MORRIS v. STATE (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Michael S. Morris appeals his conviction for battery resulting in serious bodily injury, as a Level 5 felony. Morris raises one issue for our review, namely, whether the State presented sufficient evidence to support that conviction. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On September 10, 2024, Morris entered a gas station and asked the owner, who was working as a clerk at the time, to use the bathroom. The owner informed Morris that the bathrooms were “currently down due to [them] being backed up” and that he could not give Morris the keys. Tr. Vol. 2 at 69. Morris “got mad” and started “yelling” and “cussing.” Id.

[3] Morris then began yelling at Scott Williamson, who was standing behind Morris in line. Williamson told Morris to “calm down,” and Morris “swung at” Williamson. Id. at 71-72. A fight then “broke [out] between them” and they “started going at it” inside the gas station. Id. at 71-72. The two fought for “about a minute or two,” before stopping. Id. at 72. At that point, Williamson started walking out of the building.

[4] As Williamson left, Officer Bret Hasse with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department pulled into the gas station parking lot. Officer Hasse saw Williamson “get pushed out” of the door by Morris. Id. at 48. Morris then struck Williamson “with a closed fist,” and Williamson “fell back onto the concrete parking lot.” Id. at 49. Williamson fell “straight back” and did not make any “attempts to break his fall to prevent injury.” Id. at 51. Following the fall, Williamson was “motionless” on the ground. Id. at 50. Morris then walked over to Williamson and proceeded to “repeatedly” punch him in the face “with closed fists.” Id. at 51. Morris struck Williamson four or five times on his head and face. During that time, Williamson was “still laying [sic] flat on the concrete not making any motion.” Id. He did not “defend himself from the blows” by Morris. Id.

[5] At that point, Officer Hasse parked his vehicle. As he exited his car, Morris saw him and began “quickly walking” away. Id. at 52. Officer Hasse ordered Morris to stop, but Morris began to run. Officer Hasse pursued Morris and was ultimately able to get him onto the ground and in handcuffs. Officer Hasse escorted Morris back to the gas station.

[6] When Officer Hasse returned, Williamson “was still laying [sic] in the same spot as he originally was[.]” Id. at 53. Williamson then attempted to “gasp for air and lift his head,” so Officer Hasse placed Morris in his patrol car and went to assist Williamson. Id. Officer Hasse observed a “large amount of blood” on Williamson. Id. at 55. Williamson then attempted to speak to Officer Hasse, but he “was primarily moaning or gurgling[.]” Id. Officer Hasse observed “[n]umerous injuries” to the front and back of Williamson's head, and it appeared “that the back of his head was caving in.” Id. at 55, 57. While Officer Hasse rendered aid, Williamson attempted to stand, but he “had poor balance” and “would fall back to the ground.” Id. at 59. After approximately three to four minutes, other officers began to arrive, and Officer Hasse formally arrested Morris.

[7] The State charged Morris with battery resulting in serious bodily injury, as a Level 5 felony, and resisting arrest, as a Class A misdemeanor.¹ The State additionally alleged that he was a habitual offender. The court held a bifurcated bench trial on Morris’ charges on April 17, 2025.² During the hearing, Officer Hasse testified to the events he had witnessed at the gas station. In addition, the gas station owner testified that, after Williamson fell to the ground, he was not “moving” or “defending himself in any way[.]” Id. at 75. And the State presented the testimony of Nicole Hall, a paramedic who had rendered aid to Williamson at the scene. Hall testified that, while Williamson was conscious when she arrived, he was “confused” and nothing he said “made sense.” Id. at 102. Hall was concerned that Williamson had sustained “a head injury[.]” Id.

