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Published by the Indiana Office of Court Services

Erkins v. State, No. 58A01-1205-CR-215, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. Ap., Apr. 23, 2013).

April 25, 2013 Filed Under: Criminal Tagged With: Appeals, T. Crone

Crone, J.
Indiana Code Section 35-42-5-1 makes the crime of robbery more serious when it is committed in such a way that serious bodily injury to a person other than the defendant is a result of the crime. To sustain a conviction for class A felony robbery, “[t]he state does not have to prove that the defendant knowingly or intentionally caused such injury. If serious bodily injury occurred as a consequence of the conduct of the accused, the offense is a class A felony.” Phares v. State, 506 N.E.2d 65, 69 (Ind. Ct. App. 1987).
Here, however, Appellants did not actually commit robbery and were not charged with robbery. Appellants were charged with and convicted of conspiracy. By its very nature, conspiracy is a crime of intent and agreement. To sustain a conviction for conspiracy, the State is not required to prove that the crime intended and agreed upon was actually committed or even attempted. Coleman v. State, 952 N.E.2d 377, 382 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). Appellants’ argument that the robbery statute requires actual injury ignores the fact that Appellants’ were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery resulting in serious bodily injury  [Footnote omitted.] Conspiracy is a felony of the same class as the underlying felony. Ind. Code § 35-41-5-2. Their argument implies that two people could never conspire to achieve a specific result.  [Footnote omitted.]  We are unpersuaded. Accordingly, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction for class A felony conspiracy to commit robbery where the State establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the coconspirators intended and agreed to cause serious bodily injury to the victim in perpetrating the robbery.
KIRSCH, J., and MATHIAS, J., concur.

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