Opinion

Roy C. Robinson v. State of Indiana

Court
Indiana Court of Appeals
Filed
Feb 13, 2025
Status
Published
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 34.0%

The opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana

Roy C. Robinson, FILED

Appellant-Defendant Feb 13 2025, 9:21 am

CLERK

v. Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

February 13, 2025

Court of Appeals Case No.

24A-CR-1814

Appeal from the Marion Superior Court

The Honorable Angela D. Davis, Judge

The Honorable Ross F. Anderson, Magistrate

Trial Court Cause No.

49D27-2303-F1-7865

Opinion by Judge Bradford

Judge Foley concurs.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 1 of 18

Judge Bailey concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.

Bradford, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] In March of 2023, the armed Roy Robinson forced K.F. into his car in

Indianapolis, forced her to touch his penis and fellate him, and penetrated her

vagina and anus with a prosthetic penis. K.F. managed to escape and alert the

authorities, who apprehended Robinson after he crashed his car into another

vehicle, injuring its two passengers.

[2] The State charged Robinson with two counts of Level 1 felony rape, Level 1

felony attempted rape, Level 3 felony kidnapping, Level 3 felony criminal

confinement, Level 5 felony kidnapping, Level 5 felony criminal confinement,

Level 6 felony operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, Level 6 felony

resisting law enforcement while operating a vehicle, and Level 6 felony resisting

law enforcement causing bodily injury. After a jury convicted Robinson as

charged and he pled guilty to being a habitual offender, the trial court entered

judgment of conviction on all counts except Level 5 felony kidnapping and

Level 5 felony criminal confinement and sentenced Robinson to an aggregate

term of forty-four years of incarceration.

[3] Robinson contends that fundamental error occurred when the trial court failed

to instruct the jury that it must unanimously agree on which particular acts

supported each charge of Level 1 felony rape. Robinson also contends that his

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 2 of 18

convictions for Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement while operating a

vehicle and Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury

violate Indiana prohibitions against substantive double jeopardy. Because we

disagree with both contentions, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[4] On March 13, 2023, K.F. was near the corner of 16th and Dequincy in

Indianapolis when Robinson drove by and asked her if she needed a ride.

Robinson’s car had a “Lyft or, you know, Uber thing in the window[,]” and he

drove off when K.F. told him that she did not need a ride. Tr. Vol. III p. 169.

Robinson soon returned and said that he was going to take the bus because he

had had too much to drink. Robinson approached, and K.F. felt something in

the side of her stomach. Robinson said, “Don’t say anything, or I’ll put it in

your belly” and forced her into his car. Tr. Vol. III p. 170.

[5] Robinson, who was smoking crack cocaine and drinking alcohol, drove off and

eventually arrived at the parking lot of what appeared to be an old warehouse.

K.F. had noticed knives, binoculars, and what appeared to be a gun in the car.

Robinson parked his car in such a way as to prevent K.F.’s escape from the

parking lot but allowed her out of the car briefly to urinate and defecate.

Robinson, who had already forced K.F. to touch his penis, smacked her in the

face with a strap-on prosthetic penis as she relieved herself. Robinson drove to

a park, where he forced K.F. to fellate him and penetrated K.F.’s vagina with

the prosthetic penis because he was unable to get an erection. Tr. Vol. III p.

174. While this was occurring, Robinson told K.F. to call him “Daddy J” and

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 3 of 18

“Master J” and said, “I want to hear you say f[***] me like your step daddy

used to do.” Tr. Vol. III pp. 174, 175. After Robinson repeatedly penetrated

K.F.’s vagina and anus with the prosthetic penis, K.F. told him that she had a

friend who liked being dominated and hurt and suggested that they go to her.

[6] At K.F.’s direction, Robinson returned to the area of K.F.’s abduction and,

when he allowed her out of the car, she ran to a nearby liquor store and

contacted police. After police arrived, K.F. identified Robinson’s car when he

happened to drive by. Police followed, stopped Robinson’s car, and

commanded him to exit. Instead of exiting, Robinson fled westbound on 16th

Street with police in pursuit at approximately ninety-two miles per hour, finally

crashing into a van at the intersection of 16th and Sherman Drive. Jose Robert

Leon Utrera and Marcelo Leon Utrera were in the van; Jose suffered “pain in

the back of [his] head and [his] back” that became worse over time and lasted

until trial, Tr. Vol. IV p. 57,1 while Marcello eventually “started feeling pain in

[his] neck and [his] back” severe enough to cause sleep deprivation. Tr. Vol. IV

p. 66.

