Opinion
23A-CR-3062
06-28-2024
Nicholas Coburn, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Caylen J. McPherson Hamilton Law, LLC Auburn, Indiana. ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General John R. Oosterhoff Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana.
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision is not binding precedent for any court and may be cited only for persuasive value or to establish res judicata, collateral estoppel, or law of the case.
Appeal from the DeKalb Superior Court The Honorable Adam C. Squiller, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 17D01-2106-F6-000154
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Caylen J. McPherson Hamilton Law, LLC Auburn, Indiana.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Indiana Attorney General John R. Oosterhoff Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
FELIX, JUDGE.
Statement of the Case
[¶1] In May 2021, Nicholas Coburn led law enforcement on a high-speed chase through DeKalb and Allen Counties. Once the chase ended and officers arrested Coburn, he told them that he had marijuana in the car, which the officers located in the front seat. Coburn was subsequently arrested and pled guilty to resisting law enforcement and possession of marijuana. The trial court withheld sentencing so that Corburn could participate in drug court. After Coburn failed to successfully complete that program, the trial court sentenced him to a total of six years of incarceration. Coburn now appeals and presents one issues for our review: Whether his sentence is inappropriate under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B).
[¶2] We affirm. Facts and Procedural History
[¶3] On May 28, 2021, in DeKalb County, Indiana, Coburn was driving a white Ford Crown Victoria that had a temporary registration. A Garrett Police Department ("GPD") detective observed Coburn's vehicle and checked its registration, discovering that it was actually for a blue Ford Escape and that the registration's registered owner had a suspended license. That detective notified GPD Sergeant Kevin Kyle of this information, and Sergeant Kyle, who was in a fully marked police car, initiated a traffic stop of Coburn on State Road 8. Coburn initially pulled to the side of the road but then pulled back out onto State Road 8 and accelerated to more than 80 miles per hour, passing other motorists in the center lane. Coburn then proceeded to Interstate 69 where he continued to flee from law enforcement until an Allen County Sheriff's Deputy deployed stop sticks, which deflated two of Coburn's tires.
[¶4] When Sergeant Kyle took Coburn into custody, Coburn had two large knives on his person and advised Sergeant Kyle that he had marijuana in the vehicle. A K-9 conducted a free air sniff of Coburn's car and alerted to the presence of drugs. Officers discovered marijuana in the front seat of Coburn's car. After Sergeant Kyle Mirandized Coburn, Coburn told him that he obtains marijuana from Michigan, he had marijuana on his lap in the car, and he had thrown a marijuana pipe out of his window while fleeing on Interstate 69. Coburn also stated that he fled from the traffic stop because he did not want to go to jail. At the time, Coburn was out on bond after being charged in LaGrange County on April 14, 2021, with resisting law enforcement and possession of marijuana.
[¶5] On June 1, 2021, the State charged Coburn in Dekalb County with resisting law enforcement as a Level 6 felony and possession of marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor. The State also alleged that Coburn was a habitual offender. On December 7, 2021, Coburn pled guilty to both charges and admitted the habitual offender enhancement. As to the latter, Coburn admitted to having prior convictions for possession of methamphetamine as a Level 5 felony, possession of a controlled substance as a Class C felony, and theft as a Class D felony. The trial court withheld judgment and ordered Coburn to participate in LaGrange County Drug Court.
Ind. Code § 35-44.1-3-1(c)(1)(A) (2021).
Id. § 35-48-4-11(b).
Id. § 35-50-2-8.
[¶6] On January 13, 2023, the State filed a petition to terminate Coburn's participation in LaGrange County Drug Court, alleging that Coburn had failed to complete several treatment programs; had tested positive for drugs 35 times between March 1 and September 2, 2022; and had been charged with auto theft and criminal mischief on January 12, 2023. On April 24, 2023, after Coburn admitted to the allegations in the State's petition, he was terminated from LaGrange County Drug Court, and the underlying prosecution resumed.
[¶7] On November 21, 2023, the trial court sentenced Coburn to one year executed at the Indiana Department of Correction ("DOC") on the possession conviction and two years executed at the DOC on the resisting law enforcement conviction, with the latter sentence being enhanced by four years executed at the DOC because Coburn is a habitual offender. The trial court ordered these sentences to be served concurrently for a total aggregate sentence of six years executed at the DOC. This appeal ensued.
Discussion and Decision
Coburn's Sentence Is Not Inappropriate Under Appellate Rule 7(B)
[¶8] Coburn argues his sentence is inappropriate under Appellate Rule 7(B) and should be revised. The Indiana Constitution authorizes us to independently review and revise a trial court's sentencing decision. Faith v. State, 131 N.E.3d 158, 159 (Ind. 2019) (citing Ind. Const. art. 7, §§ 4, 6; McCain v. State, 88 N.E.3d 1066, 1067 (Ind. 2018)). That authority is implemented through Appellate Rule 7(B), which permits us to revise a sentence if, after due consideration of the trial court's decision, we find that the sentence is "inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender." Faith, 131 N.E.3d at 159 (quoting App. R. 7(B)).
[¶9] Sentencing is "principally a discretionary function in which the trial court's judgment should receive considerable deference." Lane v. State, 232 N.E.3d 119, 122 (Ind. 2024) (quoting Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1222 (Ind. 2008)). To overcome this deference, the defendant must present "compelling evidence portraying in a positive light the nature of the offense and the defendant's character." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Oberhansley v. State, 208 N.E.3d 1261, 1267 (Ind. 2023)).
