The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the sentence issued by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall in the case of Jan Dollahan, Jr.
Dollahan, Jr. was sentenced in September 2018 after being found guilty by a jury in April of 2018 on charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and invasion of privacy, after neighbors said he shot multiple rounds at their property in an incident in May of 2016.
Dollahan was sentenced to 18 months in the Starke County Justice Center for criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and six months for invasion of privacy, with the sentences to run concurrently. However, that time was suspended to be served on probation.
Dollahan appealed the sentence and questioned whether the evidence was sufficient to convict Dollahan of the charges and whether the deputy prosecutor’s comments in closing arguments constituted fundamental error.
The Indiana Court of Appeals found that Dollahan’s act of pointing a gun and shooting in
the direction of his neighbor’s home presented the real risk that someone could suffer
bodily injury. In that decision, the appellate court found that evidence was sufficient to demonstrate a substantial risk of bodily harm.
Dollahan argued in his appeal that during the trial a reciprocal order of protection was not discussed on his behalf. The Court of Appeals found that the neighbor’s testimony of a reciprocal order was sufficient.
In its decision after reviewing the trial as a whole, the Court of Appeals stated that the members were not persuaded that the prosecutor’s arguments precluded Dollahan from obtaining a fair trial, and thus affirming the trial court’s finding that the statements do not constitute fundamental error.