[7] On March 19, 2023, the State charged Robinson with two counts of Level 1

felony rape, Level 1 felony attempted rape, Level 3 felony kidnapping, Level 3

felony criminal confinement, Level 5 felony kidnapping, Level 5 felony

criminal confinement, Level 6 felony operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic

1

Volume IV of the transcript is mistakenly identified as “VOLUME 3 OF 5” on its title page. Tr. Vol. IV p.

1.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 4 of 18

violator, Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement while operating a vehicle, and

Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement causing bodily injury to Jose and/or

Marcelo. On December 29, 2023, the State filed notice of intent to seek a

habitual-offender enhancement.

[8] A two-day jury trial was held, and Robinson did not object to the trial court’s

jury instructions or tender his own instructions regarding jury unanimity. The

jury found Robinson guilty as charged, and Robinson pled guilty to being a

habitual offender. At sentencing, the trial court vacated one count of

kidnapping and one count of criminal confinement due to double jeopardy

concerns. The trial court sentenced Robinson to thirty-eight years of

incarceration for each of his rape and attempted rape convictions, twenty years

for kidnapping, ten years for criminal confinement, two years for operating a

vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, and two years for each count of resisting

law enforcement, with all sentences to run concurrently. The trial court

enhanced Robinson’s sentence six years by virtue of Robinson’s status as a

habitual offender.

Discussion and Decision

I. Jury-Unanimity Instruction

[9] Robinson argues that because the State chose not to allege specific acts for

counts one and three, the jurors should have been instructed that they must be

unanimous on which act supports each count. “In Indiana, a verdict in a

criminal case must be unanimous.” Calvert v. State, 177 N.E.3d 107, 111 (Ind.

Ct. App. 2021) (citing Fisher v. State, 259 Ind. 633, 646, 291 N.E.2d 76, 82

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 5 of 18

(1973)), trans. denied. A potential unanimity problem may exist where there is a

disjunctive charging information or jury instruction, or where the State presents

evidence of a greater number of separate criminal offenses than that with which

the defendant is charged. Baker v. State, 948 N.E.2d 1169, 1175 (Ind. 2011). An

information or instruction is disjunctive if it joins “separate and distinct offenses

in one and the same count.” Id. (citing Vest v. State, 930 N.E.2d 1221, 1225

(Ind. Ct. App. 2010), trans. denied). “A single count of a charging pleading may

include but a single offense.” Townsend v. State, 632 N.E.2d 727, 730 (Ind.

1994). When one count improperly alleges two or more separate offenses,

“[d]uplicity” occurs. Vest, 930 N.E.2d at 1225. “Duplicity is unacceptable

because it prevents the jury from deciding guilt or innocence on each offense

separately and may make it difficult to determine whether the conviction rested

on only one of the offenses or both.” Id. (citation and quotation marks

omitted).

[10] While we generally review jury instructions for an abuse of discretion, Ellis v.

State, 194 N.E.3d 1205, 1214 (Ind. Ct. App. 2022), trans. denied, Robinson

neither objected to the jury instructions that were given nor tendered his own

unanimity instruction and has therefore waived the issue for appellate review.

Baker, 948 N.E.2d at 1178. Robinson attempts to avoid the effects of his waiver

by contending that fundamental error has occurred.

In order to be fundamental, the error must represent a blatant

violation of basic principles rendering the trial unfair to the

defendant and thereby depriving the defendant of fundamental due

process. The error must be so prejudicial to the defendant’s rights

as to make a fair trial impossible. In considering whether a

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claimed error denied the defendant a fair trial, we determine

whether the resulting harm or potential for harm is substantial.

Harm is not shown by the fact that the defendant was ultimately

convicted. Rather, harm is determined by whether the defendant’s

right to a fair trial was detrimentally affected by the denial of

procedural opportunities for the ascertainment of truth to which he

would have been entitled.

Id. at 1178–79 (citations omitted).

