The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a trio of convictions for murder and child molesting Monday.
Murder over $10 drug debt upheld
The court rejected Kevin Varner’s appeal, saying his legal rights were upheld at trial.
Varner, 53, formerly of East Chicago, got 79 years after going to 23-year-old Danielle Brown’s Gary house on Feb. 12, 2023, and shooting her dead after she shorted Varner’s cousin by $10 in a marijuana deal that morning.
It “wasn’t about the money, it was about the principle,” he said, according to court documents.
They also upheld his conviction for attempted murder for shooting at a Benton County deputy trying to pull him over for the slaying.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Leanna Weissmann wrote Varner – who represented himself at trial – failed to depose four police officers himself, that prosecutors didn’t abuse their discretion by admitting the chase video, and there was no record of an agreement on limits for his girlfriend’s cross-examination.
She also rejected that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence against him. During the trial, Varner alleged Brown stabbed a man to death in an unrelated 2022 East Chicago drug house slaying. Varner alleged it showed he had to shoot her in self-defense. Court documents note no weapon was found on Brown when she died.
The stabbing case was later dismissed against the suspect, Yuron Robinson, with prosecutors writing it needed “additional investigation.”
A detective testified during Varner’s case that Brown wasn’t a suspect in the stabbing. Weissmann noted she was “never charged” and Varner had “no evidence other than his testimony.”
Varner was appealing a rejected lower court decision where he alleged trial errors. He can appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Child molesting conviction upheld
The court upheld James K. Robinson’s 40-year sentence for sexually assaulting a preteen girl.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Pete Foley wrote prosecutors properly admitted a video recording of the child’s forensic interview. The law gave “great deference” to judges on whether or not to admit it.
At sentencing, a prosecutor said Robinson, 53, formerly of Chicago, manipulated the mother in November 2022 in the Hammond case, telling her he would pay for her drinks that night with a relative to get her out of the house.
Robinson had eight felony convictions, including a 1995 murder conviction. Court records show he was convicted of criminal sexual abuse in 1989.
Robinson rejected a plea deal and maintained his innocence.
Murder conviction for girlfriend’s slaying upheld
The court also upheld Anthony Carr’s 68-year sentence for breaking in and killing his girlfriend Brittany Smith in Gary in January 2022.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Mary DeBoer wrote there was no error when a detective testified he found no other suspects and when prosecutors introduced text messages that showed Carr kicked down the door in an incident a couple months before she died.
There was enough evidence pointing to Carr’s guilt, DeBoer wrote.
Witnesses told police Smith had dated Carr for about 5 to 6 months.
mcolias@post-trib.com