Jones v. State
| Decision Date | 11 May 2023 |
| Docket Number | 22A-CR-1517 |
| Parties | Curtis R. Jones, Appellant-Defendant, v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
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 Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.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 Porter Superior Court The Honorable Michael A. Fish Judge Trial Court Cause No. 64D01-1704-F3-3653
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT James Harper Harper & Harper, LLC Valparaiso, Indiana.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana Caroline G. Templeton Supervising Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana.
[¶1] Curtis Jones was convicted of Count II, neglect of a dependent, a Level 3 felony; and Count III, neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony. Jones appeals and argues that: (1) the trial court abused its discretion by denying Jones's motion to dismiss Count II; (2) the State presented insufficient evidence to support Jones's convictions; and (3) Jones's convictions constitute double jeopardy. We find that Jones's arguments are without merit and, accordingly, affirm.
[¶2] Jones raises three issues on appeal, which we restate as:
[¶3] In the summer of 2016, Jones, a former police officer with the Porter County Sheriff's Department, was attending nursing school, and his now-ex-wife, Susan Naden, was a practicing nurse. Jones and Naden were also raising two young boys, Bx. and Bn. Bx. was born in January 2016.
[¶4] At some point, Jones and Naden noticed that Bx. periodically made "loud sounds during breathing," and they took a video of Bx. "doing [] this little hiccup when he was sleeping." Tr. Vol. V pp. 38, 124. On May 14, 2016, Jones and Naden took Bx. to the emergency room and showed the attending physician the hiccup video; however, the physician did not find anything abnormal about Bx.'s breathing.
[¶5] Jones and Naden took Bx. to the emergency room on four other occasions that summer. The attending physicians, however, found no serious physical or breathing abnormalities. Bx. was developing normally.
[¶6] On the evening of July 23, 2016, Jones and Naden were working night shifts and hired a babysitter, Michelle Anderson, to watch Bn. and Bx. at the boys' home. Before Naden left, Naden recorded a video of the boys, who both appeared healthy. Anderson testified that: Bx. was active, happy, and not fussy; she did not notice anything wrong with Bx. that evening; and she put B.x. to bed at approximately 10:45 p.m. Anderson watched the boys from approximately 6:00 p.m. until Jones returned around midnight.
[¶7] Jones did not notice anything abnormal about Bx. when Jones returned home. Approximately an hour later, Jones texted Naden to advise that Bn. fell in the shower and was "probably gonna have a black eye." Ex. Vol. XII p. 65.
[¶8] At approximately 2:30 a.m., Jones put Bn. to bed and began studying for his nursing classes. Jones was under pressure from school due to his grades and performance on exams.
[¶9] At 4:29 a.m., Jones texted Naden to inform her that he was heading to bed. At 4:53 a.m., Jones called the hospital where Naden was working and told Naden, Tr. Vol. V p. 70. Naden could hear Bx. "gasping for air" in the background and instructed Jones to call 911. Id.
[¶10] Jones called 911 at 4:55 a.m. Jones recognized the dispatcher's voice from his time as a police officer and asked her how she was doing. When prompted by the dispatcher, Jones reported Bx.'s symptoms and explained that he had placed Bx. in a beanbag cushion to warm him up for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes prior to calling 911, but that Bx. was not warming up. Bx.'s breathing could be heard in the background of the call.
[¶11] The first responders arrived at approximately 5:00 a.m. Bx. was in respiratory distress and had poor circulation, but he did not display any external injuries at the time. Several first responders observed that Jones was acting "[s]tandoffish" and demonstrated "a lack of care" by not asking questions about Bx. Tr. Vol. IV p. 85. The first responders transported Bx. to the emergency department at St. Mary's hospital.
[¶12] At St. Mary's, the attending physician, Dr. Christopher Shinneman, observed a bruise above Bx.'s left eye and a petechial rash on Bx.'s neck. Further examination revealed retinal hemorrhages; hemorrhages to the neck, chest, and lower lumber area; "an acute left-sided subdural hematoma;" and brain swelling. Tr. Vol. VI p. 51. Dr. Shinneman diagnosed Bx. with abusive head trauma based on Bx.'s injuries and the absence of alternative explanations for the injuries. He reported the suspected abuse to the Department of Child Services, who later alerted law enforcement. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Naden observed that Jones "wasn't concerned" and "was just pissed about something." Tr. Vol. V p. 73.