[11] The State’s two charges for Level 1 felony rape both alleged in identical

language2 that Robinson had committed rape by “other sexual conduct[,]”

which “means an act involving […] a sex organ of one (1) person and the

mouth or anus of another person; or […] the penetration of the sex organ or

anus of a person by an object.” Ind. Code § 35-31.5-2-221.5. These charges,

however, are not examples of duplicity in charging. They are, rather, examples

of something the State is permitted to do, which is “allege alternative means or

theories of culpability when prosecuting the defendant for a single offense.”

Baker, 948 N.E.2d at 1175 (citation and quotation marks omitted). “In essence

the State is permitted to ‘present[] the jury with alternative ways to find the

defendant guilty as to one element.’” Baker, 948 N.E.2d at 1175 (quoting Cliver v.

State, 666 N.E.2d 59, 67 (Ind. 1996)) (emphasis in Cliver). For each rape count

2

Counts I and III both read as follows:

On or about March 13, 2023, ROY C ROBINSON did knowingly or intentionally cause

another person to perform or submit to other sexual conduct as defined in I.C. 35-31.5-2-221.5

with [K.F.]; when such person was compelled by force, and/or compelled by the imminent

threat of force and ROY C ROBINSON being armed with a deadly weapon[.]

Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 148.

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in this case, the different acts that could have qualified as “other sexual

conduct” were merely alternate means or theories of culpability confined to one

element of the crime. Because Robinson has failed to establish that duplicity in

the charges against him warranted a unanimity instruction, he has failed to

establish fundamental error.3

II. Double Jeopardy

[12] Robinson contends that his two convictions for Level 6 felony resisting law

enforcement (one enhanced because Robinson used a vehicle to resist, and the

other enhanced because he caused bodily injury during his resistance) violate

Indiana prohibitions against substantive double jeopardy. “Substantive double-

jeopardy claims principally arise in one of two situations: (1) when a single

criminal act or transaction violates multiple statutes with common elements, or

(2) when a single criminal act or transaction violates a single statute and results

in multiple injuries.” Powell v. State, 151 N.E.3d 256, 263 (Ind. 2020). The

analysis laid out in Wadle v. State, 151 N.E.3d 227 (Ind. 2020), governs the first

category of cases, while Powell’s analysis covers the second. Id.

[13] The two offenses in question are “multiple statutes with common elements,” to

which Wadle applies, even if they are defined by different subsections of the

same section of the Indiana Code. Id. Despite the Indiana Supreme Court’s

use of the term “single statute” (which could be understood as referring to a

3

Even defectively duplicitous charges would, we think, be insufficient to establish fundamental error. While

such charges generate the possibility that the jury did not unanimously agree on which acts supported which

charge, this, by itself, falls short of establishing that a fair trial was rendered impossible.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 8 of 18

section of the Indiana Code), Powell explicitly states that it applies to “‘two

counts of the same offense.’” Id. (citation and footnote omitted, emphasis in

Powell). It seems clear enough that if two offenses have different elements, they

are not, in fact, the “same offense.” Such is the case with the two convictions

Robinson challenges.

[14] Even though the State charged Robinson with two varieties of resisting law

enforcement defined in the same section of the Indiana Code, each of the two

offenses, while sharing some elements, is defined in different subsections and

has an element the other lacks. Indiana Code section 35-44.1-3-1(c)(1)(A)

requires the State to prove that the defendant used a vehicle, while Indiana

Code section 35-44.1-3-1(c)(1)(B)(ii) requires the State to prove that the

defendant inflicted bodily injury on, or otherwise caused bodily injury to,

another person. Consequently, they are not the same offense, and Wadle

applies.

[15] Wadle requires us to “first look to the statutory language” for each charge. 151

N.E.3d at 248. The general rule announced in this first step of Wadle is that, if

the language of either statute “clearly permits” multiple punishments, there is

no double-jeopardy violation. Id. Here, it is true that each offense clearly

permits multiple punishments for multiple victims. Both offenses are defined in

Indiana Code section 35-44.1-3-1(c), and Indiana Code section 35-44.1-3-1(i)

provides that “[a] person who commits an offense described in subsection (c)

commits a separate offense for each person whose bodily injury, serious bodily

injury, catastrophic injury, or death is caused by a violation of subsection (c).”