Our role is primarily to "leaven the outliers" and identify "guiding principles" for sentencers, rather than to achieve the "perceived 'correct' result" in each case. Cardwell, 895 N.E.2d at 1225. As such, we "focus on the forest-the aggregate sentence-rather than the trees-consecutive or concurrent, number of counts, or length of the sentence on any individual count." Id. Ultimately, we rely on our "collective judgment as to the balance" of all the relevant considerations involved, which include "the culpability of the defendant, the severity of the crime, the damage done to others, and myriad other factors that come to light in a given case." Id. at 1224, 1226.Lane, 232 N.E.3d at 122. In conducting this analysis, "we are not limited to the mitigators and aggravators found by the trial court." Brown v. State, 10 N.E.3d 1, 4 (Ind. 2014).
[¶10] When considering the nature of the offense, we start with the advisory sentence. Brown, 10 N.E.3d at 4 (citing Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482, 494 (Ind. 2007)). Here, Coburn pled guilty to and was sentenced on a Class A misdemeanor and a Level 6 felony. "A person who commits a Class A misdemeanor shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of not more than one (1) year ...." I.C. § 35-50-3-2. The trial court sentenced Coburn to one year executed at the DOC on his Class A misdemeanor conviction. "A person who commits a Level 6 felony . . . shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between six (6) months and two and one-half (2 %) years, with the advisory sentence being one (1) year." I.C. § 35-50-2-7(b) (emphasis added). The trial court sentenced Coburn to two years executed at the DOC on his Level 6 felony conviction. Coburn's sentence on his Level 6 felony conviction could have been enhanced by an additional fixed term between three and six years. I.C. § 35-50-2-8(i)(2). The trial court enhanced Coburn's Level 6 felony conviction by 4 years. Because the trial court ordered Coburn's sentences to be served concurrently, Coburn received a total aggregate sentence of six years of incarceration.
[¶11] Where, as here, the trial court deviated from the advisory sentence, one factor we consider is "whether there is anything more or less egregious about the offense committed by the defendant that makes it different from the 'typical' offense accounted for by the legislature when it set the advisory sentence." T.A.D.W. v. State, 51 N.E.3d 1205, 1211 (Ind.Ct.App. 2016) (quoting Holloway v. State, 950 N.E.2d 803, 806-07 (Ind.Ct.App. 2011)), as amended (May 26, 2023). We also consider whether the offense was "accompanied by restraint, regard, and lack of brutality." Stephenson v. State, 29 N.E.3d 111, 122 (Ind. 2015).
[¶12] Here, Coburn led law enforcement on a high-speed chase across two counties, and that chase only ended after law enforcement deployed stop sticks. Coburn told the arresting officer that he had marijuana in his lap during the chase and that he fled because he did not want to go back to jail. Notably, Coburn committed the same types of offenses in LaGrange County less than two months before, and he was out on bond for those charges at the time of the instant offenses.
[¶13] In considering the character of the offender, "we engage in a broad consideration of a defendant's qualities," T.A.D.W., 51 N.E.3d at 1211 (citing Aslinger v. State, 2 N.E.3d 84, 95 (Ind.Ct.App. 2014), clarified on other grounds on reh'g), including whether the defendant has "substantial virtuous traits or persistent examples of good character," Stephenson, 29 N.E.3d at 122.
[¶14] Here, Coburn did plead guilty to the charges without the benefit of a plea bargain. However, Coburn has an extensive criminal history that began when he was 14 years old with a juvenile adjudication for illegal possession of an alcoholic beverage. He was placed on one year of probation for that adjudication, and he violated the terms of his probation several times before he was ordered to the Indiana Boys' School. Coburn's adult criminal history began when he was 19 years old, spans two states, and includes convictions for criminal recklessness, disorderly conduct, theft, possession and dealing of methamphetamine, dealing in and possession of a controlled substance, obtaining or attempting to obtain legend drugs by fraud, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement, and false informing. Coburn was placed on probation for several of these convictions, but he violated the terms of his probation and had it revoked every single time. Coburn has also had several arrest warrants issued over the years for failing to appear, including one in this case.
[¶15] Beginning in his childhood, Coburn started consuming alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Also, beginning in his childhood, Coburn attended several intensive outpatient therapy programs and inpatient programs for his substance abuse. During this case, while participating in LaGrange County Drug Court, Coburn failed 35 drug screens in the span of seven months, failed to complete several different treatment programs, and committed new offenses. As the trial court noted at Coburn's sentencing hearing, Coburn has been given ample opportunities to address his substance abuse issues, including two opportunities to participate in treatment courts, but he has not "taken advantage of what [he has] been given." Tr. Vol. II at 36.
[¶16] Based on the serious nature of Coburn's offenses in this case and his extensive history of criminal or otherwise deviant behavior, we cannot say that Coburn has produced compelling evidence demonstrating that the nature of his offense or his character renders his sentence inappropriate. See Hayko v. State, 211 N.E.3d 483, 487 n.1 (Ind. 2023), reh'g denied (Aug. 18, 2023). We therefore affirm the trial court's sentencing decision.
[¶17] Affirmed.
Riley, J., and Kenworthy, J., concur.