Jashon Wallace-Carswell, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Following a jury trial, Jashon Wallace-Carswell was convicted of murder for the shooting death of James Dixon III. Although Wallace-Carswell's co-defendant, Stacey Fuller, fired the fatal shots, Wallace-Carswell was found guilty as an accomplice. Wallace-Carswell appeals and argues that insufficient evidence supports his conviction. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm.¹

Issue

[2] Wallace-Carswell raises one issue, which we restate as whether sufficient evidence supports his conviction for murder as an accomplice.

Facts

[3] On the night of August 4, 2022, Tonya Turner was parked in her driveway in her white Mitsubishi SUV preparing to take her family to the state fair. A red vehicle with several individuals inside pulled up behind her, blocking her in, and a “lighter-skinned black male” armed with a handgun approached her driver side window. Tr. Vol. II p. 197. Another man stood on the passenger side of Turner's vehicle. The man by the driver's side window pointed the gun at Turner and demanded that she surrender the SUV. Turner did so, and the man drove off in the SUV with the red vehicle following behind. Turner had left two firearms in the SUV, including a Glock 45.

[4] Turner reported the robbery to law enforcement, who located the SUV unoccupied at around noon the next day, August 5, 2022. Law enforcement placed a tracking device underneath the SUV to surveil its activity and ascertain the identities of the robbers. The SUV began moving at around 10:00 p.m. that night, and law enforcement covertly followed behind it.

[5] Later that night, Dixon, who owned a funeral home near the intersection of Lafayette Road and North Belleview Place in Indianapolis, was riding his motorcycle while speaking to his employee, Mysha Ford-Page, through a Bluetooth device in his helmet. Sometime after 1:00 a.m., Dixon drove the motorcycle to the funeral home to escape the rain. Still on the phone with Ford-Page, Dixon mentioned that he saw strangers approaching him. Ford-Page then heard over the phone a male demand Dixon's wallet. Dixon stated that he did not have a wallet, and Ford-Page then heard several gunshots.

[6] Around this time, FBI Agent Leonard Rothermich, who was assisting in the surveillance of the SUV, had been following the SUV along Lafayette Road. As Agent Rothermich turned south onto Belleview Place at the intersection, he could see the funeral home in front of him with the white SUV parked partly on the driveway. The lighting was “surprisingly good” due to the presence of a light underneath an overhang covering the funeral home's front entrance. Tr. Vol. III p. 27. Agent Rothermich saw a motorcycle and Dixon between Fuller and Wallace-Carswell, who were each wearing dark clothing with their hoods up. The two “had their arms fully extended, pointed towards” Dixon in “close proximity[,]” although Agent Rothermich could not see if they were holding anything in their hands. Id. at 28. Agent Rothermich could hear “voices starting to raise” and “yelling.” Id. at 30. Agent Rothermich looked down to grab his bullet-proof vest and, when he looked back up, he heard gunshots and saw “muzzle flashes” coming from the extended arms of the two individuals. Id. The individuals, who were still firing at Dixon, walked backward to the SUV and fled in the SUV.

[7] Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant Christopher Cavanaugh was also participating in surveillance of the SUV that night. From the intersection of Lafayette Road and Belleview Place, he heard gunshots and turned to see Fuller and Wallace-Carswell firing toward Dixon and retreating toward the SUV.

[8] Dixon was ultimately hit by two bullets, once in the knee and once in the shoulder at a downward angle. The shoulder injury was fatal. A subsequent investigation determined that both Fuller and Wallace-Carswell fired their weapons, although only bullets fired by Fuller struck Dixon. An undischarged firearm was found beside Dixon's body.

[9] After Fuller and Wallace-Carswell fled in the SUV, law enforcement executed a “takedown” of the SUV a short distance away by blocking it from the front and back with police cruisers. Id. at 164. Fuller fled from the driver's seat, fired at the officers, and attempted to throw away a firearm, but he was quickly apprehended and arrested. Wallace-Carswell was seated in the passenger seat. He raised a firearm, but law enforcement shot at him. He was arrested on the ground beside the SUV, and Turner's Glock 45 was found on the ground nearby.

[10] On August 6, 2022, Taylor identified Fuller in a photographic lineup as the armed man who had been on the driver's side of the SUV during the robbery of the vehicle two days earlier. She was unable to identify the other individuals involved in the robbery.

[11] On August 7, 2022, before his initial hearing, Wallace-Carswell called his mother from jail. He stated, “I know the consequences ․ [B]efore all this happened, I knew what I was doing.” State's Ex. 250 at 2:25. On August 10, 2022, the State charged Wallace-Carswell with three counts: Count I: murder, a felony; Count II: felony murder, a felony; and Count III: attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony.²

[12] Wallace-Carswell and Fuller were tried together before a jury in June 2024. Fuller testified in his own defense and claimed that he borrowed the SUV from a friend. He further claimed that he and Wallace-Carswell were attempting to purchase drugs made from embalming fluid from Dixon, and the two shot at Dixon in self-defense after Dixon pulled out a firearm. Wallace-Carswell did not testify. The State argued that, although no bullets fired by Wallace-Carswell struck Dixon, Wallace-Carswell was guilty of murder as an accomplice. The jury found both defendants guilty as charged.

