Antonio Martell Twiggs v. State of Indiana ( 2012 )

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this
Memorandum Decision shall not be
regarded as precedent or cited before any
FILED
Jul 03 2012, 9:36 am
court except for the purpose of
establishing the defense of res judicata, CLERK
collateral estoppel, or the law of the case. of the supreme court,
court of appeals and
tax court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
THOMAS W. VANES GREGORY F. ZOELLER
Crown Point, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
RICHARD C. WEBSTER
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
ANTONIO MARTELL TWIGGS, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 45A03-1111-CR-538
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
APPEAL FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT
The Honorable Thomas P. Stefaniak, Jr., Judge
Cause No. 45G04-1104-FB-42
July 3, 2012
MEMORANDUM DECISION – NOT FOR PUBLICATION
BAKER, Judge
Appellant-defendant Antonio Martell Twiggs appeals the sentence imposed after
he pleaded guilty to Burglary1 as a class B felony. Twiggs’s sole contention is that his
sentence is inappropriate given the nature of the offense and his character. Concluding
that Twiggs was properly sentenced, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
FACTS
In July 2011, nineteen-year-old Twiggs and three other men broke out the window
of a home in Hammond, entered the home, and took four televisions, four computers, a
gun case containing ammunition, a case of CD’s, a case of DVD’s, a box of jewelry, and
speakers. Twiggs and the other men took some of the items to a pawn shop where
Twiggs gave fingerprint identification during the pawn transaction.
Twiggs pleaded guilty to class B felony burglary. Evidence introduced at the
sentencing hearing reveals that Twiggs has a criminal history that includes seven juvenile
adjudications for committing acts such as battery, possession of cocaine, and resisting
law enforcement, which would be crimes if committed by an adult. Twiggs also has an
adult misdemeanor conviction for resisting law enforcement and an adult felony
conviction in Illinois for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was on probation for
the Illinois felony when he committed the instant offense. Twiggs has been a member of
the Spanish Gangster Disciples since he was twelve years old.
1
Ind. Code § 35-43-2-1.
2
The trial court sentenced Twiggs to the ten-year advisory term for a class B felony
with eight years executed and two years suspended to be served in the Lake County
Community Corrections program. Twiggs appeals this sentence.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
Twiggs’s sole contention is that his sentence is inappropriate given the nature of
the offense and his character. Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that we may revise a
sentence authorized by statute 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. The defendant bears the burden of persuading us that the
sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006).
Here, with regard to the nature of the offense, Twiggs and a group of other men
broke out the window of a family’s home, entered the home, and removed many of the
family’s possessions, including four computers, four televisions, a gun case containing
ammunition, a case of CD’s, a case of DVD’s, a box of jewelry, and speakers. Twiggs’
criminal history shows a pattern of crimes indicating a disregard for other persons and
their property as well as an escalation in the threat of violence to those persons. See Ruiz
v. State, 818 N.E.2d 927, 929 (Ind. 2004) (holding that the significance of prior criminal
history varies based on the gravity, nature, and number of prior offenses as they relate to
the current offense).
With regard to the character of the offender, at the age of nineteen, Twiggs already
had seven juvenile adjudications as well as an adult misdemeanor conviction for resisting
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law enforcement and an adult felony conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
He was on probation for the felony when he committed the instant offense and has been
the member of a gang since he was twelve years old. Twiggs’s prior contacts with the
legal system have not caused him to reform himself. Accordingly, we decline to revise
his sentence.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
KIRSCH, J., and BROWN, J., concur.
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