Opinion
23A-CR-2695
09-10-2024
Jeremiah Jordyn Smith, Appellant-Defendant, v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Allan W. Reid Foley Panszi Law, LLC Zionsville, Indiana ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana Kathy J. Bradley Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.
Appeal from the Boone Circuit Court The Honorable Lori N. Schein, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 06C01-2009-F3-1513
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
Allan W. Reid Foley Panszi Law, LLC Zionsville, Indiana
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana
Kathy J. Bradley Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana
MEMORANDUM DECISION
SHEPARD, SENIOR JUDGE
[¶1] Jeremiah Jordyn Smith became involved in a fracas, and he stabbed an unarmed man. Smith appeals his conviction of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, arguing the State failed to present sufficient evidence to rebut his claim of self-defense. Concluding that evidence is sufficient, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[¶2] On the night of August 29, 2020, James Mossberg went to his brother's house in Lebanon, Indiana and drank beer. His ex-girlfriend, Autumn Copeland, arrived at the house and visited for a short time. According to Mossberg, they kissed for a while. According to Copeland, she shoved him after he tried to kiss her and lay on top of her. Copeland left in her sport utility vehicle ("SUV").
[¶3] Next, Mossberg walked to the nearby home of his cousin, Robert Wiley. Wiley had also been drinking. The two men argued, and Mossberg left. Mossberg went back to his brother's house and drank more beer before returning to Wiley's house. The two men argued again, and Wiley left.
[¶4] Wiley called Copeland, whom he had known since childhood, to complain about Mossberg. By this time, Copeland had picked up Smith, her boyfriend, from his workplace. She told Smith that Mossberg had tried to kiss her.
[¶5] Copeland and Smith arrived at Wiley's house in Copeland's SUV. Copeland kept several knives in her SUV, and Smith had been playing with them prior to arriving.
[¶6] Mossberg was standing outside Wiley's house, but Wiley was still absent. Copeland got out of her SUV but told Smith to stay in his seat. Mossberg and Copeland argued. At one point, Mossberg approached the SUV and told Smith he and Copeland had engaged in sex earlier. Smith remained in the SUV despite Mossberg's taunts.
[¶7] Wiley returned home and threatened to hit Mossberg with his "nun chucks [sic]." Tr. Vol. 2, p. 33. Mossberg grabbed the weapon and threw it away. He then struck Wiley in the face with an open hand. Copeland was standing between the men, and Mossberg unintentionally hit her, too. She stepped away.
[¶8] Mossberg continued to strike Wiley, who did not hit back. After several minutes, Smith angrily got out of the SUV, disregarding Copeland's repeated instructions to remain where he was. Smith hit Mossberg in the abdomen repeatedly. The two men fell to the ground, and Mossberg felt "pressure" on his torso. Id. at 36. Mossberg had been stabbed before and recognized the sensation. When Mossberg and Smith stood up, Mossberg noticed a "darker" patch on his shirt and asked Smith, "Did you just stab me?" Id. Smith responded, "Maybe I did," or "What if I did?" Id. at 37.
[¶9] Mossberg walked away from Wiley's house and called 911. Wiley did not see Smith stab Mossberg, but when Mossberg walked away, Wiley noted Mossberg was "[h]olding his abdomen. Trying to keep from leaking out." Id. at 75. Copeland saw Mossberg's shirt was "drenched in blood." Id. at 105.
[¶10] Smith and Copeland left in her SUV. Neither Smith nor Copeland called 911. And Smith told her he threw away a knife.
[¶11] Meanwhile, a police officer found Mossberg standing on a sidewalk. His shirt and pants were "covered in blood." Id. at 55. Emergency responders transported Mossberg to the hospital. He had seven stab wounds. A doctor determined Mossberg had a stab wound to a lung and a stab wound to his liver. Either injury would have been fatal if untreated.
[¶12] Detectives interviewed Smith and Copeland the next day. Smith said he got out of the car to confront Mossberg, but after they traded punches, he blacked out and recalled nothing until he picked up his hat. Smith also told the detectives he knew Mossberg had tried to kiss Copeland earlier in the evening. Finally, he said Copeland usually kept knives in her SUV, but he did not know whether she had knives there on the night of the fight.
