[APPEALS] Neil Allen Escue v. State of Indiana, 24A CR 311

Neil Escue and Justus Green ("the victim") were involved in a five-year-on-and-off intimate relationship that ended a few years ago. In the span of twenty minutes, on May 15, 2023, Escue rammed the back of the victim's vehicle while the victim was inside. The force in which Escue used was sufficient to crumple up part of the rear/trunk area of the victim's vehicle and chip the paint of the front brush guard on Escue's pickup truck. The police were called and when they arrived, the victim was crying uncontrollably and informed them that Escue hit her vehicle. The State charged Escue with Level 6 felony criminal recklessness, Class A misdemeanor domestic battery, and Class B Misdemeanor criminal mischief. A jury trial was held, and the jury was instructed as to the legal definitions of "bodily injury," "serious bodily injury," and "deadly weapon." The jury found Escue guilty of criminal recklessness. The trial court granted Escue's motion for directed verdict for criminal mischief and the State dismissed the domestic battery charge. Escue was sentenced to two years, 180 days executed in the Hancock County Jail followed by 545 days of community corrections as a direct commitment. Subsequently, the trial court entered a domestic violence determination. This appeal ensued.

Escue raises the following restated issues for our review: (1) whether there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction for criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, in this case, a vehicle; and (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it entered its domestic violence determination.

The scheduled panelists are Judge May, Judge Weissmann, and Judge Foley.