Opinions Aug. 26, 2019

Indiana Court of Appeals

Timothy W. Allen v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-2952
Criminal. Dismisses Timothy Allen’s appeal of his status as a habitual offender. Finds Allen cannot seek to challenge his habitual offender enhancement on direct appeal as a result of his guilty plea to conviction of Level 5 felonies dealing in methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine.

Deonta D. Anderson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-405
Criminal. Affirms Deonta Anderson’s conviction of Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement. Finds there is sufficient evidence to support his conviction.

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of N.N., Mother, D.D., Father, and A.D., Child, D.D. v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
19A-JT-611
Juvenile termination. Affirms the termination of D.D.’s parental rights to his minor child, A.F. Finds the termination was not clearly erroneous.

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of N.W., Mother, and R.W. and P.W., Minor Children: N.W. v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
19A-JT-429
Juvenile termination. Affirms the termination of N.W.’s parental rights to her children, R.W. and P.W. Finds the termination was supported by clear and convincing evidence. Also finds the evidence supported the Dearborn Circuit Court’s determination that the termination of N.W.’s parental rights was in the children’s best interests.

Dennis P. Bell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-321
Criminal. Affirms Dennis Bell’s conviction of Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine and Class C misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. Finds there is sufficient evidence to support the conviction. Finds the Pulaski Superior Court did not err in denying Bell’s motion for discharge.

Mark D. Walker v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-621
Criminal. Affirms Mark Walker’s Level 6 felony theft conviction. Finds there is sufficient evidence to support Walker’s conviction.

Darren Englert v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-PC-3091
Post conviction. Affirms the Tippecanoe Superior Court’s denial of Darren Englert’s petition for post-conviction relief. Finds the post-conviction court did not fail to find that Englert’s guilty plea to murder had not been knowing, voluntary or intelligent, and that he had received ineffective assistance of trial counsel.

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Inc. v. Kevin P. Grimes, Sr. (mem. dec.)
18A-PL-2346
Civil Plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s grant of Kevin P. Grimes, Sr.’s motion to enforce a settlement agreement and entering judgment against the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and Second Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the amount of $80,000. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the Church’s motion to vacate the order enforcing the settlement agreement and awarded $6,456.71 in appellate fees. Also finds the trial court properly denied the church’s claims that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.

Angel Renee Campbell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-217
Criminal. Affirms Angel Renee Campbell’s conviction of Class A misdemeanor accomplice to theft. Finds there is sufficient evidence to support the conviction.

Calvin A. Lowe v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-574
Criminal. Affirms Calvin Lowe’s aggregate nine-year sentence for conviction of Level 5 felony attempted burglary, Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement and his habitual offender status. Finds the Tippecanoe Circuit Court intended to find that the aggravators outweighed the mitigators for sentencing and that remand is not necessary to clarify the trial court’s reasons for the imposition of its sentence.

Corey Harvey v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-686
Criminal. Affirms Corey Hervey’s 55-year sentence for his murder conviction, finding it is not an inappropriately harsh sentence.

Vlado Kozlina v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
19A-CR-199
Criminal. Affirms Vlado Kozlina’s conviction of Class A misdemeanor failure to notify by a sexually violent predator. Finds there is sufficient evidence to support the conviction. Declines to apply a jury instruction analysis when Kozlina was tried to the bench.

Steven Lamont Cunningham v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A-CR-2988
Criminal. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s denial of Steven Cunningham’s motion to suppress. Finds dispositive whether Cunningham had standing to challenge the seizure of pills found in a vehicle in which Cunningham was a passenger.

Michael H. Waller, Jr. v. Cari Anne Hightower (mem. dec.)
18A-DC-2717
Domestic relation. Dismisses Michael Waller’s appeal seeking an overruling of the Hamilton Superior Court’s order denying his request for a change of venue, expanded instructions on ruling on change of venues and punitive damages against the trial court for $250,000. Finds Waller’s appellate brief and appendix offer little to no assistance in addressing his appeal. Also finds his “numerous and flagrant violations” of appellate rules make his appeal subject to dismissal.