Opinion ID: 853296
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Green first argues that the State's evidence was insufficient to convict him of murder and attempted murder. (Appellant's Br. at 13.) In light of the trial court's decision about merger, we see no need to examine the evidence on attempt. Green complains that the State's case was based primarily on the testimony of Ezell who lied repeatedly to police when questioned at the scene of the shooting. ( Id. at 15.) He calls her testimony inherently unreliable. ( Id. at 16.) We disagree. When reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment and all reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence. Wright v. State, 690 N.E.2d 1098 (Ind.1997). We neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses. Id. We will affirm a conviction upon finding substantial evidence of probative value from which the jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Harris v. State, 480 N.E.2d 932 (Ind.1985). To convict Green of murder as charged, the State must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly or intentionally killed Douglas. Ind.Code Ann. § 35-42-1-1(1) (West 1998). The testimony of a single eyewitness to a crime is sufficient to sustain a murder conviction. See, e.g., Hood v. State, 561 N.E.2d 494 (Ind.1990). Ezell testified at trial that Douglas parked his car in order to place a call at a phone booth. While Ezell waited at the car, Green shot a gun in her direction causing the bullet to graze her face. She also testified that she ran and hid in a nearby home where, from a window, she watched Green shoot Douglas several times. Ezell had previously made certain statements inconsistent with her trial testimony, but said nothing to demonstrate her testimony was inherently unreliable. Her inconsistent statements concerned her association with the victim and not the essential elements of the crime. Moreover, her trial testimony was corroborated by testimony of police officers who spoke to Ezell at the crime scene, (R. at 259-60, 305, 443), telephone records for the phone booth, (R. at 353-54, State's Exh. 3), and the physician's report regarding the examination of Douglas' wounds, (R. at 474, State's Exh. 35). The jury was fully aware of Ezell's inconsistencies and that she was offered a probation recommendation for a dealing cocaine charge. It was well within the province of the jury to believe her. We conclude that the State presented substantial evidence of probative value from which the jury could determine Green was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.