FOR PUBLICATION




ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT :    ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:

WILLIAM W. GOODEN    STEVE CARTER
Mt. Vernon, Indiana     Attorney General of Indiana
            
            ANDREW A. KOBE
            Deputy Attorney General
            Indianapolis, Indiana

ANDREW J. SCOTT,        )

                             )
Appellant-Defendant,         )
                             )
vs.                          )    No.  65A01-0307-CR-240
                             )
STATE OF INDIANA,            )
                             )
Appellee-Plaintiff.          )

II.    Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to sustain Scott’s conviction for possession of chemical precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.    

III.    Whether Scott’s conviction for possession of chemical precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine is a lesser included offense of his conviction for dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing.

    We affirm.

(1) is established by proof of the same material elements or less than all the material elements required to establish the commission of the offense charged;

(2) consists of an attempt to commit the offense charged or an offense otherwise included therein; or

(3) differs from the offense charged only in the respect that a less serious harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or public interest, or a lesser kind of culpability, is required to establish its commission.

A lesser included offense is necessarily included within the greater offense if it is impossible to commit the greater offense without first having committed the lesser. Iddings v. State, 772 N.E.2d 1006, 1016 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002).
    A person who knowingly or intentionally manufactures a schedule II controlled substance, which includes methamphetamine, commits dealing in a schedule II controlled substance, a Class B felony. IC 35-48-4-2(a)(1)(A). A person who possesses anhydrous ammonia or ammonia solution with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine commits a Class D felony. IC 35-48-4-14.5(c). We accept that it is impossible to knowingly or intentionally manufacture methamphetamine without first possessing the chemical precursors of methamphetamine with the intent to make the drug. The sole practical difference between these two offenses is that one may be guilty of possessing chemical precursors with intent to manufacture without actually beginning the manufacturing process, whereas the manufacturing process must, at the very least, have been started by a defendant in order to be found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine.
    IC 35-38-1-6 does not preclude conviction and sentence for both offenses. Bush v. State, 772 N.E.2d 1020, 1024 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (citing Ingram v. State, 718 N.E.2d 379, 381 (Ind. 1999)). If the evidence indicates that one crime is independent of another crime, it is not an included offense. See Ingram, 718 N.E.2d at 381 (declining to hold defendant’s criminal confinement conviction was lesser included offense of criminal deviate conduct and sexual battery where force or threat of force went beyond that necessary to effectuate those offenses). IC 35-38-1-6 only precludes convictions on multiple counts where those counts had identical elements of proof. See Goudy v. State, 689 N.E.2d 686, 698 (Ind. 1997) (vacating attempted carjacking conviction as lesser included offense of attempted robbery but emphasizing that it was necessary to do so only because both offenses involved the attempted taking of the same motor vehicle). Thus, whether an offense is included in another within the meaning of IC 35-38-1-6 requires careful examination of the facts and circumstances of each particular case. See Iddings, 772 N.E.2d at 1017.
    In Iddings, officers first engaged in a controlled buy to purchase methamphetamine from the defendant and then discovered several precursors within his garage while executing a search warrant. Id. The jury convicted the defendant of both dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing and possessing precursors for methamphetamine. Id. The defendant argued that his conviction for possession of precursors for methamphetamine constituted a lesser included offense of his dealing conviction. Id. This court held two independent offenses had occurred because the officers recovered completed methamphetamine from the defendant’s residence in addition to the precursors to make more methamphetamine.
    In Bush, officers executed a search warrant for evidence of marijuana and found several precursors to manufacturing methamphetamine. Bush, 772 N.E.2d at 1021. The officers found only precursors for methamphetamine, but not actual methamphetamine. Id. The defendant was charged and convicted with both possession of precursors for methamphetamine and dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing. Id. On appeal, this court sua sponte held that the defendant’s conviction for possession of precursors for methamphetamine was a lesser included offense to his dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing conviction because officers did not find any completed methamphetamine in his residence. Id. at 1024. Specifically, we reasoned that because no evidence of possession separate from the manufacturing process had been recovered, it was impossible to fairly state that the manufacturing and possession of precursors in this case were clearly independent of each other. Id.
    The clear distinction between Iddings and Bush lies in the evidence presented to show whether two independent offenses occurred. In Iddings, there were two independent offenses because the officers found completed methamphetamine during their search as well precursors for methamphetamine. Iddings, 772 N.E.2d at 1011. Specifically, the evidence in Iddings revealed that (1) the defendant had already completed the manufacturing of some methamphetamine and (2) he possessed precursors with intent to make more of the drug. Id. at 1017-18. In Bush, the same evidence establishing that Bush was knowingly or intentionally manufacturing methamphetamine also established that he possessed the precursors for methamphetamine. Bush, 772 N.E.2d at 1024. As result, the possession of chemical precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine charge was a lesser included offense of the manufacturing of methamphetamine charge.
Here, the evidence indicates that Scott had previously manufactured methamphetamine on his property. Officer Cooper testified that punctured and burned starting fluid cans, empty mineral spirits cans, stripped out lithium batteries, and two plastic containers that were being used as HCL generators See footnote were found on Scott’s property. Further, the evidence presented shows that Scott told Deputy Montgomery that he was tired of people calling in to the police about the smell of ether emanating from his property. Moreover, Jason Kinder, a jail officer at the Posey Court Jail, testified that when he informed Scott of the charges against him, Scott stated: “I don’t know how they can say I manufactured meth, I haven’t manufactured any meth in two weeks.” Appellant’s Appendix at 129. Additionally, the evidence reflects that materials to manufacture more methamphetamine were found on Scott’s property. Officer Cooper testified that he and the other officers found several different pills containing pseudoephedrine or pseudoephedrine HCI, anhydrous ammonia, lithium batteries, Coleman Fuel, salt, coffee filters, Liquid Fire, and plastic tubing in Scott’s mobile home located on his property. These items were not empty, but were full and ready to be used to make additional methamphetamine.
In this case, the evidence presented reasonably leads to the conclusion that actual methamphetamine had already been created on the property by Scott. Other materials that were found in Scott’s possession indicated that he intended to create additional methamphetamine. Because the evidence supports the inference that two independent offenses occurred, the possession of chemical precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine charge is not a lesser included offense of the dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing charge. See Iddings, 772 N.E.2d at 1017. Thus, Scott’s conviction for the possession of chemical precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine need not be vacated.
Affirmed.
FRIEDLANDER, J., and BARNES, J., concur.