Vincent S. Horns v. State of Indiana ( 2023 )

FILED
Aug 18 2023, 8:47 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Zachary J. Stock Theodore E. Rokita
Zachary J. Stock, Attorney at Law, P.C. Attorney General of Indiana
Carmel, Indiana Erica S. Sullivan
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Vincent S. Horns, August 18, 2023
Appellant-Defendant Court of Appeals Case No.
22A-CR-2813
v. Appeal from the Hendricks Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Daniel F. Zielinski,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
32C01-2105-F3-9
Opinion by Judge Pyle
Judges Vaidik and Mathias concur.
Pyle, Judge.
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Statement of the Case
[1] A jury convicted Vincent Horns (“Horns”) of Level 6 felony leaving the scene
of an accident1 and Level 6 felony obstruction of justice,2 and the trial court
imposed an aggregate sentence of four years for the two convictions. Horns
appeals the Level 6 felony obstruction of justice conviction as well as the
aggregate sentence imposed. He argues that the evidence is insufficient to
support the Level 6 felony obstruction of justice conviction and that the four-
year aggregate sentence is inappropriate. Concluding that the evidence is
sufficient to support Horns’ conviction and that the aggregate sentence is not
inappropriate, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
[2] We affirm.
Issues
1. Whether there is sufficient evidence to support Horns’
conviction for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice.
2. Whether Horns’ aggregate sentence is inappropriate.
Facts
[3] The facts most favorable to the verdict reveal that on April 5, 2021, sixty-two-
year-old George Walsh (“Walsh”) was riding his motorcycle eastbound on US
40 when fifty-seven-year-old Horns, who was driving a pick-up truck, made a
1
IND. CODE § 9-26-1-1.1(b)(2).
2
IND. CODE § 35-44.1-2-2.
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left turn from the oncoming westbound lane and “t-boned” Walsh’s
motorcycle. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 183). The impact of the crash sent Walsh
“tumbling” onto a grassy area at the side of the road. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 183).
Horns approached Walsh and asked him if he was okay. Walsh, whose leg had
been completely severed, told Horns that he was not okay and asked Horns to
call 911. Horns, however, left the scene with Walsh’s leg and foot wedged in
the front of his truck and drove to his job at a nearby warehouse.
[4] Witnesses to the accident stopped, called 911, and assisted Walsh. When
Paramedic Cole Zeunik (“Paramedic Zeunik”) arrived at the scene, he noticed
that Walsh’s leg from the “mid-calf down was missing. And what was
remaining looked like it had gone through a meat grinder[.]” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 80).
Paramedic Zeunik looked for Walsh’s lower leg and foot in the surrounding
grassy area; however, witnesses told him “that it was gone and it was in the
truck” that had hit Walsh. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 82).
[5] One of the witnesses had written down the license plate number of Horns’
truck, and Plainfield Police Department officers began looking for the truck.
Plainfield Police Department Officer Ryan Salisbury (“Officer Salisbury”)
subsequently located the truck in a nearby warehouse parking lot. Officer
Salisbury noticed blood and human flesh on the front of the truck.
[6] Plainfield Police Department Detective Corporal Brian Stewart (“Detective
Stewart”) arrived at the warehouse parking lot to assist Officer Salisbury and
noticed a lidded trash can that was located next to an employee entrance to the
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warehouse. When Detective Stewart lifted the lid off the trash can, he
discovered Walsh’s severed leg and foot in the trash can. The foot was still in
the black boot that Walsh had been wearing at the time of the accident.
Detective Stewart had looked in the trash can because, in his experience as a
law enforcement officer, subjects who have left the scene have put evidence in
trash cans. According to Detective Stewart, subjects do not think that law
enforcement officers will look in trash cans “because it is just trash.” (Tr. Vol. 2
at 176). Detective Stewart further explained that subjects place evidence in
trash cans in an attempt to distance themselves from the evidence.
[7] A Plainfield Police Department officer escorted Horns from the warehouse to
the police station. Plainfield Police Department Officer Nicholas Wennen
(“Officer Wennen”) interviewed Horns, who initially denied being involved in
the accident with Walsh. Horns subsequently acknowledged that he had been
involved in the accident, had left the scene, and had gone to work. When
Officer Wennen asked Horns why he had placed Walsh’s limb in the trash can,
Horns “alluded to the fact that he was trying to conceal the crime.” (Tr. Vol. 2
at 142).
[8] The State charged Horns with Level 4 felony leaving the scene of an accident
and Level 6 felony obstruction of justice. In addition, the State charged Horns
with other offenses that it later dismissed.
[9] The jury heard the evidence as set forth above at Horns’ two-day jury trial in
August 2022. The jury convicted Horns of Level 6 felony obstruction of justice
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and Level 6 felony leaving the scene of an accident, a lesser-included offense of
Level 4 felony leaving the scene of an accident. At Horns’ sentencing hearing,
the trial court reviewed Horns’ presentence investigation report, which revealed
that Horns has a forty-year criminal history that includes twenty-one arrests,
resulting in nine felony and two misdemeanor convictions. Specifically, Horns
has four felony convictions for theft, two felony convictions for robbery, one
felony conviction for possession of cocaine, one felony conviction for
possession of marijuana or hash, and one felony conviction for battery. In
addition, Horns has misdemeanor convictions for driving while suspended and
criminal trespass. Horns also has a history of violating community corrections
and parole.
