.B., and asked Mann to accompany him. Id. at 205. Mann agreed, and he and Neely, along with Neely's brother and another friend, drove to the fast food restaurant. 1 According to Mann, he "had no plan on fighting or anything," id. at 207, and instead was accompanying Neely in case things got out of hand. Things got out of hand almost immediately after Neely and the other three arrived; Neely and C.B. wrestled briefly in a close-quarters "vestibule" until Neely got the upper hand and starting kicking C.B. Id. at 165. According to one of C.B.'s co-workers, Neely's
1

Mann's trial testimony suggests the brother of Neely's other friend also may have ridden along with this group, but Mann's testimony is not entirely clear on this point. See id. at 206.

2

accomplices entered the vestibule and started kicking C.B. while C.B. was "[o]n the floor" and "in a cradle position." Id. at 136-37. Another co-worker of C.B.'s tried to enter the vestibule, but one of the attackers (the record is unclear if it was Mann) held the door shut. The four attackers then drove away, leaving a semi-conscious C.B. in a pool of his own blood. C.B. testified at trial that he sustained a fractured skull and "bruises and contusions all over [his] body." Id. at 167. C.B. also testified that for two months after the attack, he experienced headaches, "some kind of clear liquid draining" from his ear, and "muffled hearing" in his right ear. Id. On September 13, 2005, the State charged Mann with aggravated battery, a Class B felony, and battery as a Class C felony. 2 On February 6 and 7, 2007, the trial court presided over a jury trial, which included testimony from C.B., the co-worker who witnessed the attack, two investigating officers, and Mann. The jury found Mann guilty on both counts, but the trial court entered a judgment of conviction on the aggravated battery count only, presumably due to double jeopardy concerns. On March 2, 2007, the trial court sentenced Mann to six years executed, the statutory minimum term for a Class B felony. 3 Mann now appeals. Discussion and Decision

The battery count was charged as a Class C felony because the State alleged the battery resulted in serious bodily injury. See Ind. Code

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