Curtis Gene Palmer v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2020 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Jan 22 2020, 5:55 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Kyle K. Dugger Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Monroe County Public Defender Attorney General of Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
J.T. Whitehead
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Curtis Gene Palmer, January 22, 2020
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-CR-1702
v. Appeal from the
Monroe Circuit Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable
Appellee-Plaintiff. Mary Ellen Diekhoff, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
53C05-1401-FC-40
Kirsch, Judge.
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[1] Curtis Gene Palmer (“Palmer”) pleaded guilty to three counts of theft,1 each as
a Class D felony, and admitted to being a habitual offender.2 At the time,
Palmer entered into a restitution agreement by which he would pay his victim
restitution instead of being immediately sentenced. Palmer later failed to meet
his restitution obligation, and the trial court sentenced him to 910 days for each
of his Class D felony theft convictions, to be served consecutively, and 1,635
days for being a habitual offender for an aggregate sentence of twelve years.
Palmer appeals his sentence and raises the following restated issues:
I. Whether his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature
of the offense and the character of the offender; and
II. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it
sentenced Palmer by erroneously stating that he did not
have the right to appeal his sentence.
[2] We affirm.
Fact and Procedural History
[3] In early 2013, Palmer encountered Scott Mundell (“Mundell”), whom he had
known since the two were teenagers in the same youth group at church. Tr.
Vol. 2 at 8-9. When the two reconnected in 2013, Mundell was a homebuilder,
and his business had been suffering since 2008. Id. at 9. Palmer informed
1
See Ind. Code § 35-43-4-2. Palmer committed his crimes in 2013 and was therefore charged and convicted
under the statute that was applicable at that time.
2
See Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8.
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Mundell that he had been making large amounts of money on investments in
short amounts of time on behalf of a small list of clients that included Larry
Bird. Appellant’s Conf. App. Vol. II at 29. Mundell became involved in financial
transactions with Palmer, with the belief that Palmer would invest the money
Mundell gave to him. Id.
[4] In February 2013, Mundell made an initial transfer in the amount of $40,000 to
Palmer, and in March 2013, he transferred $55,000. Id. Mundell transferred
$6,000 in June 2013 for alleged accounting fees, and in August 2013, he
transferred another $12,000, for a total transfer to Palmer of $113,000. Id. The
funds that Mundell transferred comprised virtually all of Mundell’s assets,
including his savings and his retirement accounts. Tr. Vol. 2 at 10. In October
2013, Mundell realized that he had been cheated by Palmer, and he contacted
law enforcement, beginning with the FBI, who then directed him to the Indiana
State Police. Appellant’s Conf. App. Vol. II at 29.
[5] Indiana State Police Trooper Jan Kruse (“Trooper Kruse”) met with Mundell
and interviewed him and his wife about the alleged investments. Id. Trooper
Kruse was unable to contact Palmer in person but did speak with him by phone
and was able to obtain banking records for Palmer’s accounts, which showed
transfers from Mundell’s accounts totaling $113,000. Id. Instead of being
invested, it appeared that the money transferred by Mundell was used to pay off
credit card debt, for vacation expenses, and to purchase luxury items. Id.
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[6] On January 15, 2014, the State charged Palmer with one count of theft as a
Class C felony. Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 15. On January 20, 2015, the State
filed a “Motion for Order and Entry on Restitution,” stating that the parties had
reached a plea agreement. Id. at 19. On February 17, 2015, the State filed a
Notice of Intent to Seek Habitual Offender Status, and on March 31, 2015, the
State amended the charging information and charged Palmer with three counts
of Class D felony theft. Id. at 22, 38. On March 31, 2015, Palmer pleaded
guilty to three counts of Class D felony theft and admitted to being a habitual
offender. Id. at 5; Tr. Vol. 2 at 5-6. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Palmer was
required to pay restitution to Mundell in the amount of $2,500 each month until
the total amount of $113,000 was paid in full. Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 5, 40.
Failure to complete the payments would result in Palmer being remanded into
the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff. Id. Palmer also agreed that he
would be on supervised probation during periods of unemployment. Id. at 40.
The trial court signed the amended restitution agreement and order. Id. at 5.
[7] The case was set for change of plea hearing on June 3, 2015, but if payments
were made, Palmer was not required to appear, and the case would be reset
each month. Id. Such hearings were held on June 3, 2015, July 1, 2015,
August 26, 2015, September 23, 2015, and October 21, 2015; at each of those
hearings, it was found that Palmer had made payment as directed and was not
required to appear. Id. at 5-6. At the November 18, 2015 change of plea
hearing, the case was set for review on November 25, 2018, but that hearing
was vacated despite payment not being timely made by Palmer and was
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rescheduled for December 16, 2015. Id. at 6. The trial court ordered that it
would not entertain further late payments. Id. At the December 16, 2015
hearing, the trial court granted a temporary modification of the payment
arrangement at Palmer’s request, reducing the monthly amount due to $1,500,
beginning December 28, 2015, and continuing through the 28th of January,
February, and March, at which time payment arrangements would be revisited.
