Terrance L. Richardson v. State of Indiana
79 N.E.3d 958
Ind. Ct. App. Recl.2017Background
- On Oct. 4, 2015, Terrance L. Richardson (17) and three friends were outside a convenience store when Richardson retrieved a black object from a friend and later pulled out a gun behind the store. He lunged at Steven Kendall and fired one shot into Kendall’s chest; Kendall later died. A handgun recovered near Kendall was not the murder weapon.
- Surveillance videos (no audio) from the store and a neighboring business captured the events; police recovered two cellphones (one on Kendall, one belonging to Gilbert) and identified the participants from footage.
- Richardson was charged with murder; at a joint bench trial the court found Richardson guilty and sentenced him to 55 years; co-defendants Heffner and Gilbert were found not guilty.
- At trial, Richardson attempted to admit a Facebook Messenger message from Kendall’s phone purportedly showing Kendall planning to obtain a gun; the trial court excluded it for lack of adequate foundation/authentication.
- Richardson asserted self-defense, arguing Kendall reached for a gun and clicked the trigger (which did not fire); the trial court rejected this, finding the surveillance video and other facts contradicted self-defense and that Richardson and co-defendants fled the scene.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Richardson) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of Facebook message | Exclude: insufficient foundation/hearsay concern | Admit: message shows Kendall threatened/intent to obtain a gun and should be authenticated from phone | Trial court did not abuse discretion in excluding the message for lack of authentication |
| Sufficiency to rebut self-defense | Evidence (video, conduct, lack of eyewitness support) negates self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt | Shooting was justified because Kendall reached for his weapon; Gilbert’s testimony supports this | State presented sufficient evidence to rebut self-defense; conviction affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- Bowman v. State, 73 N.E.3d 731 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017) (trial-court evidentiary rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion)
- Lafayette v. State, 917 N.E.2d 660 (Ind. 2009) (harmless error: conviction stands if independent evidence makes it unlikely excluded evidence affected outcome)
- Hape v. State, 903 N.E.2d 977 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (requiring authentication foundation to admit evidence)
- M.T.V. v. State, 66 N.E.3d 960 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (Facebook records authenticated by content and records-custodian affidavit)
- Pavlovich v. State, 6 N.E.3d 969 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (reasonable probability standard for authentication)
- Fry v. State, 885 N.E.2d 742 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (inconclusiveness goes to weight, not admissibility, once authentication threshold met)
- Wilson v. State, 30 N.E.3d 1264 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (social-media content plus corroborating testimony can authenticate posts)
- Henson v. State, 786 N.E.2d 274 (Ind. 2003) (elements and limits of self-defense doctrine)
- Miller v. State, 720 N.E.2d 696 (Ind. 1999) (State may rebut self-defense by relying on its case-in-chief)
- Shoultz v. State, 995 N.E.2d 647 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (provocation/participation in violence negates lack-of-fault element for self-defense)