Johnson v. State
| Citation | 543 N.E.2d 358 |
| Decision Date | 05 September 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 02S00-8810-CR-860,02S00-8810-CR-860 |
| Parties | Timothy JOHNSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
Jerry E. Levendoski, Deputy Public Defender, Fort Wayne, for appellant.
Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., John D. Shuman, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.
A jury trial resulted in the conviction of appellant of Burglary, a Class A felony, for which he received a sentence of thirty (30) years; Criminal Confinement, a Class C felony, for which he received a sentence of five (5) years; and three counts of Child Molesting, Class A felonies, for which he received three sentences of thirty (30) years, all sentences to run concurrently.
The facts are: On September 19, 1987, the victim lived in Fort Wayne with her mother, brother, and sister. Her mother's boyfriend also was sometimes in the home. They lived in an apartment over a bar known as "The Pantry." On the day in question, the victim was ten years of age. At approximately midnight, the victim was asleep on the sofa in the front room. Her mother was attending a party downstairs in the bar.
She was awakened by a person she knew as "Mouse," who was strangling her. While holding her by the throat, the attacker identified as appellant in this case, ordered her to remove her pants and shorts. He then proceeded to penetrate her orally, vaginally, and anally with his penis. At one point during the attack, he asked the victim if her mother had any money on the premises. She told him that if her mother had any money she had it with her downstairs. However, appellant proceeded to ransack the apartment.
The victim testified that although she knew her attacker only by the name "Mouse," he was well-known to her in that he had purchased drugs from her uncle and owed her uncle money for the drugs. After appellant left the apartment and the girl's mother returned, she reported the incident to her mother.
She was taken to the hospital for an examination where it was found that she had abrasions and bruises to her nose, to the right side of her face, to her left shoulder, her left wrist, and her right buttocks. She suffered redness and inflammation at the entrance of her vagina, there was a small tear in the right labium, and the child's hymen area was swollen with some bruising. An examination of the anus revealed that she had suffered three tears in the lining of the anus. However, no sperm was found in any of these locations.
The victim described her attacker as wearing dark blue jogging pants, but she could not remember what type of shirt he was wearing. Appellant presented evidence that on that evening he was wearing a red shirt and dark blue dress pants. The victim on two separate occasions identified appellant as her attacker from a police photographic array.
Appellant claims there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions. He claims there is at most a mere suspicion against him. He concedes that this Court will...
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Moore v. State
...that they were together at the time the crimes occurred. The jury was not required to believe the defendant's evidence. Johnson v. State (1989), Ind., 543 N.E.2d 358, 359. The jury had every right, as it did here, to believe the State's evidence instead. Id. Our review of the record convinc......
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Hopkins v. State
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Green v. State, 10S00-9011-CR-706
...and to assign the weight to be given the evidence presented. The jury is not required to believe defendant's evidence. Johnson v. State (1989), Ind., 543 N.E.2d 358, 359. Here the jury, instead, believed the State's evidence. We hold that consideration of all of the evidence reveals suffici......
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Johnson v. State
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