Id.
[8] At the hearings held on December 30, 2015 and January 28, 2016, Palmer had
made the required payments; the February hearing was reset for March 24,
2016, and, at the March 24 hearing, the trial court ordered Palmer to make
payments of $2,000 a month for the next three months and scheduled the next
hearing for May 5, 2016. Id. Palmer made payments as ordered through
August 30, 2016, and he was ordered to appear for the next change of plea
hearing set for September 27, 2016. Id. at 7. Palmer failed to appear for the
September hearing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Id. The trial court
ordered that if Palmer was able to pay $4,000 past due, he would be released on
his own recognizance. Id. The trial court also granted Palmer’s motion to reset
the sentencing hearing for November 17, 2016 and ordered him to appear and
that if he met the requirements, he would be returned to the original terms of
the restitution agreement, requiring him to make payments of $2,500 per
month. Id.
[9] On October 26, 2016, the trial court was informed that Palmer had made the
required payments and released him on his own recognizance without the
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requirement of posting bail. Id. at 7-8. On November 17, 2016, the trial court
ordered Palmer to return to the original terms of payments of $2,500 per month
in restitution. Id. at 8. Palmer was again not required to appear at the
scheduled monthly hearings if he made the payments. Id. Palmer stopped
making payments in November 2017 and failed to appear at his sentencing
hearing set for December 14, 2017. Id. at 10; Tr. Vol. 2 at 6-7. The trial court
issued a warrant, and the warrant was served February 13, 2019. Appellant’s
App. Vol. II at 10; Tr. Vol. 2 at 7. On March 11, 2019, the State filed a motion
requesting a sentencing hearing, and that motion was granted. Appellant’s App.
Vol. II at 10.
[10] The sentencing hearing was held on June 24, 2019, and the trial court sentenced
Palmer to 910 days for each of his three Class D felony theft convictions, to be
served consecutively, and enhanced by 1,635 days for being a habitual offender,
for an aggregate sentence of twelve years. Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 45, 48-49.
At sentencing, the trial court informed Palmer that he had the right to consult
an attorney and file an appeal. Tr. Vol. 2 at 37-38. Palmer now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
I. Inappropriate Sentence
[11] Palmer argues that his sentence is inappropriate. Pursuant to Indiana Appellate
Rule 7(B), this court “may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due
consideration of the trial court’s decision, the [c]ourt finds that the sentence is
inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the
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offender.” Our Supreme Court has explained that the principal role of appellate
review should be to attempt to leaven the outliers, “not to achieve a perceived
‘correct’ result in each case.” Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1225 (Ind.
2008). We independently examine the nature of Palmer’s offense and his
character under Appellate Rule 7(B) with substantial deference to the trial
court’s sentence. Satterfield v. State, 33 N.E.3d 344, 355 (Ind. 2015). “In
conducting our review, we do not look to see whether the defendant’s sentence
is appropriate or if another sentence might be more appropriate; rather, the test
is whether the sentence is ‘inappropriate.’” Barker v. State, 994 N.E.2d 306, 315
(Ind. Ct. App. 2013), trans. denied. Whether a sentence is inappropriate
ultimately depends upon “the culpability of the defendant, the severity of the
crime, the damage done to others, and a myriad of other factors that come to
light in a given case.” Cardwell, 895 N.E.2d at 1224. Palmer bears the burden
of persuading us that his sentence is inappropriate. Id.
[12] Palmer argues that his twelve-year-sentence is inappropriate in light of the
nature of the offense and his character. Specifically, he contends that, as to the
nature of the offense, his crimes were monetary-based and nonviolent, and the
offenses had been significantly mitigated by his payment of over half of the
restitution, which he would no longer be able to repay if incarcerated for such a
substantial amount of time. As to his character, Palmer asserts that he has a
nonviolent criminal history, no history of drug or alcohol abuse, and family
who rely on him for support. He further maintains that he has demonstrated
through his past payment of a substantial amount of his restitution that he has a
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heightened earning capacity and an ability to find lawful work in order to
achieve the goal of repaying his debt.
[13] Here, Palmer pleaded guilty to three counts of Class D felony theft and
admitted to being a habitual offender. The sentencing statute for Class D
felonies provides that “[a] person who commits a Class D felony shall be
imprisoned for a fixed term of between six (6) months and three (3) years, with
the advisory sentence being one and one-half (1½ ) years.” Ind. Code § 35-50-
2-7.3 The trial court shall “sentence a person found to be a habitual offender to
an additional fixed term that is not less than the advisory sentence for the
underlying offense nor more than three (3) times the advisory sentence for the
underlying offense.” Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8. The trial court imposed a sentence
of 910 days, or two and a half years, for each Class D felony theft conviction.
Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 45, 48-49. The trial court imposed 1,635 days, or four
and a half years, for Palmer’s habitual offender status, which is three times the
advisory sentence for a Class D felony conviction. Id.
