Huttsell
A North Vernon man who was arrested for five counts of attempted murder in October of last year will likely receive a lesser prison sentence.
Alvin Ray-Trent Huttsell, 20, was arrested Oct. 19, 2023, for firing a gun into a vehicle containing five people, including a pregnant woman, in the area of Hill Top Mobile Home Park on Seymour’s near east side.
Huttsell recently entered a plea agreement with the state represented by Jackson County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Hollingsworth for two counts of attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon, Level 5 felonies.
Originally, investigators with Seymour Police Department had requested 48 counts of attempted murder after completing their investigation. The prosecutor’s office later determined the correct method in determining the number of counts to file was incorrect. Those five charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal that lead to the attempted battery charges.
Hollingsworth said the police department arrived at 48 counts of attempted murder by multiplying the number of victims, including the fetus, times the number of shots fired in total, which were eight to get the total number of charges to file.
“Respectfully in regards to the Seymour police detectives on this case, and I reiterate that they did a good job here, that is not how to arrive at the number of chargeable counts in an attempted murder case,” Hollingsworth said.
Furthermore, Hollingsworth said the incident involved a single shooter with five people that could be seen in the vehicle Huttsell was shooting toward.
It was concluded Huttsell would not have been able to see that one occupant was pregnant and given attempted murder is a specific intent crime, a charge relating to the pregnancy could not be filed.
Hollingsworth said because attempted murder is a specific intent crime, where the person engages in conduct and it’s his conscious objective to do so, the evidence showed Huttsell didn’t specifically intend for the victims to die.
Even though multiple shots were fired by Huttsell into the vehicle, no one was shot or injured. Hollingsworth said this was taken into account, for the best evidence of Huttsell’s specific intent to kill is that he actually seriously injured his intended victim, which he did not.
Additionally, evidence did not show that any one intended victim had eight shots fired at them specifically.
Hollingsworth, who has 30 years experience as a prosecutor handling attempted murder cases, said in a single shooter case the number of counts is the number of victims.
“This charging matter on how to determine the number of counts to file in such an incident was addressed with the good detectives of the Seymour Police Department,” Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth said with many crimes, including attempted murder, there are lesser included crimes that would be committed in the course of committing the greater offense.
For example, an individual cannot commit the felony offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury, without also committing the lesser included misdemeanor offense of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
In attempted murders when the means to commit the crime is a firearm, the perpetrator would necessarily commit the offense of attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon.
“Given that law regarding using specific intent in an attempted murder case and on the evidence in the case based upon multiple depositions of witnesses who were present during the shooting, it was determined that the attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon were the appropriate charges to resolve the case on,” Hollingsworth said.
Robert Dennis Rummel, 21, also of North Vernon who was the driver of the vehicle containing Huttsell, also accepted a plea agreement for obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony, he is currently serving 420 days with Jackson-Jennings Community Corrections.
Huttsell will have a sentencing hearing at 10 a.m. Oct. 31 at the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown. Attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon in Indiana carries a potential sentence of up to six years in prison.