AG Rokita Reacts to Murder, Rape Convictions

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s legal team recently secured a huge victory at the Indiana Court of Appeals, affirming the guilty verdicts and lengthy sentences for a convicted killer and a rapist, ensuring they will remain incarcerated. Rokita is reacting to the Indiana Court of Appeals decisions to affirm the guilty verdict of two men convicted of rape and murder.

The cases were filed in October, but the Appellate Court made its decision Wednesday.

In the first case, Nashawn Stephens was sentenced to 75 years for the 2022 killing of Tychius Derrickson, Stephens and an accomplice lured Derrickson to an apartment in Mishawaka, brutally beat him, and shot him three times. Stephens challenged the conviction, arguing a lack of direct evidence (no eyewitnesses, confession, or gun). The Court of Appeals rejected his appeal, finding that strong circumstantial evidence, including witness testimony, the timing of events, physical evidence, and Stephens’ actions post-crime, was more than sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict.

In the separate case, Jorge Juarez Lopez was appealing his 60-year sentence. He was convicted of multiple felonies, including rape, after breaking into a 17-year-old’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 argued for a mistrial due to an emotional outburst by the victim during the trial. The Court of Appeals upheld the denial of the mistrial, agreeing that the trial judge’s strong instruction to the jury cured any potential prejudice.

“Our office works tirelessly to keep Hoosiers safe from the worst of the worst—from white-collar fraud to cold-blooded killers,” AG Rokita said. “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.”