[14] As this court has recognized, the nature of the offense is found in the details
and circumstances of the commission of the offense and the defendant’s
participation. Perry v. State, 78 N.E.3d 1, 13 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). “When
determining the appropriateness of a sentence that deviates from an advisory
sentence, we consider whether there is anything more or less egregious about
3
Because Palmer committed his crimes in 2013, we apply the sentencing statutes that were applicable at that
time.
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the offense as committed by the defendant that ‘makes it different from the
typical offense accounted for by the legislature when it set the advisory
sentence.’” Moyer v. State, 83 N.E.3d 136, 142 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017) (quoting
Holloway v. State, 950 N.E.2d 803, 807 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011)), trans. denied. In
the present case, Palmer defrauded Mundell of more than one hundred
thousand dollars over a period of several months in 2013, knowing that
Mundell believed that he was transferring money to Palmer to invest on
Mundell’s behalf. These multiple transfers included an initial transfer of
$40,000, a $55,000 transfer, a $6,000 transfer in June, and finally, a transfer of
$12,000, for a total transfer to Palmer of $113,000. Appellant’s Conf. App. Vol. II
at 29. The funds that Mundell transferred to Palmer encompassed virtually all
of Mundell’s assets, including his savings and his retirement accounts. Tr. Vol.
2 at 10. Therefore, the impact of Palmer’s crimes on Mundell was extreme.
Further, although Palmer did not hold a traditional position of trust with
Mundell, he was a childhood friend that Mundell had initially met through a
church youth group and a person Mundell believed he could trust to invest his
money. Despite the fact that Palmer did repay approximately $59,000 of the
money he stole from Mundell, Palmer eventually stopped making payments
and was not able to fulfill his restitution agreement to pay back the $113,000 he
owed Mundell. Palmer has not shown that his sentence is inappropriate in light
of the nature of the offense.
[15] The character of the offender is found in what we learn of the offender’s life and
conduct. Perry, 78 N.E.3d at 13. When considering the character of the
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offender, one relevant fact is the defendant’s criminal history. Johnson v. State,
986 N.E.2d 852, 857 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013). The evidence showed that Palmer
had an extensive criminal record, which extended over twenty-five years and
was comprised of misdemeanor and felony convictions, all involving crimes of
deception and theft. Beginning in 1992, Palmer was convicted of Class A
misdemeanor check deception and Class C felony fraud on a financial
institution. Appellant’s Conf. App. Vol. II at 26. In 1995, he was again convicted
of Class A misdemeanor check deception, and in 1997, he pleaded guilty to two
counts of Class D felony theft. Id. at 27. In 2006, he was convicted of Class C
felony forgery, and in 2007, he pleaded guilty to Class D felony theft and two
counts of Class D felony check fraud. Id. at 28. Therefore, Palmer’s significant
criminal history showed that he has repeatedly committed crimes involving
deceit and theft and has not been deterred from committing further offenses
through prior placement on probation, on community supervision, or in
incarceration. We, therefore, conclude that Palmer has not shown that his
sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character.
II. Ability to Appeal Sentence
[16] Palmer argues that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him
because the trial court stated that he was unable to appeal his sentence due to
his plea agreement. At sentencing, the trial court initially stated it did not
believe that Palmer was able to appeal his sentence because he pleaded guilty
pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, which presumably contained a
provision waiving his right to an appeal, and that the terms of the plea
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agreement were explained to him at the time he pleaded guilty. Tr. Vol. 2 at 37.
The record on appeal does not contain a copy of the negotiated plea agreement,
making it impossible to determine what the terms of the plea agreement stated.
However, it is not necessary to do so because the trial court went on to inform
Palmer, “if you believe that you somehow were sentenced unconstitutionally or
in violation of the plea agreement you have a right to consult with the attorney
and file an appeal.” Id. The trial court’s second statement informed Palmer
that he had the right to appeal his sentence. Further, we find Palmer’s claim to
be moot since under the first section of this opinion, Palmer exercised his right
to appeal his sentence, and we have rendered a determination as to whether
that sentence is inappropriate. See Hamed v. State, 852 N.E.2d 619, 621 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2006) (“The long-standing rule in Indiana courts has been that a case is
deemed moot when no effective relief can be rendered to the parties before the
court.”).4
[17] Affirmed.
[18] Bailey, J., and Mathias, J., concur.
4
Palmer additionally argues that the trial court abused its discretion when, in response to defense counsel’s
question as to what the total sentence was, it stated “[o]ne thousand, nine hundred and eighty days.” Tr. Vol.
2 at 38. Although the trial court made this statement, earlier in the sentencing hearing, the trial court had
correctly stated the sentence, and the written sentencing statement and abstract of judgment likewise
contained the correct sentence. See id. at 35; Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 45, 48-49. We do not believe that
Palmer’s claimed misstatement of his sentence caused any confusion as to the length of his sentence when it
had been accurately pronounced both in the oral and written sentencing statements.
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