[¶13] St. Mary's determined that Bx. needed a higher level of care and transferred him to Lurie's Children's Hospital in Chicago. There, the physicians performed a hemicraniectomy to relieve the swelling of Bx.'s brain. The physicians also confirmed Bx.'s diagnosis of abusive head trauma. At this point, Jones was "still pissed off about something" and would "get[] mad" when Naden asked him questions. Id. at 78. Bx. survived the surgery; however, he is now unable to communicate, feed himself, or see, and he is "a hundred percent bed bound." Id. at 94.
[¶14] The Porter County Police Department interviewed Jones as a part of their investigation into the alleged abuse. Jones stated that, when he arrived home and checked on Bx., "periodically [Bx.] would have a [] hiccup" in his sleep. State's Ex. 124 at 16:47. Jones stated that Bx. continued to "do[] the weird breathing thing" as Jones checked on him throughout the night and that this breathing sound was the same sound Bx. made during the 911 call. Id. at 17:20. Jones denied harming Bx. The police later determined that Jones deleted his text messages to Naden regarding Bn. sustaining a black eye.
[¶15] The State filed charges against Jones on April 13, 2017, and moved to amend those charges on March 3, 2021.[1] The amended charges allege three counts: Count I, battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than fourteen years of age, a Level 3 felony; Count II, neglect of a dependent, a Level 3 felony; and Count III, neglect of a dependent, a Level 3 felony. Count II alleged that Jones "did knowingly or intentionally place [Bx.] in a situation that endangered [Bx.'s] life or health and which resulted in serious bodily injury to [Bx.]" Appellant's App. Vol. II p. 46. Count III alleged that Jones "did knowingly or intentionally deprive [Bx.] of necessary support, to-wit: prompt medical attention, which resulted in serious bodily injury to [Bx.]" Id. On March 8, 2021, the trial court granted the State's motion to amend Count II but not Count III.
[¶16] On September 1, 2021, Jones moved to dismiss the amended charging information. The trial court found that Jones was not prejudiced by the amendments to the charging information and that the charges were sufficiently pleaded. The trial court, accordingly, granted the State's motion to amend Count III and denied Jones's motion to dismiss.
[¶17] The trial court held a three-week jury trial in April and May 2022. Naden testified regarding incidents where Jones punched a wall and a refrigerator in the presence of Bn. and Bx. Naden also testified that the breathing sounds Bx. made during the 911 call were "[n]othing close" to the hiccup sounds Bx. had been making beforehand. Tr. Vol. V p. 71. Dr. Shannon Thompson, a specialist in child abuse pediatrics, testified that, based on Bx.'s breathing during the 911 call, a reasonable caregiver would understand that Bx. needed prompt medical intervention.
[¶18] The State also presented medical testimony from several physicians regarding Bx.'s diagnosis of abusive head trauma, the mechanism for which is "a sudden, forceful acceleration/deceleration movement of the head." Tr. Vol. VIII p. 26. The physicians testified that Bx.'s injuries were characteristic of abusive head trauma and that the physicians ruled out alternative medical and accidental causes for Bx.'s injuries. They further testified that Bx.'s injuries would have appeared within "a few minutes" of the abuse and that "minutes matter[ed]" in obtaining treatment. Tr. Vol. VIII p. 43-44.
[¶19] After approximately three days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on Count I and guilty on Counts II and III. The trial court entered judgments of conviction on Count II as a Level 3 felony and Count III as a Level 6 felony. The trial court found that elevating Count III to a Level 3 felony based on the same injury underlying Count II presented double jeopardy concerns. Jones was sentenced to thirteen years, with three years suspended, on Count II, and two years, all suspended, on Count III, to be served consecutively. Jones now appeals.
[¶20] Jones argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion to dismiss Count II, neglect of a dependent, because: (1) Count II failed to "state the offense with sufficient certainty" in violation of Indiana Code...
To continue reading
Request your trial