CURRENT v. STATE (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

 Case Summary

[1] Richard Current appeals his convictions for burglary, a Level 5 felony, theft, a Level 6 felony, and criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Current claims that his convictions must be set aside because the State presented “no scientific evidence” linking him to the offenses. Appellant's Brief at 13.

[2] We affirm.

 Facts and Procedural History

[3] Sometime in 2016, D.A. Dodd, LLC (Dodd), was contracted to provide mechanical maintenance services to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in South Bend. Restaurant personnel provided Dodd employees with a universal key to Texas Roadhouse's doors, along with a security code to disarm the alarm during nonbusiness hours.

[4] Dodd's manager kept the security code on a tag attached to the key ring that was typically kept in the main office. On occasion, however, a service technician would retain the key or pass it along to another worker, and Dodd's office personnel would have to contact the employees to locate it. No safeguards were in place to prevent an employee from copying the key.

[5] Between July 2017 and January 2024, Current worked as a service technician for Dodd. Current performed various maintenance tasks at Texas Roadhouse two to three times per week. Texas Roadhouse employees were familiar with Current, and they noticed that he routinely wore a dark gray Carhartt hoodie while working.

[6] In February 2025, Texas Roadhouse conducted a promotional campaign. As part of that promotion, the restaurant's marketer and administrator purchased a large teddy bear from Meijer, put a Texas Roadhouse t-shirt on it, and placed it in a highchair in the host area at the front of the restaurant.

[7] At approximately 11:00 p.m. on February 12, 2025, an individual—subsequently identified as Current—drove a silver un-plated Nissan Murano automobile (the Murano) to the parking lot of Chick-fil-A, which was adjacent to Texas Roadhouse. He parked the Murano facing the Texas Roadhouse and stayed for forty-five minutes before driving around and parking in front of the restaurant's front door.

[8] Shortly after midnight, Current, wearing a dark gray charcoal Carhartt hoodie like he wore when working at Texas Roadhouse, approached the front door and tried to unlock it. Unsuccessful, Current returned to his vehicle and sat in the parking lot until 1:47 a.m. Current then drove through the Chick-fil-A parking lot, returned two minutes later, and again parked in front of the Texas Roadhouse.

[9] Current walked to the front door, successfully unlocked it, and walked inside. He then entered the security code and disarmed the security system. Current briefly returned to his vehicle, removed a bag and a tool kit from his trunk, and reentered the restaurant.

[10] Surveillance cameras captured Current entering an area near the kitchen, where a safe was located that stored cash that servers deposited each night. Current approached that safe, dropped the tool bag, and walked into the kitchen at 1:55 a.m. Current then returned to the main area, looked directly at the camera, and unsuccessfully tried to disarm it.

[11] At 2:19 a.m., Current entered the restaurant office and examined another safe that stored $2500. Current briefly left the room and returned with his toolbox and a power cord. Current then grabbed an office chair, stepped toward the camera and security system, and disabled the system by unplugging the receiver box from the power cord. At 4:10 a.m., surveillance video from Chick-fil-A showed Current leaving Texas Roadhouse in the Murano.

[12] At 4:18 a.m. on February 13, 2025, Current's cell phone—which had been powered off since 6:12 p.m. the previous night—was turned back on. At that time, Current's phone was tracked to the vicinity near Texas Roadhouse.

[13] Two hours later, Texas Roadhouse's meat cutter arrived at the restaurant for work and found it in disarray, whereupon he called the restaurant's managing partner, James Terry. When Terry arrived, he discovered that both safes in the restaurant had been sawed open and that cash was missing. The office screwdriver was on the floor and broken and the security system's camera cords had been unplugged from the receiver. Metal doors from the cabinet above the office desk had been removed and batteries were missing. A lock on a wooden cabinet that stored gift cards was also broken. Terry also discovered that some liquor and cans of Red Bull were missing. The large teddy bear from the highchair in the host area was gone, but the Texas Roadhouse t-shirt that it wore was left on the bench.

[14] Damage to the safes amounted to $19,000. No one, including Current, had permission to enter Texas Roadhouse and remove the cash or other items. Based on the security code used to disarm the security system, law enforcement received a list from Dodd of the four primary employees who had routinely worked at Texas Roadhouse, including Current. Current remained a suspect after the three others were ruled out based on their physical appearance when compared with the images on the surveillance video.

[15] When shown still photographs from the surveillance video, Dodd's vice-president, Ben Mikel—who had worked with Current for several years—identified Current as the burglar. Mikel based that identification in part on Current's unusual eyes that were visible in the photos. Current has large eyes with dark circles underneath, and other photos of Current likewise exhibited those characteristics.

