Coty A. Faler v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
37A03-1703-CR-548
| Ind. Ct. App. | Aug 30, 2017Background
- On Dec. 13, 2015, Coty Faler repeatedly knocked on Michael Garcia’s door after being told to stop; Garcia called police.
- Officers Matthew Anderson and Michael Vanderhere confronted Faler on Garcia’s porch; Anderson attempted to arrest Faler after Faler returned.
- During the arrest, Faler grabbed Anderson’s throat, threatened to kill the officers, attempted to gouge Anderson’s eye, and had to be tasered twice; Anderson suffered scratches, redness, and pain.
- The State charged Faler with level 5 felony battery against a public safety official, level 6 felony resisting law enforcement, class A misdemeanor criminal trespass, and class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
- A jury convicted Faler on all counts; the trial court merged resisting into battery for sentencing and imposed concurrent terms, including a three-year advisory sentence for battery (one year suspended).
- On appeal Faler challenged sufficiency of the evidence and sought sentence revision; he also argued the battery and resisting convictions violated double jeopardy.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Faler) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for convictions | Evidence (testimony, injuries, taser use) supports convictions | Evidence insufficient; invites reweighing/credibility challenges | Evidence sufficient to support battery, trespass, and disorderly conduct convictions; resisting supported by evidence but addressed separately on double jeopardy |
| Double jeopardy between battery and resisting | Initially conceded merger; on appeal State concedes violation requiring vacation of resisting conviction | Convictions violate double jeopardy because jury could have used same evidence for both offenses | Court vacated resisting law enforcement conviction and remanded to so order |
| Criminal trespass element of lack of invitation/agent | Garcia denied inviting Faler; State relied on Garcia’s denial and testimony showing trespass after being asked to leave | Faler argued his mother (Koebcke) texted him to come, acting as Garcia’s agent | Court upheld trespass conviction; credited Garcia’s testimony and refused to reweigh credibility |
| Appropriateness of sentence under App. R. 7(B) | Advisory three-year sentence for level 5 felony appropriate given offense and offender history | Sentence inappropriate; argued alternatives and mitigating circumstances (alcohol, drug dependency) | Court found Faler failed to meet heavy burden to show sentence inappropriate and affirmed sentence |
Key Cases Cited
- Bell v. State, 31 N.E.3d 495 (Ind. 2015) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
- Wood v. State, 999 N.E.2d 1054 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (consider evidence most favorable to the verdict)
- Toney v. State, 961 N.E.2d 57 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (definition of bodily injury includes physical pain)
- Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999) (actual evidence test for double jeopardy)
- Gregory v. State, 885 N.E.2d 697 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (double jeopardy relief and remedy when convictions entered)
- Perry v. State, 78 N.E.3d 1 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017) (role of appellate review under App. R. 7(B))
- Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219 (Ind. 2008) (purpose of appellate sentence review is to leaven outliers)
- Barker v. State, 994 N.E.2d 306 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (defendant bears burden to show sentence inappropriate)
- Fernbach v. State, 954 N.E.2d 1080 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (heavier burden when trial court imposes advisory sentence)