[¶13] Copeland noticed one of her knives was missing from her SUV, and she told the detectives Smith said he had thrown a knife away. Later, she gave Wiley a handwritten map of the area around Wiley's home. The map appeared to have been made by Smith. The map had marked a spot next to Wiley's house, with the word "here." Id. at 111. Smith also spoke with Wiley from jail. Smith asked him to look for something "he threw." Id. at 80.
[¶14] The State charged Smith with Level 3 felony aggravated battery and Level 5 felony battery by means of a deadly weapon. The State also alleged Smith was an habitual offender. Smith filed a "Notice of Defense of Justifiable Reasonable Force," alleging he acted in defense of himself, Copeland, and Wiley. Appellant's App. Vol. II, p. 128.
[¶15] Later, Smith waived his right to a jury trial, and the State dismissed the habitual offender enhancement. The trial court conducted a bench trial. Smith testified, reiterating he had "blacked out" while struggling with Mossberg. Tr. Vol. 2, p. 164. But, contrary to his prior statement to the police, Smith testified Copeland did have knives in her SUV on the night of the fight, and he remembered "messing around" with them earlier in the evening. Id. at 168.
[¶16] The trial court determined Smith was guilty as charged. At sentencing, the court entered a judgment of conviction for only the charge of aggravated battery. The court sentenced Smith to ten years, with five years suspended. This appeal followed.
Discussion and Decision
[¶17] Smith argues the Court should reverse his conviction of Level 3 felony aggravated battery because the State failed to present sufficient evidence to rebut his claim that he acted to defend himself and others. "Self-defense is a legal justification for an otherwise criminal act." Stewart v. State, 167 N.E.3d 367, 376 (Ind.Ct.App. 2021), trans. denied. "[A] person . . . is justified in using deadly force; and . . . does not have a duty to retreat; if the person reasonably believes that that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person[.]" Ind. Code § 35-41-3-2(c) (2019).
[¶18] To prevail on self-defense, the defendant must show he was in a place where he had a right to be; did not provoke, instigate, or participate willingly in the violence; and had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm. Stewart, 167 N.E.3d at 376. "To defeat a self-defense claim, the State is required to disprove at least one of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt." Turner v. State, 183 N.E.3d 346, 354 (Ind.Ct.App. 2022), trans. denied. "We neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses." Hughes v. State, 153 N.E.3d 354, 361 (Ind.Ct.App. 2020), trans. denied. "We will reverse a conviction only if no reasonable person could say the State overcame the self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt." Larkin v. State, 173 N.E.3d 662, 670 (Ind. 2021).
[¶19] Here, Smith repeatedly stabbed Mossberg, nearly killing him, after Mossberg taunted Smith about a prior interaction with Copeland, and then hit Wiley. After the stabbing, Smith did not call 911 to report the fight, and he threw the knife away. In addition, Smith initially told the police he did not recall whether Copeland had knives in her SUV that night, but he later testified she did have knives, and he had played with them.
[¶20] In any event, Smith did not have a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm for himself. Mossberg made belligerent remarks to Smith as Smith sat in the SUV, but Mossberg did not commit any violence against Smith until he intervened as Mossberg attacked Wiley.
[¶21] Similarly, Smith did not have a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm for Copeland. By all accounts, Mossberg accidentally struck Copeland while he was trying to attack Wiley, and Mossberg did not strike her again once she stepped away from the two men.
[¶22] Finally, even if Smith had a reasonable fear that Mossberg would kill Wiley or inflict great bodily harm, Smith's claim of self-defense fails due to his use of excessive force. "The amount of force used to protect oneself must be proportionate to the urgency of the situation." Hollowell v. State, 707 N.E.2d 1014, 1021 (Ind.Ct.App. 1999). There is no dispute Mossberg was unarmed, yet Smith stabbed him seven times with a knife. Two of the stab wounds could have been fatal. He used far more force than was necessary to stop Mossberg's attack, extinguishing any claim that he was defending himself or another. See Harvey v. State, 541 N.E.2d 556, 558-59 (Ind.Ct.App. 1989) (evidence sufficient to disprove self-defense; victim was belligerent but unarmed, and Harvey stabbed victim in abdomen with knife after victim grabbed him), trans. denied. The State presented sufficient evidence to overcome Smith's self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt.
Conclusion
[¶23] For the reasons stated above, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
[¶24] Affirmed.
Brown, J., and Weissmann, J., concur.