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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.

FILED
Feb 02 2009, 8:48 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: BRUCE E. ANDIS Lebanon, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana GARY D. SECREST Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

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

No. 49A02-0806-CR-572

APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Lisa Borges, Judge Cause No. 49F15-0705-FD-082208

February 2, 2009 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION VAIDIK, Judge

Case Summary Jeremy Chambers appeals his convictions for escape and resisting law enforcement. Specifically, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support them. Concluding that the evidence proves that Chambers knowingly or intentionally violated a home detention order and forcibly resisted a police officer, we affirm. Facts and Procedural History In May 2007, Chambers, who lived on Birchwood Avenue in Indianapolis, was on home detention. According to the "SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF HOME DETENTION CONTRACT," Chambers SHALL be confined inside (within the walls of [his] residence: front door to back door) [his] home at all times except when [among other exceptions]: ***** C. Attending an approved educational program authorized by the Court, the Probation Department, or [his] Community Supervision Manager (CSM) or Home Detention Officer (HDO). Ex. p. 2. On May 7, 2007, Chambers called the monitoring center of Marion County Community Corrections and sought permission to attend the Indianapolis campus of Ivy Tech Community College, which is located on Meridian Street, for that week. Tr. p. 25. Chambers requested the hours of noon to 7 p.m. Id. at 26. At approximately 6 p.m. on May 9, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Jason Zotz observed Chambers sitting on a stoop in front of the residence at 921 West Udell Street in Indianapolis. Officer Zotz knew Chambers from previous

encounters and radioed fellow Officer Larry Stargel. Officer Stargel then observed 2

Chambers standing behind the residence. Officer Stargel knew that Chambers was on home detention and should not be in the area. Officer Stargel approached Chambers and told him he was under arrest for escape. Officer Stargel placed Chambers in handcuffs and told him that they were going to move to a more central location to wait for the prisoner wagon. Officer Stargel then told Chambers to enter the front seat of his patrol car, and Chambers said "No." Officer Stargel again told Chambers to enter the front seat of his patrol car and then guided him by placing his hands on his shoulders and pushing him down into the car. Chambers again refused and forced himself backwards toward Officer Stargel by using his upper torso. While Chambers was forcing Officer Stargel backwards out of the car, Officer Stargel went ahead and placed Chambers on the ground and maintained control of him as Chambers was trying to escape his grasp. Officer Stargel advised communications that Chambers was resisting, and Officer Zotz responded. At that point, Chambers was successfully controlled on the ground, and the prisoner wagon sped to the scene. The State charged Chambers with Class D felony escape and Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. At his bench trial, Chambers testified that on May 9, 2007, a friend took him to Ivy Tech so that he could check his grades and try to register for classes. When he was finished, he called his friend to pick him up.

Chambers told his friend to "[t]ake [him] home"; however, they "ended up on Udell." Id. at 61. According to Chambers, his friend left his wallet at the Udell Street residence, so they went there first. Chambers testified that he had only been there thirty seconds when 3

the officers saw him. As for the resisting charge, Chambers testified that he "stood rigid" because he did not want to get in the car with Officer Stargel, fearing that Officer Stargel was going to take him to a remote location and harm him. Id. at 66. The trial court found Chambers guilty as charged and sentenced him to an aggregate term of 545 days, with 180 days executed and 365 days suspended to probation. Chambers now appeals. Discussion and Decision Chambers contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for escape and resisting law enforcement. When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, appellate courts must only consider the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). It is the factfinders role, not that of appellate courts, to assess witness credibility and weigh the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient. Id. To preserve this structure, when appellate courts are confronted with conflicting evidence, they must consider it "most favorably to the trial courts ruling." Id. Appellate courts affirm the conviction unless "no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. at 146-47 (quotation omitted). It is therefore not necessary that the evidence "overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence." Id. at 147 (quotation omitted). "[T]he evidence is sufficient if an inference may reasonably be drawn from it to support the verdict." Id. (quotation omitted). In order to convict Chambers of Class D felony escape as charged in this case, the State had to prove that he knowingly or intentionally violated a home detention order by 4

being present in a place he was not authorized to be.

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