Emmanuel Stacy v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2019 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 27 2019, 10:20 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
David L. Joley Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Fort Wayne, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Samuel J. Dayton
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Emmanuel Stacy, March 27, 2019
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A-CR-2461
v. Appeal from the Allen Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Samuel R. Keirns,
Appellee-Plaintiff Magistrate
Trial Court Cause No.
02D05-1803-F5-701
1
There is some confusion regarding the trial court cause number. The trial transcript, the sentencing hearing
transcript, Appellant’s Appendix, and Appellant’s Brief label it under Cause No. 02D05-1803-F5-70, whereas
Appellee’s Brief and the Chronological Case Summary label it under Cause No. 02D06-1803-F5-70. Given
that the core trial documents all use the same number, we will use Cause No. 02D05-1803-F5-70.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-2461 | March 27, 2019 Page 1 of 6
Baker, Judge.
[1] Emmanuel Stacy appeals his conviction for one count of Level 5 Felony
Domestic Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, 2 arguing that the evidence
was insufficient to support the conviction. Finding that the evidence was
sufficient, we affirm.
Facts
[2] On January 16, 2018, Dawn Macron was driving when she noticed two people
fighting inside a blue Dodge Neon in front of her. After slowing down, Macron
saw a woman, Sarah Del Cid, being pushed out of the passenger side of the
moving car. According to Macron, Del Cid “landed on the ground[,]” her “butt
hit[] the ground,” she “bounced on the sidewalk,” and “[h]er shoulders went
out.” Trial Tr. Vol. I p. 122-23. Del Cid and Stacy have been in a relationship
for three years. Del Cid testified that the two were living together, and on the
day of this incident, she had been with Stacy in his car at some point. Records
show that Stacy had a blue Dodge Neon registered in his name.
[3] Macron did not see who was driving the vehicle. She followed the Dodge Neon
until she discovered that the car had no license plate. She called 911. Fort
Wayne Police Officer Brendon Dubberly was driving nearby when some people
flagged him down to tell him that a woman had just been “thrown out of a
2
Ind. Code §§ 35-42-2-1.3(a)(1), -1.3(c)(1).
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vehicle.” Id. at 129. Officer Dubberly saw Del Cid, turned around, and
attempted to help her. By the time he reached Del Cid, two unidentified
individuals had already placed her in their car. Officer Dubberly tried to get
their contact information and to call for medical attention, but they declined.
[4] The two individuals then took Del Cid, who was unconscious, to the home of
her sister, Penny Quinn. Quinn called 911 after Del Cid did not regain
consciousness. A few minutes later, emergency personnel and police officers
arrived. Del Cid continued slipping in and out of consciousness. Sergeant
Christopher Reed overheard Del Cid mention, while awake, that “she was
thrown from a vehicle by her boyfriend.” Id. at 141. Emergency personnel took
her to the hospital, where medical staff observed that she had abrasions,
bruising, and contusions. Later that evening, a man named Steven Cox picked
up the two sisters from the hospital. Del Cid testified that she had recently met
Cox, and Quinn testified that she had never heard of him. In fact, Quinn was
surprised Del Cid did not call Stacy to pick them up.
[5] On March 7, 2018, the State charged Stacy with one count of Level 5 felony
domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury and one count of Level 6
felony strangulation. The State tried Stacy from August 7-8, 2018. During the
trial, Del Cid testified that she could not remember what had happened that
day. She could neither confirm nor deny that Stacy had pushed her out of the
moving vehicle. Midway through the jury trial, the State moved to dismiss the
Level 6 felony strangulation count, which the trial court granted. The jury
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found Stacy guilty as charged. On September 12, 2018, the trial court sentenced
Stacy to four years in the Department of Correction (DOC). Stacy now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[6] Stacy’s sole argument on appeal is that the evidence was insufficient to convict
him of Level 5 felony domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury. When
reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction, we must
affirm if the probative evidence and reasonable inferences drawn from the
evidence could have allowed a reasonable trier of fact to find the defendant
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. McHenry v. State, 820 N.E.2d 124, 126 (Ind.
2005). It is not our job to reweigh the evidence or to judge the credibility of the
witnesses, and we consider any conflicting evidence most favorably to the trial
court’s ruling. Wright v. State, 828 N.E.2d 904, 906 (Ind. 2005).
[7] To convict Stacy of Level 5 felony domestic battery resulting in serious bodily
injury, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stacy (1)
knowingly or intentionally (2) touched (3) a family or household member (4) in
a rude, insolent, or angry manner, and (5) the offense resulted in serious bodily
injury to the family or household member. I.C. §§ 35-42-2-1.3(a)(1), -1.3(c)(1).
[8] First, it is undisputed that someone touched Del Cid in a rude, insolent, or
angry manner, resulting in serious bodily injury. The medical staff observed
abrasions, bruising, and contusions all along Del Cid’s body, and Del Cid
suffered an extended period of unconsciousness and pain after she was pushed
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out of the Dodge Neon. Multiple eyewitnesses, including Macron, Quinn, and
Sergeant Reed, either saw the incident occur or assisted Del Cid with her
injuries immediately after the incident. At issue, Stacy contends, is the identity
of the driver in the blue Dodge Neon who pushed Del Cid out of the car. Stacy
argues that the evidence is insufficient to prove that he was the driver, and,
therefore, to convict him of domestic battery. We find Stacy’s argument
unavailing.
[9] A criminal conviction may properly rest entirely upon circumstantial evidence.
Hampton v. State, 961 N.E.2d 480, 486 (Ind. 2012). Del Cid was with Stacy on
January 16, 2018, and though she could not remember all that had happened,
she testified that she was with him in his car at some point that day. The two
had been living together and had been in a relationship for three years.
Additionally, even though the Dodge Neon in question did not have a license
plate, the State proved that a blue Dodge Neon was registered in Stacy’s name.
Quinn knew that Stacy and Del Cid were dating, and she found it strange that
Steven Cox, unknown to her at the time, picked her and Del Cid up from the
hospital rather than Stacy. Furthermore, Sergeant Reed testified that at Quinn’s
home, he overheard Del Cid say that she was thrown from the vehicle by her
boyfriend. A reasonable trier of fact could conclude from this evidence that
Stacy, her boyfriend at the time, was the driver of the blue Dodge Neon who
pushed Del Cid out of the car, thereby committing domestic battery. Therefore,
the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction.
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[10] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
May, J., and Tavitas, J., concur.
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