Opinion ID: 2240184
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Murphy claims that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict on the charge of receiving stolen property. Such a conviction would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Murphy knowingly or intentionally received, retained, or disposed of the property of another person that had been the subject of a theft. Ind. Code § 35-43-4-2(b). Murphy claims that the jury reached a compromised verdict. He contends that the jury must have ignored Simpson's testimony that Murphy both instigated and acted in the robbery because it returned a verdict of not guilty on the charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and theft. Arguing that Simpson's testimony was the only evidence linking Murphy to the robbery, Murphy alleges that a verdict of guilty on the charge of receiving stolen property is inconsistent with the jury's total disregard of Simpson's testimony. In essence, he argues that the jury was obligated to find him guilty of all of the crimes if it believed Simpson or innocent of all of the crimes if it believed Stahl. The verdict of guilty on one charge at 1:30 a.m. after four days of trial and seven hours of deliberations can only be considered a compromise, according to Murphy. When reviewing a sufficiency claim, this Court will consider only the evidence most favorable to the State and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom which support the jury's verdict. A conviction will be affirmed if there was evidence of probative value from which the jury could determine that appellant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Loyd v. State (1980), 272 Ind. 404, 398 N.E.2d 1260, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 881, 101 S.Ct. 231, 66 L.Ed.2d 105. Murphy is attempting to impeach the jury's verdict by determining the credibility of Simpson and Stahl. To give credence to his argument, this Court would have to follow a route for which precedent provides a formidable roadblock. We have repeatedly held that this Court on appeal will neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Id. The evidence most favorable to the State, particularly Simpson's testimony, establishes that Murphy was a willing participant in all of the crimes with which he was charged. However, Stahl testified that Murphy refused to join in the crime. Stahl said he and Simpson dropped Murphy off at a bar immediately before the robbery and retrieved Murphy there shortly afterward. In light of the evidence that Murphy was found in the car which held the ill-gotten gains, the jury could have accepted portions of the inconsistent testimony of Simpson and Stahl and concluded that Murphy was not a participant in the robbery but that he did share in the proceeds. Consequently, while there was evidence to support convictions on all of the charges, the jury concluded that the State met its burden of proof on only one. This was a permissible conclusion.