COLLYEAR v. STATE (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Tara Nicole Collyear appeals her convictions for Class A misdemeanor theft and Class B misdemeanor battery and argues that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] On March 19, 2025, Kroger grocery store employee Robert Hutton observed Collyear in the liquor aisle at the Kroger store in downtown Indianapolis. He saw her place a bottle of clear liquor inside her sweatshirt or jacket. Collyear eventually proceeded to the self-checkout registers. Collyear scanned and purchased cigarettes and beer but did not scan or purchase the bottle of clear liquor.

[4] Hutton had told security officer Owen Richardson that he suspected Collyear of trying to steal the bottle of liquor. Officer Richardson watched Collyear as she paid for her beer and cigarettes at the self-checkout. He observed that Collyear kept her left arm pinned to her side, and, from his training and experience, the officer believed that she was concealing an item in her clothing.

[5] Officer Richardson followed Collyear out of the store as she walked past all points of purchase. The anti-theft towers activated, and the officer told Collyear to stop, but she kept walking. Officer Richardson caught up to Collyear and placed her in handcuffs. Collyear had the bottle of clear liquor concealed in her clothing.

[6] The officer seated Collyear on the ground and asked Hutton for assistance in gathering Collyear's belongings. Hutton, who was wearing his store uniform and nametag, told Collyear not to kick him as he approached to retrieve her belongings. Despite the warning, Collyear kicked Hutton's wrist causing him pain.

[7] The State charged Collyear with Class A misdemeanor theft, Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, and Class B misdemeanor battery.¹ At the August 18, 2025, bench trial, Hutton, Officer Richardson, and Collyear each testified. Collyear testified that she had inadvertently forgot to purchase the bottle of liquor and she put it inside her clothing so that her friends outside the store would not ask to share it with her. Tr. Vol. 2, pp. 27, 30. She also testified that she did not realize that Officer Richardson was speaking to her when he asked her to stop as she left Kroger. Id. at 28.

[8] The trial court found Collyear guilty of Class A misdemeanor theft and Class B misdemeanor battery but not guilty of resisting law enforcement. The court then proceeded to sentencing and ordered Collyear to serve an aggregate 365-day sentence with credit for time served and the remainder of the sentence suspended to probation. The court also issued an order directing Collyear to stay away from the downtown Indianapolis Kroger store.

[9] Collyear now appeals.

Collyear's convictions are supported by sufficient evidence.

[10] Collyear claims her theft and battery convictions are not supported by sufficient evidence. 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.

[11] To prove that Collyear committed Class A misdemeanor theft, the State had to establish that Collyear knowingly or intentionally exerted unauthorized control over Kroger's property, with intent to deprive Kroger of any part of its value or use. Ind. Code § 35-43-4-2(a); Appellant's App. Vol. 2, p. 11. And the State had to prove that Collyear knowingly or intentionally touched Hutton in a rude, insolent, or angry manner to establish that she committed Class B misdemeanor battery. I.C. § 35-42-2-1-(c); Appellant's App. Vol. 2, p. 11.

[12] Collyear argues that the State failed to prove that she intended to steal the bottle of liquor from Kroger, and, citing her own testimony, she claims that she simply forgot to purchase the liquor. Regarding her battery conviction, Collyear argues that the State failed to prove that she knowingly or intentionally kicked Hutton, and she again relies on her own testimony that she thought she was defending herself.

[13] Collyear's arguments are simply a request to reweigh the evidence and to reassess the credibility of the witnesses, which we will not do. The trial court credited Officer Richardson's and Hutton's testimonies before finding Collyear guilty of theft and burglary. Tr. Vol. 2, pp. 35-37. Their testimonies were sufficient to prove that Collyear knowingly or intentionally stole the liquor from Kroger and knowingly or intentionally kicked Hutton causing him pain.

[14] We therefore affirm Collyear's Class A misdemeanor theft and Class B misdemeanor battery convictions.

[15] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The State also charged Collyear with two counts of Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Collyear moved to dismiss the counts after the State's case-in-chief, and the trial court granted the motion.

Mathias, Judge.

May, J., and Felix, J., concur.