State of Indiana v. Michael McCune

Anderson, Indiana criminal law lawyer represented Defendant charged with attempted murder.



Michael McCune was accused of attempted murder for stabbing a friend, Laverne Pflugh, Jr., 13 times at a birthday party that ended in a fight.



IC 35-41-5-1 Attempted Murder







Sec. 1. (a) A person attempts to commit a crime when, acting with the culpability required for commission of the crime, the person engages in conduct that constitutes a substantial step toward commission of the crime. ?An attempt to commit a crime is a felony or misdemeanor of the same level or class as the crime attempted. ?However, an attempt to commit murder is a Level 1 felony.



(b)?It is no defense that, because of a misapprehension of the circumstances, including the age of the intended victim in a prosecution for attempted child molesting (IC 35-42-4-3), it would have been impossible for the accused person to commit the crime attempted.



(c)?For purposes of subsection (a), a person engages in conduct that constitutes a substantial step if the person, with the intent to commit a sex crime against a child or an individual the person believes to be a child:



(1)?communicates with the child or individual the person believes to be a child concerning the sex crime; ?and



(2)?travels to another location to meet the child or individual the person believes to be a child.







IC 35-42-2-1.5 Aggravated battery



Sec. 1.5. A person who knowingly or intentionally inflicts injury on a person that creates a substantial risk of death or causes:



(1) serious permanent disfigurement;



(2) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ; or



(3) the loss of a fetus;



commits aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony. However, the offense is a Level 1 felony if it results in the death of a child less than fourteen (14) years of age and is committed by a person at least eighteen (18) years of age.

Defendant was found guilty of aggravated battery.