HUGHES v. STATE (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Marcell Devon Hughes (“Hughes”) appeals, following a bench trial, his conviction for Level 6 felony pointing a firearm.¹ Hughes argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. Concluding that the evidence was sufficient to support Hughes’ conviction, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

[2] We affirm.

Issue

Whether there is sufficient evidence to support Hughes’ conviction.

Facts

[3] In March 2024, fourteen-year-old J.C. (“J.C.”) went to the house of her friend, D.M-S. (“D.M-S.”), who was also fourteen years old. J.C. and D.M-S. were in the bedroom of D.M-S.’s brother, sixteen-year-old M.M-S. (“M.M-S.”), as he played video games.² Hughes, who was seventeen, was also in M.M-S.’s bedroom.³ J.C., D.M-S., and Hughes were sitting on M.M-S.’s bed, which was behind M.M-S., as M.M-S. played his video game.

[4] At one point, Hughes took his gun out of his jacket and started “swinging [it] around[.]” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 53). Hughes then pointed the gun behind M.M-S.’s head as M.M-S. was facing away and playing his video game. D.M-S. told Hughes that it “wasn't funny and told him to put it away.” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 78). Hughes responded that “it wasn't that big of a deal” and asked D.M-S. if she wanted to hold the gun. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 79). D.M-S. refused, and Hughes put the gun away.

[5] A little later, after D.M-S. and M.M-S. had left the bedroom, Hughes took his gun, pointed it at J.C., and then held it to the side of J.C. while covering it with a pillow. Hughes told J.C. that “if [she] didn't do sexual things with him something was going to happen[.]” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 68). Hughes then “sexually touched” J.C. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 52). Specifically, Hughes touched J.C. on her breast under her clothes and also touched her vaginal area over her clothes. He also touched her buttocks and her neck, and he gave her a hickey. Additionally, Hughes unzipped his pants, made J.C. touch his penis, and tried to get her to perform fellatio on him. J.C. eventually left the bedroom.

[6] Thereafter, when Hughes and M.M-S. were in the bedroom together, Hughes showed his gun to M.M-S. Hughes referred to his gun as a “[p]ipe” and called it “dirty[,]” which meant that it had been “shot before.” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 100, 101).

[7] Later, J.C. went home and told her mother what Hughes had done, and they then called the police. Law enforcement officers located Hughes approximately one week later, and they did not recover the gun during their investigation.

[8] The State charged Hughes with Level 4 felony sexual battery, Class A misdemeanor unlawful carrying of a handgun, Level 5 felony intimidation, Level 6 felony intimidation, Level 5 felony battery by means of a deadly weapon, Level 6 felony sexual battery, Class A misdemeanor battery, Level 6 felony criminal recklessness, and two counts of Level 6 felony pointing a firearm. The State charged one count of pointing a firearm for Hughes’ act of pointing a firearm at J.C. and the other count for pointing it at M.M-S., which is the act and conviction that Hughes challenges on appeal.

[9] The trial court held a bench trial in August 2025. The State presented testimony from J.C., D.M-S., and M.M-S., who all testified to the facts as set forth above. Additionally, they all testified that they saw Hughes with a gun, and they described the gun as a black gun. M.M-S. testified that the gun looked “like a pistol” or “[m]aybe it was a revolver.” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 99). M.M-S. also testified that it made him feel “[u]ncomfortable” that Hughes had a gun in his house. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 103). J.C. testified that she was “scared” when Hughes took out his gun, pointed it at her, held it by her side, and told her that she had to do sexual things with him. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 55). When asked how she knew whether Hughes’ gun was real, J.C. responded that she did not “really know nothing about guns[,]” but that it looked real and that she believed that it was a real gun. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 62). D.M-S. testified that when she saw Hughes take out his gun and point it behind M.M-S.’s head, she told Hughes “to put it away [because she] knew [that] [her] brother would get mad if he ․ found out about that” and “would feel ․ threatened by it.” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 78-79).

[10] During Hughes’ closing argument, his counsel argued that there was insufficient evidence that Hughes had pointed a firearm at M.M-S. because “only one of the potential witnesses said that it was pointed at M.M-S.” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 146).

[11] The trial court found Hughes guilty of all counts as charged except the Level 5 felony battery by means of a deadly weapon. Due to double jeopardy concerns, the trial court entered judgments of conviction on only the Level 4 felony sexual battery count and the Level 6 felony pointing a firearm count for pointing the firearm at M.M-S. The trial court then imposed an aggregate sentence of fourteen (14) years, with eleven (11) years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction and three (3) years suspended to supervised probation.

[12] Hughes now appeals.

Decision

[13] Hughes argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his Level 6 felony pointing a firearm conviction. We disagree.

[14] “Sufficiency-of-the-evidence claims trigger 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) (cleaned up). “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. (cleaned up). “In conducting that review, we consider only the evidence that supports the jury's determination, not evidence that might undermine it.” Id.

[15] To convict Hughes of Level 6 felony pointing a firearm, the State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hughes knowingly or intentionally pointed a firearm at M.M-S. See I.C. § 35-47-4-3(b). A firearm is defined as a weapon that is capable of expelling, designed to expel, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by means of explosion. See I.C. § 35-47-1-5.

[16] Hughes contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction because the police never recovered a gun and because the witnesses did not definitively testify that the gun was a real gun. We conclude that Hughes’ argument is without merit.

[17] “In order to prove that a weapon was used in the commission of a crime, it is not necessary to introduce the weapon into evidence at trial.” Gorman v. State, 968 N.E.2d 845, 850 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (citing Gray v. State, 903 N.E.2d 940, 943 (Ind. 2009)), trans. denied. “There must, however, be some proof that the defendant was actually armed with a deadly weapon at the time of the crime.” Gorman, 968 N.E.2d at 850. “[A] victim's testimony that he or she saw the defendant use what was believed or “figured” to be a gun is, by itself, sufficient proof of the use of a deadly weapon.” Id. at 851.

[18] Here, J.C., D.M-S., and M.M-S. all testified that they saw Hughes with a black gun. D.M-S. specifically testified that Hughes pointed that gun at M.M-S. and that she believed that M.M-S. would have felt threatened by the gun. J.C. testified that Hughes had used his gun to threaten her to engage in sexual acts with him. Additionally, J.C. testified that Hughes’ gun looked real and that she believed that it was a real gun. M.M-S. testified that Hughes’ gun looked like a pistol or a revolver and that Hughes told him that the gun was dirty or that it had been fired in the past.

[19] Hughes’ argument that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction is nothing more than a request to reweigh the evidence and credibility of witnesses, which we decline to do. See Hancz-Barron, 235 N.E.3d at 1244. The evidence presented at trial supports the trial court's determination, as trier of fact, that Hughes pointed a firearm at M.M-S. Accordingly, we affirm Hughes’ Level 6 felony pointing a firearm conviction.

[20] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Ind. Code § 35-47-4-3. Hughes was also convicted of Level 4 felony sexual battery, but he does not challenge that conviction.

2.   We note that the transcript contains the initials for M.M-S.’s last name as both M-S. and S-M. For simplicity, we will refer to the initials of his last name in the same order as the initials for his sister's last name.

3.   Hughes was charged as an adult in this case.

Pyle, Judge.

Bradford, J., and Kenworthy, J., concur.