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 9 of 18

See also Barrozo v. State, 156 N.E.3d 718, 727 n.7 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020)

(recognizing that the resisting-law-enforcement statute “now explicitly allows

for multiple convictions” when there are multiple victims).

[16] That said, it does not seem to us that application of this general rule seems to

make much sense in this case. Subsection (i) of the resisting-law-enforcement

statute is limited to allowing for multiple punishments for injuries to multiple

persons, and only one of Robinson’s offenses is enhanced because of an injury.

In other words, while the relevant statutory language clearly allows for multiple

punishments under some circumstances, those circumstances do not exist in

this case. Consequently, the statutory language does not clearly permit multiple

punishments in this case. We therefore proceed to step two of the Wadle

analysis.

[17] The second step is to determine whether either of the offenses is inherently or

factually included in the other. Wadle, 151 N.E.3d at 248. An offense that is

inherently included in another is one that

(1) is established by proof of the same material elements or less

than all the material elements required to establish the

commission of the offense charged;

(2) consists of an attempt to commit the offense charged or an

offense otherwise included therein; or

(3) differs from the offense charged only in the respect that a less

serious harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or

public interest, or a lesser kind of culpability, is required to

establish its commission.

Ind. Code § 35-31.5-2-168.

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[18] An offense, even if not inherently included in another, is factually included in

the other if the charging information alleges “that the means used to commit

the crime charged include all of the elements of the alleged lesser included

offense[.]” Norris v. State, 943 N.E.2d 362, 368 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans.

denied. The Indiana Supreme Court has recently clarified that “when assessing

whether an offense is factually included, a court may examine only the facts as

presented on the face of the charging instrument.” A.W. v. State, 229 N.E.3d

1060, 1067 (Ind. 2024) (emphasis in A.W.). “Step 2 has core constraints: it

does not authorize courts to probe other facts, such as evidence adduced from

trial.” Id. “The factually included inquiry at this step is thus limited to facts on

the face of the charging instrument.” Id. “‘If neither offense is an included

offense of the other (either inherently or as charged), there is no violation of

double jeopardy’ and the analysis ends—full stop.” Id. (quoting Wadle, 151

N.E.3d at 248).

[19] We conclude that neither of Robinson’s felony resisting-law-enforcement

offenses is included in the other, either inherently or as charged. The relevant

statutory language is as follows:

(a) A person who knowingly or intentionally:

(1) forcibly resists, obstructs, or interferes with a law

enforcement officer or a person assisting the officer while the

officer is lawfully engaged in the execution of the officer’s

duties;

[…]

commits resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor,

except as provided in subsection (c).

[…]

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(c) The offense under subsection (a) or (b) is a:

(1) Level 6 felony if:

(A) the person uses a vehicle to commit the offense; or

(B) while committing the offense, the person:

[…]

(ii) inflicts bodily injury on or otherwise causes bodily

injury to another person[.]

Ind. Code § 35-44.1-3-1. Each of the two offenses at issue contains at least one

element the other does not: one requires proof that a defendant used a vehicle

to commit the offense, and the other requires proof that, while committing the

offense, the defendant inflicted or otherwise caused bodily injury to another

person.

[20] Moreover, the two provisions do not differ only in that one involves a “less

serious harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or public interest[] or

a lesser kind of culpability” than the other; the two offenses differ from one

another in that they involve harms, or the risk of harms, that are distinct. See

Ind. Code § 35-31.5-2-168(3). A person getting injured is not quite the same

harm or risk of harm as that generated by committing the crime using a vehicle.

Not only does the use of a vehicle carry with it the risk of death or very serious

injury that might not otherwise be present in a particular act of resisting law

enforcement, the use of a vehicle also greatly enhances the risk of property

damage or public inconvenience resulting from a police pursuit, which, even if

no damage results, could disrupt traffic and hinder the provision of emergency

services. We conclude that neither the offense of resisting law enforcement

using a vehicle nor of resisting law enforcement resulting in bodily injury is

inherently included in the other.