[16] Taylor Mikel—Mikel's daughter and service technician scheduler for Dodd—had remained in contact with Current after he stopped working at Texas Roadhouse. Taylor provided police with Current's phone number and a text screenshot from the day of the burglary to police. More particularly, at some point on the day of the burglary, Taylor received an unexpected text message from Current, stating that he was on his way back to Indiana from Michigan. The evidence showed that Current's cell phone location was not near Michigan on February 12 or 13.

[17] No fingerprints or DNA tests were conducted on the saw blade or screwdriver handle or rod that were found near the restaurant safes. After law enforcement located an un-plated Murano in Current's driveway that matched the one on the surveillance video, police officers executed a search at Current's South Bend residence in late February 2025. During the search, the officers located a large teddy bear in Current's bedroom closet that resembled the one that was missing from Texas Roadhouse.

[18] On May 6, 2025, the State charged Current with Level 5 felony burglary, Level 6 felony theft, and Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief. Following a three-day jury trial that concluded on February 25, 2026, Current was found guilty as charged. Current was subsequently sentenced to four years suspended to probation for burglary, two years suspended to probation for theft, and to one year suspended to probation for criminal mischief. The trial court ordered Current to serve the sentences concurrently, and it imposed a restitution order in the amount of $24,256.28.

[19] Current now appeals.

 Discussion and Decision

[20] In addressing Current's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we do not assess witness credibility or reweigh the evidence. Scott v. State, 139 N.E.3d 1148, 1155 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020), trans. denied. When confronted with conflicting evidence, this court considers it in a light most favorable to the verdict and we will affirm the conviction “unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id.

[21] Current's sole claim on appeal is that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because the State failed to connect him to the offenses with DNA or fingerprint evidence. Notwithstanding Current's claim, the evidence established that Mikel knew Current from their lengthy working relationship. Mikel testified that Current was the person in the Texas Roadhouse surveillance video based on Current's physical build and unusual eye characteristics. Such was direct evidence of Current's identity. See Hampton v. State, 961 N.E.2d 480 (Ind. 2012) (stating that direct evidence means evidence that directly proves a fact, without an inference).

[22] Moreover, Mikel's identification of Current was corroborated at trial through circumstantial evidence. Indeed, identity may be established by circumstantial evidence and the logical inferences drawn therefrom. Scheel v. State, 235 N.E.3d 1278, 1283 (Ind. Ct. App. 2024), trans. denied.

[23] The evidence at trial demonstrated that the burglar used a key to enter Texas Roadhouse's front door and disabled the security alarm with a code that was given to Dodd, the maintenance company that serviced the restaurant. Current worked for Dodd as a service technician at the South Bend Texas Roadhouse location two to three times per week for years. Current thus had access to the key and security code.

[24] The evidence further established that Current was familiar with the safes’ locations, and the video from the surveillance camera showed that the perpetrator immediately approached both of those areas upon entering the restaurant. The burglar matched Current's physical structure, and his eyes resemble those on the surveillance video and still photos. The perpetrator wore a dark gray Carhartt hoodie that matched the same type of sweatshirt that Current frequently wore while working at Texas Roadhouse. Other Dodd employees who had access to the restaurant after hours were ruled out as possible suspects because of their physical build.

[25] The evidence also demonstrated that Current drove the same kind of vehicle as the perpetrator. The un-plated Murano observed on the surveillance video matched the one in Current's driveway that contained his personal property.

[26] Current's cell phone was dormant for a period prior to the burglary on February 12, 2025, but it was turned on just eight minutes after the burglary the next morning. Current lied about his whereabouts to another Dodd employee, falsely claiming that he was in Michigan when the offenses were committed. Finally, a large stuffed teddy bear matching the one that was missing from Texas Roadhouse was found in Current's closet.

[27] This circumstantial evidence corroborated Mikel's identification of Current as the perpetrator. While any one of those factors in isolation might not have been enough to convict Current of the charged offenses, a reasonable jury considering the whole picture could have inferred that Current committed the crimes charged. Current's arguments pointing to alleged deficiencies in the State's case, i.e., the absence of scientific evidence including fingerprints or DNA evidence, are merely invitations for us to reweigh the evidence and judge the credibility of witnesses, which we will not do. See Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 147 (Ind. 2007). We thus conclude that the identification of Current as the perpetrator of the offenses was proper and that the evidence was sufficient to support Current's convictions.

[28] Judgment affirmed.

Altice, Judge.

Bailey, J. and Bradford, J., concur.