Opinion ID: 2174636
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence Regarding Armed Robbery

Text: The Appellant presents two issues relating solely to the Appellant's armed robbery conviction. The crime of commission of or attempt to commit a felony while armed has as one of its elements that the person accused is over sixteen years of age. Ind. Code § 35-12-1-1 (Burns 1975). It is contended that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence hearsay testimony regarding the Appellant's age, and that the evidence was otherwise insufficient to support the armed robbery conviction. The testimony in question was given by a police officer. He stated that during the course of his investigation he learned that the Appellant was eighteen on the day of the crime charged. He testified further that the Appellant's mother signed a brief statement that the Appellant's date of birth was 7-6-54. Also admitted into evidence, however, was testimony regarding the Appellant's age by two other witnesses. A fellow employee at the Appellant's place of employment testified that the Appellant was approximately 17, 18 when he came to South Bend. The witness was a foreman who had known the Appellant six or eight months. This testimony was elicited by the defense on cross-examination and was not objected to by defense counsel. One of the eye witnesses to the crimes charged testified that the person who opened the cash register was maybe 17, 18 years old. The admissibility of this testimony is not challenged in this appeal. Even if the testimony of the police officer is inadmissible for reasons of a lack of proper foundation and hearsay, as the Appellant suggests, the other evidence that the Appellant was over the age of 16 was sufficient. This Court has held that evidence of age can be established by a witness giving his observation of the appellant as to his age. Watson v. State, (1956) 236 Ind. 329, 334, 140 N.E.2d 109. Asocar v. State, (1969) 252 Ind. 326 at 328, 247 N.E.2d 679 at 680; Kautzman v. State, (1974) Ind. App., 316 N.E.2d 857. The testimony by the Appellant's co-worker and the eye-witness to the crime sufficiently establish the age of the accused as over 16. The admission of the objected to testimony was harmless error, if error at all.