Marvin Moyers v. State of Indiana

── Marvin Moyers v. State of Indiana ── Case No.: 26S-CR-00086 Court: Indiana Supreme Court Date: March 20, 2026 Author: Christopher Goff Category: General FILED Mar 20 2026, 11:32 am CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court IN THE Indiana Supreme Court Supreme Court Case No. 26S-CR-86 Marvin Moyers, Appellant –v– State of Indiana, Appellee Argued: June 18, 2025 | Decided: March 20, 2026 Appeal from the Ohio Circuit Court No. 58C01-2206-F1-1 The Honorable F. Aaron Negangard, Judge On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals No. 24A-CR-939 Opinion by Chief Justice Rush Justice Goff concurs. Justice Molter concurs with separate opinion. Justice Slaughter dissents with separate opinion in which Justice Massa joins. Rush, Chief Justice. Six years ago, we overhauled Indiana’s approach to substantive double jeopardy—the doctrine that provides state-law protections against multiple convictions for the same offense in a single trial. We announced two tests: the Wadle test, which applies when a defendant is convicted of different statutory offenses with common elements; and the Powell test, which applies when a defendant is convicted of a single statutory offense multiple times. Yet questions remain over the meaning of “single statutory offense” and the proper test when a defendant’s convictions stem from multiple violations of the same statute with differing enhancing circumstances or penalty levels. Here, a defendant was convicted of both Level 3 and Level 4 felony criminal confinement based on his use of a deadly weapon and his infliction of moderate bodily injury on the victim. Because the criminal confinement statute treats these offenses as elevated forms of a common base offense—Level 6 felony criminal confinement—we conclude that the statute defines a single statutory offense. We therefore apply the Powell test to determine whether the defendant was punished twice for the same offense. And we hold that he was, finding the record only supports one continuous confinement. We therefore reverse and remand with instructions for the trial court to vacate the lesser conviction and enter an amended sentencing order. Facts and Procedural History Over a six-hour period in June 2022, Gregory Luhrsen endured a violent ordeal in his home. It began when he woke up one Sunday morning to hear a car running in his driveway. He went downstairs, through the basement, and into the garage to investigate. There he found Marvin Moyers—a stranger—holding his table saw. Moyers lunged at Luhrsen, knocked him down, and struck him repeatedly in the face with an old telephone receiver, rendering him unconscious. When Luhrsen regained consciousness, he was lying face down in the garage with his hands behind his back and Moyers kneeling on top of him. Moyers Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 26S-CR-86 | March 20, 2026 Page 2 of 19 eventually let Luhrsen stand up but only to push him through the garage, into the basement, up the stairs, and into the living room, where Moyers again hit him in the head with the phone. Moyers then went into a bedroom where he grabbed Luhrsen’s cellphone and shotgun. Upon returning from the bedroom, Moyers used a telephone cable to tie up Luhrsen’s hands and legs. With Luhrsen tied up, Moyers began to rummage through the house, filling bags with items he wanted. D