Rapist and murderer to remain behind bars

A murderer and a rapist will remain behind bars after Attorney General Todd Rokita’s legal team secured unanimous victories at the Indiana Court of Appeals, upholding lengthy sentences in two brutal violent crime cases. 

“Our office works tirelessly to keep Hoosiers safe from the worst of the worst—from white-collar fraud to cold-blooded killers,” said Attorney General Todd Rokita. “This rapist and this murderer don’t deserve to walk free, and I’m proud that the appellate court agreed with our arguments to keep them locked up and out of our communities for good.” 
 
Nashawn Stephens was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the 2022 murder of Tychius Derrickson in Mishawaka. Stephens and an accomplice lured Derrickson to an apartment under false pretenses, brutally beat him, dragged him outside, and shot him three times. Stephens claimed insufficient evidence—no eyewitness, no confession, no gun. The Court of Appeals rejected his appeal, finding overwhelming circumstantial evidence—including witness testimony, timing, physical evidence, and Stephens’s post-crime behavior—sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict. 

In a separate case, Jorge Juarez Lopez was sentenced to 60 years for breaking into a 17-year-old victim’s home in 2023, holding a knife to her throat, raping her, and threatening to kill her and her sister if she reported the assault. Lopez was convicted of two counts of Level 1 felony rape, two counts of Level 5 felony intimidation, and Class A misdemeanor counterfeit government-issued identification. He argued on appeal that the trial court should have granted a mistrial after the victim had an emotional outburst in court. The Court of Appeals upheld the denial of the mistrial, affirming that the trial judge’s strong admonition to the jury cured any potential prejudice. 

The Attorney General’s Appeals Division represented the State in both cases. Both rulings were unanimous.

The appellate decisions are attached here and here.