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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed one conviction against a man charged with multiple offenses for stabbing his wife.
In Richard Leggs v. State of Indiana, No. 49A02-1105-CR-522, Richard Leggs appealed his conviction on multiple charges and argued that his two convictions of criminal confinement violate the continuing crime doctrine.
Leggs attacked his wife in their apartment in 2010, first threatening to kill her and then pinning her down and stabbing her twice in the stomach.
A trial court found Leggs guilty of two counts of Class B felony criminal confinement and one count each of Class C felony intimidation, Class C felony criminal recklessness, and Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
The trial court ordered the following four sentences served concurrently: 14 years for Class B felony criminal confinement, five years for Class C felony intimidation, 545 days for Class D felony criminal recklessness, and 365 days for Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. For the second count of Class B felony criminal confinement, the trial court sentenced Leggs to six years and ordered it served consecutive to his other sentences, for an aggregate sentence of 20 years.
In his appeal, Leggs argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of Class C felony intimidation. But the COA affirmed the trial court, holding that Leggs did not file a motion to dismiss the charges in trial court, nor did he demonstrate that deficiencies in the charging information rose to the level of fundamental error.
The appellate panel found the two convictions of Class B felony criminal confinement violated the continuing crime doctrine. Accordingly, the court reversed one of his criminal confinement convictions and remanded for resentencing.
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