Dave Stafford for www.thendianalawyer.com

An Indianapolis teen and another man convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for their roles in a planned beatdown that ended with a fatal gunshot will be freed after the Indiana Supreme Court reversed their convictions and ordered them acquitted.

Billy Young and Marquise Lee were convicted in a bench trial by Marion Superior Judge Grant Hawkins of attempted aggravated battery for attacking Ramon Gude at his Indianapolis apartment in 2012. Young and Lee were accompanied by 16-year-old Lee’s mother, Latoya Lee, who Gude had punched in the face two days earlier, and an unidentified third man, who apparently fired the fatal shot.

Young and Marquise Lee initially were charged with murder and conspiracy, but Hawkins dismissed those charges, finding reasonable doubt about whether the shooting had been planned. He subsequently convicted the two men of attempted aggravated battery as a lesser included offense, which the justices unanimously ruled was fundamental error.

“(F)air notice was lacking. Defendants were charged with murder as accomplices in a shooting. At their bench trial, the court found that they intended a group beating of the victim, but that there was insufficient evidence that they knew a member of their group would shoot him. The trial court thus dismissed the murder charge, but convicted Defendants instead of attempted aggravated battery for planning the beating,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote for the court.

“Under these circumstances, however, attempted aggravated battery by beating was not just a lesser offense than the charged murder by shooting — it was a completely different offense, based on a completely different “means used” than alleged in the charging informations. This deprived Defendants of fair notice to extend their defense to that very different lesser charge and constituted fundamental error. We therefore grant transfer in both cases by separate orders and reverse both Defendants’ convictions.”

Different Court of Appeals panels had reached contradictory opinions for the defendants, affirming Lee’s conviction and reversing Young’s.

“Defendants must have “fair notice” of the charges of which they may be convicted, including inherently or factually included lesser offenses,” Rush wrote. “But under the unusual operative and procedural facts of this case — the actual shooter remaining unidentified, the resulting ambiguity as to whether these Defendants intended to carry out a shooting, the State’s choice to rely on the shooting alone in the charging instruments and at trial, and the trial court’s unambiguous finding of reasonable doubt on that particular theory — we  hold Defendants  lacked  fair  notice  of the charge of which  they were ultimately convicted. … We therefore grant transfer, reverse both Defendants’ convictions, and remand to the trial court with instructions to enter judgments of acquittal in both cases.”

In a footnote, the court observed, “Latoya Lee did not seek transfer in her unsuccessful appeal of her conviction and sentence.”

The cases are Billy Young v. State of Indiana, 49S02-1505-CR-275, and Marquise Lee v. State of Indiana, 49S02-1505-CR-276.

Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence completed his jobs and economic development mission to China today, visiting Indiana companies with China operations and hosting a reception in Shanghai for graduates of Indiana colleges and universities living in China.

“As a state, Indiana remains committed to giving our students the tools they need to succeed in life through a world-class education,” said Pence. “By going out and making an impact at companies around the globe, the graduates I met tonight are showing the world the power of an Indiana education. To continue attracting global companies to locate and grow in the Hoosier State, business leaders need to look no further than the graduates of our world-class universities both abroad and the many more we have back home.”

The reception attracted more than 100 alumni, including graduates from Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, Butler University and Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis. Indiana University, Purdue University and Rose Hulman Institute of Technology have education partnerships with Zhejiang Province, Indiana’s sister state, while some of Indiana’s other higher education institutions have established exchange programs across China. This complements the more than 10,000 Chinese students who attend universities in all corners of the state.

Earlier in the day, the Governor led meetings with leaders of the Lilly China Research & Development Center in Shanghai. Indiana-headquartered Eli Lilly employs more than 41,000 people around the world, including 11,000 Hoosiers at high-wage jobs across Indiana. The Governor also visited China International Marine Container, the parent company of Monon, Indiana-based Vanguard National Trailer Corporation. Vanguard has grown to be White County’s largest employer, employing more than 500 Hoosiers.

“Indiana and China are stronger together,” said Pence. “In the years since our friendship formed, Hoosier students have gained a broader worldview through cultural exchanges. And as global understanding grows, so does economic growth. Today Chinese companies are creating great Hoosier jobs in all corners of our state, and Indiana-based companies are thriving globally. Through the relationships we’re forming on this trip, I’m confident that this is just the beginning of generations of growth to come.”

China is Indiana’s fifth largest export partner. Hoosier companies exported $1.4 billion in goods to the country just last year. Through visits this week to Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, the governor has met with a number of prominent Chinese companies and multiple government leaders, including signing a reaffirmation of Indiana’s sister-state agreement with Zhejiang Province and meeting with Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yang.

The trip marks the governor’s sixth jobs and economic development as Governor, after previously traveling to Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada and Israel to promote Indiana.

More information about the Governor’s jobs mission to China, including video clips and photos, will be posted throughout the trip here: http://in.gov/gov/China2015.htm.

Indianapolis – In accordance with a presidential proclamation, Governor Mike Pence is directing flags at state facilities statewide to be flown at half-staff today in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day, which honors federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. President Obama signed a proclamation ordering flags nationwide to be flown at half-staff on Friday, May 15. Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.

Governor Pence also asks businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff to pay tribute to the brave men and women in law enforcement across Indiana and our nation.