[10] Thereafter, the trial court found Horns’ criminal history and past criminal
behavior, which includes the twenty-one arrests that resulted in nine felony and
two misdemeanor convictions, to be aggravating factors. In addition, the trial
court found Horns’ remorse to be a mitigating factor. Thereafter, the trial court
sentenced Horns to two years for each of the two Level 6 felony convictions.
The trial court further ordered the sentences to run consecutively to each other
for an aggregate executed sentence of four years in the Indiana Department of
Correction.
[11] Horns now appeals his conviction for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice and
his aggregate four-year sentence.
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Decision
[12] Horns argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his Level 6 felony
obstruction of justice conviction and that his four-year aggregate sentence is
inappropriate. We address each of his contentions in turn.
1. Sufficiency of the Evidence
[13] Horns first argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his Level 6
felony obstruction of justice conviction. We disagree.
[14] Our standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence claims is well settled.
We consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting
the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). We do not
reweigh the evidence or judge witness credibility. Id. We will affirm the
conviction unless no reasonable fact finder could find the elements of the crime
proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The evidence is sufficient if an
inference may be reasonably drawn from it to support the verdict. Id. at 147.
[15] In order to convict Horns of Level 6 felony obstruction of justice, the State was
required to prove that he altered, damaged, or removed any record, document,
or thing, with intent to prevent it from being produced or used as evidence in
any official proceeding or investigation. See I.C. 35-44.1-2-2(a)(3). Horns
specifically argues that “[t]here is . . . no evidence that [he] intended to prevent
the use of the severed foot in a criminal investigation when he placed the foot in
the garbage.” (Horn’s Br. 5-6). Intent is a mental state, and absent the
defendant’s admission, “the jury must resort to the reasonable inferences from
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both the direct and circumstantial evidence to determine whether the defendant
ha[d] the requisite . . . intent to commit the offense in question.” Pritcher v.
State, 208 N.E.3d 656, 665-66 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023) (cleaned up).
[16] Here, our review of the evidence reveals that Horns, who had just been
involved in an accident that had severed Walsh’s lower leg, left the scene with
Walsh’s severed leg attached to the front of his truck and drove to work as if no
accident had occurred. When Horns arrived at work, he removed Walsh’s
severed limb from the front of his truck, took the lid off a trash can that was
located near the employee’s entrance to the warehouse, placed Walsh’s severed
limb in the trash can, and then placed the lid back on the trash can, covering
Walsh’s limb. Detective Stewart testified that in his experience as a law
enforcement officer, subjects who have left the scene have disposed of evidence
in trash cans. According to Detective Stewart, subjects do not think law
enforcement officers will look in trash cans because it is just trash. Detective
Stewart further explained that placing evidence in a trash can serves to distance
the subject from the evidence. We further note that Detective Wennen testified
that when he asked Horns why he had placed Walsh’s limb in the trash can,
Horns alluded to the fact that he was trying to conceal the crime. Based on this
evidence, the jury could have reasonably inferred that Horns placed Walsh’s
limb in the trash can with the intent to prevent the limb from being produced or
used as evidence against him. Horns’ argument is essentially an invitation to
reweigh the evidence, which we cannot do. See Drane, 867 N.E.2d at 146.
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There is sufficient evidence to support Horns’ conviction for Level 6 felony
obstruction of justice.
2. Inappropriate Sentence
[17] Horns also argues that his four-year aggregate sentence, which includes a two-
year sentence for Level 6 felony leaving the scene of an accident and a two-year
sentence for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice, is inappropriate. 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 this Court that
his sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind.
2006). Whether we regard a sentence as inappropriate turns on 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.” Cardwell v. State, 895
N.E.2d 1219, 1224 (Ind. 2008).
[18] When determining whether a sentence is inappropriate, we acknowledge that
the advisory sentence is the starting point the Legislature has selected as an
appropriate sentence for the crime committed. Childress, 848 N.E.2d at 1081.
Here, Horns was convicted of two Level 6 felonies. The sentencing range for a
Level 6 felony is between six (6) months and two and one-half (2½) years, and
the advisory sentence is one (1) year. IND. CODE § 35-50-2-7(b). Here, the trial
court imposed a two-year sentence for each of the two Level 6 felonies and
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ordered the two sentences to run consecutively to each other for an aggregate
sentence of four years.
[19] With regard to the nature of the offenses, we note that after being involved in
an accident that severed Walsh’s leg, Horn failed to remain at the scene, call
911, or render aid to Walsh. Rather, in an extraordinary display of cold-
hearted selfishness, Horn left the scene of the accident with Walsh’s leg and
foot attached to the front of Horn’s truck and went to work as if no accident
had occurred. When Horn arrived at work, he placed Walsh’s limb in a lidded
trashcan so that the limb was hidden from view.
[20] With regard to Horns’ character, we note that Horns has an extensive criminal
history that spans forty years and includes twenty-one arrests, resulting in nine
felony and two misdemeanor convictions. Horns’ criminal history reflects
poorly on his character for the purposes of sentencing. See Rutherford v. State,
866 N.E.2d 867, 874 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).
[21] Based on the nature of the offenses and his character, Horns has failed to
persuade this Court that his aggregate four-year executed sentence is
inappropriate.
[22] Affirmed.
Vaidik, J., and Mathias, J., concur.
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