COA Upholds Attempted Stalking Conviction

COA Upholds Attempted Stalking Conviction

by Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

A man who claims he is the only person in Indiana ever charged with or convicted of attempted stalking failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his conviction should be overturned.

Noah Pittman was convicted of Class B felony attempted stalking and Class A misdemeanor carrying a handgun without a license after his sometimes girlfriend and mother of his child called police after feeling threatened by him. Pittman had shown up at the health clinic where Natasha Small had taken their child and circled the lot on his bicycle. He had called her several times earlier that day and even threatened to kill her. Small called Pittman’s mother, who discovered that her gun was missing and told Small that Pittman could have it.

Pittman told police he was at the clinic to scare his girlfriend, although he said it jokingly. Small told police that she was fearful during the incident.

Pittman sought to have his attempted stalking conviction dismissed, arguing that based on the plain language of the stalking statute, it cannot be charged as an “attempt” crime in Indiana. That motion was denied and he was convicted as charged.

“[A]lthough the completed crime of stalking requires that the State prove that the defendant’s conduct ‘actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened,’ the crime of attempted stalking does not require such a showing. Rather, all that is required to prove attempted stalking is that the defendant took a substantial step toward committing the crime of stalking while acting with the requisite intent to commit stalking,” Judge Elaine Brown wrote. “Although the unambiguous language of the stalking statute clearly requires that, for the commission of the completed offense, the defendant’s conduct actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened, this fact does not manifest a legislative intent to foreclose application of the general attempt statute to prosecute unsuccessful attempts to commit stalking.”

The appeals court also found the general attempt statute, as applied in this case, is not void for vagueness, there is sufficient evidence to support his attempted stalking and handgun convictions, and that his sentence four years in community corrections followed by two years suspended to probation is not inappropriate.

The case is Noah Pittman v. State of Indiana, 49A05-1504-CR-137.