GREENFIELD — An Indianapolis woman found guilty of murder last week by a Hancock County jury appeared before a judge again Wednesday, this time to answer for allegations she beat up a witness who was called to testify against her.
Amanda Gonzales, who was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday on battery and obstruction of justice charges; the 28-year-old has yet to be sentenced in the murder case.
The battery and obstruction charges stem from incidents that occurred a few months into her stay at the Hancock County Jail, where she attacked a fellow inmate, court records state.
Police said the victim had provided information to detectives at the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department who were investigating a murder that Gonzales was suspected of arranging.
Hancock County Superior Court 1 Judge Terry Snow found Gonzales guilty of battery in July, and she was sentenced Wednesday to serve two years in a Department of Correction facility.
That time will be added to the sentence Gonzales will receive Sept. 2, when she returns to court to be sentenced for her role in the death of Katrina Miller.
Miller, 23, of Indianapolis, was found dead of a single gunshot wound in a cornfield in western Hancock County in July 2014.Prosecutors say Gonzales orchestrated the murder out of jealousy after catching Miller in a hotel room with Gonzales’ then-boyfriend.
After her arrest, Gonzales attacked a fellow inmate, police said. Security video from inside the portion of the jail where Gonzales was housed shows her following the victim into a cell, court documents state.
The cell door was closed behind them, and another inmate “turns up the volume on the television to cover the noise from (the victim’s) screaming,” court records state.
Gonzales’ defense attorney, Jacob Moore of Bloomington, asked for leniency, telling the judge to consider that Gonzales’ sentence from the murder would likely drag into the 2050s.
Deputy Prosecutor John Keiffner said Gonzales was violent and needed to be held responsible regardless of her recent conviction.
Gonzales is being held in the Hancock County Jail.
The battery victim was transported to another facility, said Maj. Brad Burkhart, the sheriff’s chief deputy.
Gonzales faces a sentence of up to 130 years in prison for the murder and conspiracy case.