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[21] We further conclude that neither of Robinson’s offenses, as charged, is factually

included in the other. The charging information for Robinson provides, in part,

as follows:

COUNT IX

On or about March 13, 2023, ROY C ROBINSON did

knowingly or intentionally forcibly resist JOSEPH

DRANSFIELD, a law enforcement officer, while said officer

was lawfully engaged in his duties as a law enforcement officer

and in committing said act ROY C ROBINSON operated a

vehicle;

COUNT X

On or about March 13, 2023, ROY C ROBINSON did

knowingly or intentionally forcibly resist [] JOSEPH

DRANSFIELD, a law enforcement officer, while said officer

was lawfully engaged in his duties as a law enforcement officer

and in committing said act ROY C ROBINSON inflicted bodily

injury on or otherwise caused bodily injury to Jose Utrera and/or

Marcelo Utrera by pain[.]

Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 149. The evidence tending to prove Jose’s and/or

Marcelo’s bodily injury does nothing to establish that Robinson committed the

resisting with a vehicle, and vice versa. This ends our analysis, with Robinson

having failed to establish a substantive double-jeopardy violation.4

4

Because neither of Robinson’s offenses is inherently or factually included in the other, we do not proceed to

step three of the Wadle analysis, i.e., we engage in no analysis of the evidence actually presented at trial.

If a court has found that one offense is included in the other—either inherently or as charged—

the court must then (and only then) “examine the facts underlying those offenses, as presented

in the charging instrument and as adduced at trial.” Wadle, 151 N.E.3d at 249 (emphasis added)

(citing Bigler v. State, 602 N.E.2d 509, 521 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992), trans. denied). Step 3 functions

as a cabined version of Richardson’s actual evidence test, and it serves an important, practical

role in our double jeopardy analysis: to facilitate the distinction between what would otherwise

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 13 of 18

[22] We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Foley, J., concurs.

Bailey, J. concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Christopher Taylor-Price

Marion County Public Defender Agency

Appellate Division

Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Theodore E. Rokita

Attorney General of Indiana

Michelle Hawk Kazmierczak

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

be two of the “same” offenses. See id. at 249 n.27. So, at this final step, a court may only then

probe the underlying facts—as presented in the charging instrument and adduced at trial—to

determine whether a defendant’s actions were “so compressed in terms of time, place, singleness

of purpose, and continuity of action as to constitute a single transaction.” Id. at 249.

A.W., 229 N.E.3d at 1071 (emphasis in A.W.).

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 14 of 18

Bailey, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part.

[23] I concur in part one of the majority opinion regarding the Jury-Unanimity

Instruction. However, I dissent to part two of the majority opinion because I

believe the double jeopardy claims should be analyzed under the Powell v. State

framework, rather than the Wadle v. State framework. Moreover, when analyzed

under Powell, I would hold that the two resisting law enforcement convictions

violate double jeopardy principles.

[24] Robinson was charged under a single statute (Indiana Code Section 35-44.1-3-

1) for a single criminal act (resisting law enforcement); therefore, “[t]he

framework of Wadle [v. State, 151 N.E.3d 227 (Ind. 2020)] does not facially

apply, as we are not looking at a violation of multiple statutes with common

elements.” Moyers v. State, __ N.E.3d __, 2024 WL 5250182 at *6 (Bailey, J.,

dissenting in part). This case also does not fit neatly into the framework of

Powell v. State, 151 N.E.3d 256 (Ind. 2020), because we are concerned not with

multiple injuries5 but with one charge of bodily injury and one charge relating

to the means of commission, i.e., the use of a vehicle. Nevertheless, I believe

this case should be governed by Powell because the question is “whether the

same act may be twice punished as two counts of the same offense.” Powell, 151

N.E.3d at 263; see also Jones v. State, 159 N.E.3d 55, 65 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020)

(applying the Powell framework to two counts of kidnapping, one elevated

5

Although the evidence suggested that Robinson injured two people, he was charged with only one count of

resisting law enforcement while inflicting bodily injury.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 15 of 18

because of bodily injury and one elevated due to an intent to obtain ransom),

trans. denied; Barrozo v. State, 156 N.E.3d 718, 725 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020)

(applying the Powell framework where there is a “charging of a single offense in

multiple counts”).

