Charlie White stays free pending appeal
Convicted former Secretary of State Charlie White’s sentence of one year of home detention will not be executed pending his post-conviction relief appeal, a judge ruled last week.
Theft
Articles
Woman’s convictions did not subject her to double jeopardy
A woman who attempted to shoplift from an Indianapolis K-Mart was not subject to double jeopardy when she was convicted of resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct. She argued the court could have based the convictions on identical facts.
COA: Admission of prior bad acts was a harmless error
The Indiana Court of Appeals found that evidence of a defendant’s prior bad acts was not properly admitted at his trial for theft of gasoline, but affirmed his conviction because the admission was a harmless error.
Former Lake County clerk’s convictions upheld by 7th Circuit
Thomas R. Philpot, the former Lake County clerk convicted of taking more than $24,000 in federal funds earmarked for child support and using that money to pay himself bonuses, will not receive a new trial, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held this week.
Convincing evidence, conflicting record doom search challenge
A thief who went from car to car in a hotel parking lot was being watched by a hotel employee, and the credit card and cell phone belonging to guests that police later found on the man was convincing enough that an Indiana Court of Appeals panel discarded claims that the court should have suppressed the result of a search.
COA affirms $1,380 restitution order for missing CDs, coins
The Indiana Court of Appeals held Thursday that a trial court did not err in letting the state present evidence of a victim’s loss for the first time at a restitution hearing. It affirmed an order that Kenneth Smith pay $1,380 to William Kirkham for missing CDs and coins.
Server’s electronic tip alteration is forgery, COA rules
A Logan’s Roadhouse server who used a computer to alter the amount of tip a customer left for her on a credit card can be convicted of forgery, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.
COA reaffirms separate convictions for check theft not warranted
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted the state’s petition for rehearing in a case in which the defendant stole checks from a man’s mailbox, but affirmed its original decision that the taking of the checks and what the defendant did with them constituted a single continuing act of theft.
Indy attorney gets 6 years for estate theft
An Indianapolis attorney who faced felony charges for stealing more than $270,000 from an estate he managed pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday.
Contempt conviction for failure to testify affirmed
A woman who refused to answer questions about another criminal defendant after she was granted immunity was not wrongly convicted of contempt of court, an appellate panel ruled Friday.
Defendant not at fault for failing to timely appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals declined to hold a man at fault for the failure to file a timely notice of appeal, pointing to his attorney’s death from cancer shortly after the sentencing hearing.
COA: Successive Prosecution Statute not applicable to theft case
A Howard Superior judge properly refused to dismiss theft charges against a man because, despite the defendant’s arguments to the contrary, the Howard County charges were not previously prosecuted in Miami County.
Clothing labels and security tags not considered hearsay evidence
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that clothing from the store H & M that bore the company name and security tags attached to the clothing could be admitted at a woman’s trial for theft from the store on Black Friday.
COA affirms car forfeiture when owner arrested for iPhone theft
A Wal-Mart worker who tried to steal four iPhones from the store at the end of her workday has no protection from forfeiture laws that allowed the state to take her car, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
Court reverses several theft convictions under single larceny rule
An Orange County man who stole items from a deceased man’s home and sold them had multiple convictions overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals, including several theft convictions and failure to report a dead body.
Judges reaffirm reversal of truck forfeiture in pirated movies case
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted the state’s petition for rehearing in a case in which the judges ruled a man shouldn’t have had his truck taken by the state because he sold pirated movies from it. But the appellate court again ruled in favor of Michael Curtis.
2 Indianapolis attorneys charged with felonies
Two Indianapolis attorneys are facing criminal charges after the Marion County prosecutor filed charges in unrelated cases.
Man’s conviction of auto theft upheld
Although a trial court’s refusal to give a defendant’s jury instruction was an error, it was harmless and his felony auto theft conviction should be affirmed, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Justices: Use preponderance of evidence standard to find probation violation
Kimberly Heaton will have a new hearing on whether she violated the terms of her probation when she was charged with Class D felony theft. The Indiana Supreme Court vacated her probation revocation because a Madison Superior judge may have used the wrong legal standard to find the violation.
Monroe County attorney sentenced for counterfeiting
Philip Chamberlain, a Clear Creek attorney accused of stealing from his clients, was sentenced to community service Tuesday by Monroe Circuit Judge Teresa Harper.