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FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: KAREN CELESTINO-HORSEMAN Indianapolis, Indiana ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana MONIKA PREKOPA TALBOT Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

Dec 23 2008, 8:59 am

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

CLERK

No. 49A02-0806-CR-482

APPEAL FROM THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Lisa Borges, Judge Cause No. 49F15-0710-FD-211214

December 23, 2008

OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION

BROWN, Judge

Valentino Griffith appeals his convictions for criminal recklessness as a class D felony,1 intimidation as a class D felony,2 and battery as a class A misdemeanor.3 Griffith raises two issues, which we revise and restate as: I. Whether the trial court erred by permitting Brenda Fuller to testify without having been sworn to tell the truth; Whether the trial court abused its discretion by excluding Griffith's alleged hearsay statements; and Whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Griffith's convictions.

II.

III. We affirm.

The relevant facts follow. Griffith and Brenda Fuller were neighbors in a duplex at 646 Division Street. On September 9, 2007, Griffith and Fuller were arguing in her car at 646 Division Street. Fuller stepped out of her car and asked Griffith not to slam the door. Griffith got out of the car, walked up to Fuller, pushed her against the car, and told her to leave. Fuller told Griffith that she did not have to leave, and Griffith started pushing her more. Griffith then pulled out a gun, pointed it at Fuller's head and

"jammed" it into her ribs, and told her that he was going to shoot her if she did not leave. Transcript at 18. When Griffith pointed the gun at Fuller, Griffith's nephew, Darnell Williams, stepped in between Griffith and Fuller as Griffith was pushing Fuller. At one point, Griffith grabbed Fuller's left breast and "twisted it," which was "very painful," and
1

Ind. Code

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