Jacob L. McIntyre, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Jacob L. McIntyre appeals his two convictions for Level 4 felony possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner. McIntyre raises a single issue for our review, namely, whether the State presented sufficient evidence to show that he possessed two knives found in his jail cell.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] In June 2024, McIntyre was an inmate in the Madison County Jail. Around June 11, officers at the jail caught a “[C]adillac between A block and H block.” Tr. p. 42. A “Cadillac” is a line, such as a fishing line, that inmates run under doors to move contraband. Id. at 42-43. In response to finding the Cadillac, officers conducted a “shakedown” of A block on June 11. A shakedown is when officers enter into particular cells and “search[ ] everywhere” for contraband. Id. at 42.

[4] When officers conducted their shakedown, they located McIntyre in cell 202 with three other inmates, even though his assigned cell was cell 206. Isaiah Crawford was also an inmate at the jail at that time and was asleep in cell 206 during the shakedown. When officers removed McIntyre from cell 202 and searched his person, he started yelling to Crawford in cell 206. Officers then went to cell 206 and woke up Crawford from the cell's only fixed bed. The other bed in cell 206 was a portable bed that had been positioned to store items underneath it.

[5] Officers searched under the portable bed and located two “homemade knives” consisting of “jagged metal” blades and grips made of “medical tape.” Id. at 47. One of the officers recognized the medical tape as the same tape that McIntyre was wearing on one of his hands because his hand was injured.

[6] The State charged McIntyre with two counts of Level 4 felony possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner. A jury found him guilty as charged following a trial, and the court entered its judgment of conviction and sentenced McIntyre accordingly. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

[7] On appeal, McIntyre argues that the State presented insufficient evidence to support his convictions. For challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider only the probative evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom that support the judgment of the trier of fact. Hall v. State, 177 N.E.3d 1183, 1191 (Ind. 2021). We will neither reweigh the evidence nor judge witness credibility. Id. We will affirm a conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

[8] Under Indiana Code section 35-44.1-3-7 (2023), an inmate who possesses a deadly weapon commits a Level 4 felony. McIntyre's only argument on appeal is that the evidence is insufficient to show that he constructively possessed the two knives. Constructive possession occurs when a defendant has: (1) the capability to maintain dominion and control over the item; and (2) the intent to maintain dominion and control over it. Gee v. State, 810 N.E.2d 338, 340 (Ind. 2004). The capability element of constructive possession may be met when the State shows that the defendant is “in possession of the premises,” regardless of whether his “possession of the premises is exclusive or not.” Id. at 340-41. As McIntyre had been assigned to cell 206, where the knives were found, we conclude that the evidence shows his capability to have constructively possessed the knives.

[9] Where, as here, a defendant's possessory interest is not exclusive, the State must support an intent to possess the contraband at issue with additional circumstances pointing to the defendant's knowledge of the presence and the nature of the contraband. Gray v. State, 957 N.E.2d 171, 174-75 (Ind. 2011). We have previously identified some possible examples of those additional circumstances, including (1) a defendant's incriminating statements; (2) a defendant's attempting to leave or making furtive gestures; (3) the location of contraband like drugs in settings suggesting manufacturing; (4) the contraband's proximity to the defendant; (5) the location of contraband within the defendant's plain view; and (6) the mingling of contraband with other items the defendant owns. Id.

[10] We conclude that the circumstances here demonstrate McIntyre's knowledge of the presence and the nature of the knives. The knives were found in his cell and under the unoccupied portable bed. They were made with the same medical tape that McIntyre wore on his hand. And, as the officers removed McIntyre from cell 202, he yelled out to Crawford in cell 206, which a reasonable fact-finder could have concluded was an incriminating statement.

[11] Accordingly, the State presented sufficient evidence to show that McIntyre had both the capability and the intent to maintain dominion and control over the knives, and we affirm his convictions.

[12] Affirmed.

Mathias, Judge.

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