[13] The trial court entered judgments of conviction on the jury's verdicts but, based on double jeopardy principles: (1) vacated the conviction for Count II, felony murder, in light of the jury's finding of guilt on Count I, murder; and (2) reduced Count III from Level 2 felony attempted armed robbery resulting in serious bodily injury to Level 3 felony attempted robbery. The trial court sentenced Wallace-Carswell to consecutive sentences of fifty-seven years on Count I and nine years on Count III, for a total sentence of sixty-six years in the Department of Correction.³ Wallace-Carswell now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

[14] Wallace-Carswell argues that the State presented insufficient evidence for the jury to find him guilty of murder as an accomplice. Sufficiency of the evidence claims warrant a deferential standard of review in which we “neither reweigh the evidence nor judge witness credibility, instead reserving those matters to the province of the jury.” Hancz-Barron v. State, 235 N.E.3d 1237, 1244 (Ind. 2024). A conviction is supported by sufficient evidence if “there is substantial evidence of probative value supporting each element of the offense such that a reasonable trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. In conducting this review, we consider only the evidence that supports the jury's determination, not evidence that might undermine it. Id. We affirm the conviction “ ‘unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It is therefore not necessary that the evidence overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The evidence is sufficient if an inference may reasonably be drawn from it to support the verdict.’ ” Sutton v. State, 167 N.E.3d 800, 801 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) (quoting Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146-47 (Ind. 2007)).

[15] Wallace-Carswell was convicted of murder as an accomplice. Pursuant to Indiana Code Section 35-42-1-1(1), a person who “knowingly or intentionally kills another human being ․ commits murder.” Under our accomplice liability statute, Indiana Code Section 35-41-2-4, however, “[a] person who knowingly or intentionally aids, induces, or causes another person to commit an offense commits that offense.” Thus, “Indiana makes no distinction between the responsibility of a principal and an accomplice” to murder. Hall v. State, 177 N.E.3d 1183, 1191 (Ind. 2021) (citing Wise v. State, 719 N.E.2d 1192, 1198 (Ind. 1999)).

[16] Discussing accomplice liability, our Supreme Court has explained:

[E]vidence that the defendant participated in every element of the underlying offense is not necessary to convict a defendant as an accomplice. Vitek v. State, 750 N.E.2d 346, 352 (Ind. 2001). “There is no bright line rule in determining accomplice liability; the particular facts and circumstances of each case determine whether a person was an accomplice.” Id. at 353. We consider four factors to determine whether a defendant acted as an accomplice: (1) presence at the scene of the crime; (2) companionship with another at scene of crime; (3) failure to oppose commission of crime; and (4) course of conduct before, during, and after occurrence of crime. That a defendant was present during the commission of a crime and failed to oppose the crime is not sufficient to convict [him or] her. Id. But, “presence at and acquiescence to a crime, along with other facts and circumstances” may be considered. Id. at 352-53.

Castillo v. State, 974 N.E.2d 458, 466 (Ind. 2012).

[17] Ultimately, the evidence must show “affirmative conduct” by the defendant, “either by acts or words, from which the jury could draw a reasonable inference of common design or purpose to effect the” offense. Parrish v. State, 166 N.E.3d 953, 959 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) (citing Griffin v. State, 16 N.E.3d 997, 1003 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014)), trans. denied. The State need not show that the defendant “ ‘was a party to a preconceived scheme; it must merely demonstrate concerted action or participation in an illegal act.’ ” Griffin, 16 N.E.3d at 1004 (quoting Rainey v. State, 572 N.E.2d 517, 518 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991)).

[18] Here, there is no dispute that Wallace-Carswell was present during the murder; Wallace-Carswell was a companion of Fuller, who fired the fatal shots; and no evidence shows Wallace-Carswell opposed the offense. As for Wallace-Carswell's course of conduct, he pointed his firearm at Dixon when the demand for Dixon's wallet was made; he fired several shots at Dixon when Dixon refused the demand; and he fled with Fuller in the SUV. Wallace-Carswell argues that there was no evidence regarding his discussions with Fuller in the SUV on the night of the shooting and that he was unaware of the charges against him when he told his mother that he knew the consequences of his actions. But this is merely a request that we reweigh the evidence, which we cannot do.

[19] The jury could reasonably infer from Wallace-Carswell's affirmative conduct that he “intentionally aid[ed]” in the murder. Ind. Code § 35-41-2-4. Sufficient evidence supports Wallace-Carswell's conviction. See Specht v. State, 838 N.E.2d 1081, 1094-95 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) (finding evidence sufficient to support conviction for attempted murder as an accomplice where defendant and principle planned armed robbery together, the two went to the store together carrying firearms, and defendant stood at the door while principal shot victim), trans. denied.

Conclusion

[20] Sufficient evidence supports Wallace-Carswell's conviction for murder as an accomplice. We, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.

[21] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   In a companion case issued simultaneously with this opinion, we also review Fuller's appeal in Case No. 24A-CR-2111, and we affirm Fuller's convictions.

2.   Fuller was ultimately charged with: murder, a felony; felony murder, a felony; attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony; armed robbery, a Level 3 felony; and criminal recklessness, a Level 5 felony. The Level 3 felony armed robbery charge was based on the robbery of Turner. Wallace-Carswell was not charged for the robbery of Turner.

3.   As with Wallace-Carswell, the trial court vacated Fuller's conviction for felony murder and reduced the Level 2 attempted robbery conviction to a Level 3 felony. The trial court sentenced Fuller to a total sentence of seventy-six years in the Department of Correction.

Tavitas, Judge.

Chief Judge Altice and Judge Brown concur. Altice, C.J., and Brown, J., concur.