Justice K. Kiama v. State of Indiana (mem.dec.), 71A05-1610-CR-2396

On April 16, 2016, Kiama was asked to leave a JC Penney for loudly swearing; loss-prevention detective Tony Slagle escorted him out.
In the parking lot Kiama loudly cursed at Slagle, shouted that he had a firearm, and pulled up his shirt; Slagle saw what appeared to be a handgun in Kiama’s waistband.
Slagle called 911 and waited at a safe distance until police arrived. No firearm was recovered at arrest.
Kiama was charged with Class A misdemeanor intimidation (intent to place Slagle in fear of retaliation for asking him to leave).
After a bench trial the court credited Slagle’s testimony, found Kiama guilty, and sentenced him to 30 days (26 suspended) plus 180 days probation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to sustain intimidation conviction	The State: Kiama’s words and actions (cursing, saying he had a firearm, exposing what appeared to be a handgun) reasonably conveyed a threat and showed intent to place Slagle in fear of retaliation.	Kiama: Mere claim of being armed, without explicit threat to injure, is insufficient; mere display of a handgun does not necessarily express an intent to unlawfully injure.	Affirmed: Evidence sufficient. The court credited Slagle’s account and found that the combination of loud cursing, the verbal statement he was armed, and revealing an apparent gun supported a reasonable inference of a communicated threat and intent to cause fear.

Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144 (Ind. 2007) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence on appeal)
Johnson v. State, 743 N.E.2d 755 (Ind. 2001) (display of firearm plus threatening words can constitute intimidation)
Gaddis v. State, 680 N.E.2d 860 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (mere display of handgun, standing alone, may not express intent to unlawfully injure)
Brewington v. State, 7 N.E.3d 946 (Ind. 2014) (contextual, reasonable-person test for whether communications are threatening)