MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this 

Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as 

precedent or cited before any court except for the 

purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, 

collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Donald E. Hamilton

New Castle, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Gregory F. Zoeller

Attorney General of Indiana

Brian Reitz

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Amanda Gonzales,

Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff.

March 11, 2016

Court of Appeals Case No.

30A01-1509-CR-1308

Appeal from the Hancock Superior 

Court.

The Honorable Terry K. Snow, 

Judge.

Cause No. 30D01-1409-F6-1620

Shepard, Senior Judge

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 30A01-1509-CR-1308 | March 11, 2016 Page 1 of 5
[1] After a bench trial, the court determined that Amanda Gonzales was guilty of 

battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a Level 6 felony,1

and conspiracy to 

commit battery, a Level 6 felony,2

in connection with a jail assault. She appeals 

only the conspiracy conviction, and we affirm.

Issue

[2] Gonzales raises a single issue: whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain 

her conspiracy conviction.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] On the evening of September 18, 2014, Corrections Officer Michael McPherson 

was on patrol in the Hancock County Jail when he heard screaming coming 

from Cell Block H. He entered the cell block and approached a cell, where he 

saw inmates Gonzales and Laquita Griggs repeatedly hitting another inmate, 

Kristy Campbell, as she screamed for help. Officer McPherson ordered 

Gonzales and Griggs to desist, but they continued attacking Campbell until he

drew his Taser. Campbell was taken to the infirmary for treatment.

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1 (2014).

2 Ind. Code § 35-41-5-2 (2014).

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[4] The State charged Gonzales with battery, conspiracy to commit battery, and 

obstruction of justice. During a bench trial, the court dismissed the obstruction 

charge and found Gonzales guilty of battery and conspiracy to commit battery.

Discussion and Decision

[5] Gonzales does not dispute that she battered Campbell but claims there is 

insufficient evidence that she conspired with others for the attack. In reviewing 

a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we affirm unless no reasonable 

trier of fact could have found each of the elements of a crime proven beyond a 

reasonable doubt. Smith v. State, 8 N.E.3d 668 (Ind. 2014). We neither reweigh 

evidence nor assess the credibility of witnesses. Id.

[6] To obtain a conviction for conspiracy to commit battery, the State was required 

to prove that Gonzales (1) with the intent to commit battery (2) agreed with 

other persons (3) to commit battery (4) and either Gonzales or another party to 

the agreement performed an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. Ind. 

Code § 35-41-5-2. An agreement may be inferred from circumstantial evidence, 

which may include the overt acts of the parties in furtherance of the criminal 

act. Dickenson v. State, 835 N.E.2d 542 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005), trans. denied.

[7] Prior to September 18, 2014, Campbell had given information to law 

enforcement about a pending criminal case against Gonzales. On September 

18, an inmate asked Campbell to go to a cell. Campbell went into the cell and 

sat down on a mattress on the floor.

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[8] Next, Gonzales and Griggs entered the cell together. Gonzales asked 

Campbell, “What did you do, Kristy?” Tr. p. 45. Campbell responded, “What 

do you mean?” Id. Gonzales told Campbell, “You know what you did. Now 

would be the time to be honest.” Id. Campbell said, “You need to be more 

specific.” Id. Griggs hit Campbell, and Gonzales followed suit. Campbell 

curled up in a fetal position and screamed for help as Griggs and Gonzales 

continued to hit her and pulled out her hair. Gonzales told Campbell, “No one 

is gonna help you.” Id. at 49. After several minutes, Officer McPherson heard 

Campbell’s screams and ended the attack. Later, a police officer reviewed 

security camera recordings of the cell block during the time of the battery. He

saw one inmate turn up a television’s volume to drown out the sounds of the 

battery, and another inmate guarded an alarm button to prevent others in the 

cell block from requesting help.

[9] The evidence that Gonzales and Griggs approached Campbell in a cell and 

attacked her in concert, asserting that no one would help her, while an inmate 

tried to cover up the sound of Campbell’s screams and another inmate guarded 

the alarm button, establishes that Gonzales and others agreed to batter 

Campbell and took steps to carry out the agreement. See Whittle v. State, 542 

N.E.2d 981 (Ind. 1989) (where defendant and companions appeared at victims’ 

clubhouse together and jointly attacked the victims, evidence of conspiracy 

adequate), overruled in part on other grounds by Scisney v. State, 701 N.E.2d 847 

(Ind. 1998).

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Conclusion

[10] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

[11] Affirmed.

Vaidik, C.J., and Bailey, J., concur.

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