[25] The first step in the Powell analysis is to “review the text of the statute to

identify the appropriate ‘unit of prosecution.’” Jones, 159 N.E.3d at 63 (quoting

Powell, 151 N.E.3d at 265). “[A] unit of prosecution is ‘the minimum amount of

activity a defendant must undertake, what he must do, to commit each new and

independent violation of a criminal statute[.]’” Barrozo, 156 N.E.3d at 725

(quoting United States v. Rentz, 777 F.3d 1105, 1109 (10th Cir. 2015)). The

resisting law enforcement statute is a “conduct-based crime” in that the

minimum amount of activity required to violate the statute is the act of resisting

law enforcement, rather than the result of the resistance or the means of

committing the resistance. Jones, 159 N.E.3d at 64 (discussing the conduct-

based statute of kidnapping). That is, the gravamen of the offense is resisting

law enforcement (see I.C. § 35-44.1-3-1(a)); a particular result (bodily injury) or

means of resisting (use of a vehicle) can elevate the offense (see I.C. § 35-44.1-3-

1(c)), but it would not form the basis of a second, discrete offense.

[26] The resisting law enforcement statute was amended in 2019 to add a subsection

explicitly allowing multiple counts (or units of prosecution) for each victim of

bodily injury inflicted while the defendant resisted law enforcement. See I.C. §

35-44.1-3-1(i). However, as the majority notes, Robinson was not charged with

multiple counts of resisting while causing bodily injury; he was charged with

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 16 of 18

one such count (Count 9), and another count of resisting law enforcement by

use of a vehicle, without reference to bodily injury (Count 10). Therefore,

whether or not the resisting law enforcement statute, as applied to Robinson,

contains multiple “units of prosecution” is, at best, ambiguous. Under such

ambiguous circumstances, we must proceed to the second step of the Powell

analysis. See Jones, 159 N.E.3d at 63 (citing Powell, 151 N.E.3d at 264).

[27] Under the second step of Powell, “we examine the facts to determine whether

the defendant’s actions are ‘so compressed in terms of time, place, singleness of

purpose and continuity of action as to constitute a single transaction.’” Id.

(quoting Powell, 151 N.E.3d at 264). If criminal acts are sufficiently distinct,

multiple convictions may stand; however, if the acts are continuous and

indistinguishable, only a single conviction may stand. Powell, 151 N.E.3d at

264-65. “Any doubt counsels against turning a single transaction into multiple

offenses.” Id. at 265 (internal quotation and citation omitted).

[28] Here, there was one continuous act of resisting law enforcement. When police

initially followed Robinson’s vehicle, they pulled him over a few blocks from

the store where K.F. was located. There is no indication that Robinson resisted

law enforcement prior to being initially pulled over. After he pulled over and

was commanded to exit the vehicle, Robinson resisted law enforcement by

fleeing in his vehicle. While in flight during this same episode of resisting law

enforcement, Robinson crashed into a van and caused injury. But he did so

during one and only one act of resisting law enforcement by fleeing in his

vehicle. That is, his one continuous act of resisting law enforcement was so

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 17 of 18

compressed in terms of time, place, singleness of purpose and continuity of

action as to constitute a single transaction. Robinson’s multiple convictions for

this single episode of resisting law enforcement violates substantive double

jeopardy principles.

[29] When two convictions contravene double jeopardy principles, we will

remedy the violation by reducing either conviction to a less

serious form of the same offense if doing so will eliminate the

violation. If it will not, one of the convictions must be vacated. In

the interest of efficient judicial administration, the trial court

need not undertake a full sentencing reevaluation, but rather the

reviewing court will make this determination itself, being mindful

of the penal consequences that the trial court found appropriate.

Noble v. State, 734 N.E.2d 1119, 1125 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000) (citations omitted),

trans. denied. Here, the two convictions found to be double jeopardy were both

Level 6 felonies and therefore of equal severity. In addition, the sentences

imposed for each conviction were identical and ordered to run concurrently.

Therefore, “there are no more or less severe penal consequences for vacating

one instead of the other.” Id. at 1126. Under such circumstances, we will simply

choose one count to be vacated. Id. I would remand with instructions for the

trial court to vacate Count X.

[30] In short, although I concur with the majority’s opinion regarding jury

instructions, for the reasons stated above I must respectfully dissent from the

majority opinion regarding double jeopardy.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1814 | February 13, 2025 Page 18 of 18

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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