James Ritenour, Jr. recently appealed his Starke Circuit Court conviction of eight-years for Attempted Battery, a Class C Felony to the Indiana Court of Appeals. Ritenour, Jr. questioned whether sufficient evidence supports his conviction, and he also claims his eight-year sentence for the charge is inappropriate in light of his character and the nature of the offense. Ritenour, Jr. was sentenced to the maximum sentence of eight years, and he requests that his sentence be revised down to the usual term of four years. He also argues that the lack of ballistics tests and conflicting testimony would require a reweighing of the evidence, but the State disagrees.
The nature of his crime against Shena Ritenour, his daughter-in-law, was remarkably violent and aggressive, and the State feels his sentence suits the case. Ritenour, Jr. had been found guilty of angrily yelling at her, beating her, and shooting at her while her infant son was nearby. He held a gun to her head, challenged her to duels with knives and guns, and watched as his son beat her while she held her child. The Court of Appeals upheld Judge Kim Hall’s sentence stating that the State had presented sufficient evidence to convict Ritenour, Jr. of attempted battery and that although Hall’s sentence of eight years is the maximum allowed under statue is not inappropriate given the nature of his offense and his character. The Starke Circuit Court sentence was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
