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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: MARK S. LENYO South Bend, Indiana

FILED
Jul 05 2011, 9:18 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana KARL M. SCHARNBERG Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
DURON REESE SMITH, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 71A03-1012-CR-679

APPEAL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable John M. Marnocha, Judge Cause No. 71D02-1008-FC-199

July 5, 2011 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

BRADFORD, Judge

Appellant/Defendant Duron Reese Smith appeals his two convictions for Class C felony Battery.1 Specifically, Smith contends that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting certain evidence at trial. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Smith and Shayla Sink became involved in a romantic relationship after meeting in August of 2009. Sink became pregnant during this romantic relationship. On March 18, 2010, Sink received a text message from an unknown caller. Sink asked Smith to call the unknown caller's phone number to determine who it was. When Smith called the number, a male answered. Upon hearing the male voice, Smith became angry and repeatedly struck Sink across the face. Sink suffered swelling and bruising to her face, but did not immediately report the incident to the police. At some point, representatives of the Department of Child Services ("DCS") came to Sink's home to investigate the cause of her injuries and to remove her three children from her home. Sink initially told the DCS representatives that she had received the injuries during a fight with another woman, but eventually admitted that she had received the injuries when Smith repeatedly struck her face. At the suggestion of the DCS representatives, Sink reported the March 18, 2010 incident to the police. Soon thereafter, Sink received multiple angry and threatening voicemail messages from Smith. In these messages, Smith referred to Sink as a "snitch" and stated that he hoped "that thing in [her] stomach pops ... its heart pops." State's Ex. 11.

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Ind. Code

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