[8] At the conclusion of the first phase of the trial, the court found Morris guilty of battery and resisting arrest. Morris then admitted that he was a habitual offender. The court entered judgment of conviction accordingly and sentenced Morris to an aggregate term of six years in the Department of Correction. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

[9] Morris asserts that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that he committed battery resulting in serious bodily injury, as a Level 5 felony.³ Our standard of review on a claim of insufficient evidence is well settled:

For a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we look only at the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). We do not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh the evidence. Id. We will affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

Love v. State, 73 N.E.3d 693, 696 (Ind. 2017).

[10] To demonstrate that Morris committed battery, as charged, the State was required to prove that he had knowingly or intentionally touched Williamson in a rude, insolent, or angry manner and caused Williamson serious bodily injury. See Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1(c)(1), (g)(1). On appeal, Morris does not dispute that a battery occurred. However, he contends that the State failed to prove that he caused Williamson serious bodily injury.

[11] As relevant here, serious bodily injury is defined as “bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes ․ unconsciousness.” I.C. § 35-31.5-2-292.⁴ Morris contends that the State failed to show that Williamson was rendered unconscious because “[n]o witness testified at trial having observed Williamson to be unconscious” and because Williamson was “awake when both Hall and Officer Hasse interacted with him following the incident.” Appellant's Br. at 11.

[12] However, the evidence most favorable to the judgment demonstrates that Morris and Williamson engaged in a fight while inside the gas station. After approximately one or two minutes, the fight stopped, and Williamson began to exit the building. At that time, Morris punched Williamson in the back of the head, and Williamson fell to the concrete floor without making any “attempts to break his fall to prevent injury.” Tr. Vol. 2 at 51. Then, after he fell, Williamson remained on the concrete “not making any motion.” Id. Morris proceeded to punch Williamson with a closed fist four or five more times while Williamson remained motionless. And Williamson made no attempt to “defend himself from the blows[.]” Id. Once Morris saw Officer Hasse, he ran, and Officer Hasse pursued him. After Officer Hasse was able to restrain Morris, they returned to the gas station, and Officer Hasse observed Williamson to be “in the same spot as he originally was[.]” Id. at 53. While Officer Hasse rendered aid, Williamson attempted to speak but was only “moaning or gurgling,” and he was unable to stand. Id. at 55. And, while Hall treated Williamson, he was “confused” and nothing he said “made sense,” such that Hall was concerned that Williamson had a “head injury[.]” Id. at 102.

[13] Stated differently, after he was punched in the head, Williamson fell onto concrete without making any attempt to break his fall, remained motionless on the ground, did not make any attempt to defend himself from multiple additional punches to the head, stayed in the same spot while Officer Hasse pursued Morris, and was later confused and unbalanced. A reasonable fact-finder could readily infer from those facts that Morris had rendered Williamson unconscious.⁵ Morris’ arguments to the contrary are merely requests that we reweigh the evidence and judge the credibility of the witnesses, which we cannot do.

Conclusion

[14] The State presented sufficient evidence to prove that Morris committed battery resulting in serious bodily injury, as a Level 5 felony. We therefore affirm his conviction.

[15] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The State also charged Morris with criminal mischief, as a Class A misdemeanor, but the court dismissed that charge on the State's motion prior to trial.

2.   Williamson did not testify during the trial.

3.   Morris does not challenge his conviction for resisting arrest.

4.   Serious bodily injury is also defined as bodily injury that causes extreme pain. See I.C. § 35-31.5-2-292. Here, the State alleged that Morris had caused Williamson both the “loss of consciousness” and/or “pain.” Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 19. However, in response to Morris’ motion to dismiss that he made after the State had rested, the court specifically found that “extreme pain” had not been “proven at this point.” Tr. Vol. 2 at 118.

5.   Morris also briefly contends that, “[t]o the extent Williamson was ever unconscious, that status was certainly ‘momentary[.]’ ” Appellant's Br. at 11. However, we note that the statute does not require a person to be unconscious for a particular amount of time before a defendant can be found guilty of battery.

Bailey, Judge.

Tavitas, J., and Kenworthy, J., concur.