Ronald Collins, III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any
Apr 25 2017, 8:00 am
court except for the purpose of establishing
the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
estoppel, or the law of the case. Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Brian A. Karle Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Ball Eggleston, PC Attorney General of Indiana
Lafayette, Indiana Katherine Cooper
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Ronald Collins, III April 25, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
79A02-1611-CR-2574
v. Appeal from the Tippecanoe
Superior Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Steven Meyer,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
79D02-1604-F5-65
Brown, Judge.
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[1] Ronald Collins, III, appeals his sentence for robbery as a level 5 felony and theft
as a class A misdemeanor. Collins raises one issue which we revise and restate
as whether his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and
the character of the offender. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] On April 24, 2016, Collins and Stacey Cooper knowingly and intentionally
took property, including U.S. currency, a purse, identification cards, debit and
credit cards, and a phone, from Karen Bassett by threatening to use force or by
putting her in fear. Collins and Cooper took property from Bassett with the
intention to deprive her of those items without compensation.
[3] On April 26, 2016, the State charged Collins with conspiracy to commit robbery
as a level 5 felony, robbery as a level 5 felony, and theft as a class A
misdemeanor. On September 23, 2016, Collins pled guilty to robbery as a level
5 felony and theft as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to a plea agreement. The
State agreed to dismiss the charge of conspiracy to commit robbery as a level 5
felony.
[4] On October 20, 2016, the court held a sentencing hearing. When asked what
he would say to the victim if she were there, Collins answered:
I would apologize for my actions and tell her that I wish I could
take it back. Words can’t explain how I feel about the action that
took place because I understand when something happens to
someone, it can be very traumatic to them. It could put them in
a predicament of a lot of stress when they get anything, anywhere
close to the situation, or in that area or anything surrounding that
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situation can put them in fear or have them scared and that sort
of matter.
Transcript at 27. Collins testified that he was a “crack baby” and that he was
abused and beaten until he was adopted by his grandmother. Id. at 28. He
testified that he joined the U.S. Navy, had a “great Navy career,” and was
discharged in 2010. Id. at 28-29. He stated: “But my daughter was sexually
assaulted while I was in the military and I went AWOL trying to do things my
way, and, it ended up, ended my Navy career and every [sic] since then, you
know, I kind of checked out of life.” Id. at 29. He testified that he worked at a
construction company for a couple of years, worked at a cleaning service for his
aunt, worked at “Wabash for a little while . . . [b]ut my career at Wabash didn’t
last, it was a discrepancy because there was family members that were there
working with me, and I had an altercation. I ended up losing my job behind
that, so.” Id. at 29-30. The presentence investigation report (“PSI”) includes
Collins’s version of the offense in which he indicated that the robbery was
Cooper’s idea and that “in a way I guess I’m guilty.” Appellant’s Appendix at
82.
[5] The court found Collins’s criminal history, the fact he was on probation at the
time of the offense, and the “repetitive nature of this offense” as aggravating
factors. Id. at 57. The court stated that “accepting full responsibility is a bit
questionable here” and that it would not “go so far as to say you’re accepting
full responsibility for it.” Transcript at 43. The court found Collins’s
expression of remorse, his guilty plea, and his difficult childhood as mitigating
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factors and sentenced him to concurrent sentences of four years for robbery as a
level 5 felony and one year for theft as a class A misdemeanor. It ordered that
Collins execute two years at the Department of Correction, one year with
Tippecanoe County Community Corrections at a level to be determined by
Community Corrections, and that one year be suspended to supervised
probation.
Discussion
[6] The issue is whether Collins’s sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of
the offense and his character. Ind. 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.” Under this rule, the
burden is on the defendant to persuade the appellate court that his or her
sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006).
[7] Collins argues that his offense is less egregious than a typical robbery and that
no weapon was used and the victim was not injured. He also points out that he
pled guilty, took responsibility for his actions, served in the military, suffers
from post-traumatic stress disorder, has three minor children, and has no prior
felony convictions.
[8] Our review of the nature of the offense reveals that Collins and Cooper
knowingly and intentionally took property, including U.S. currency, a purse,
identification cards, debit and credit cards, and a phone, from Bassett by
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threatening to use force or by putting her in fear with the intention to deprive
her of those items without compensation.
[9] Our review of the character of the offender reveals that Collins pled guilty, and
the State dismissed the charge of conspiracy to commit robbery as a level 5
felony. Collins, who was born in 1984, indicated that he suffers from post-
traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. He served eight years in the
military and was released in 2010 with an “[o]ther than honorable” discharge
because he went AWOL in 2008. Transcript at 27. He reported that his
parents were physically and emotionally abusive, and that he used marijuana
twice per day between the ages of twenty-six and thirty-two and synthetic
marijuana twice per day between the ages of thirty-one and thirty-two. He has
three children with three different mothers, and the children live in three
different states. He indicated that he was not ordered to pay child support.
[10] Collins was charged with domestic battery in 2001 and battery in 2002, but the
PSI does not reveal any dispositions. In 2009 and 2011, Collins was convicted
of driving with a suspended or revoked license as a misdemeanor. In 2011, he
was convicted of possession of marijuana as a misdemeanor and theft as a gross
misdemeanor in Washington. In 2013, he was charged with domestic battery in
Illinois, but the PSI does not reveal a disposition. In 2015, Collins was
convicted of theft and possession of synthetic drug or lookalike substance as
class A misdemeanors in Tippecanoe County. That same year, he was charged
with criminal trespass as a class A misdemeanor, and the case was dismissed.
Collins was on probation for possession of synthetic marijuana and theft at the
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time of the offenses. The PSI states that his overall risk assessment score using
the Indiana risk assessment system places him in the moderate risk to reoffend
category.
[11] After due consideration, we conclude that Collins has not sustained his burden
of establishing that his sentence of four years with two years executed at the
Department of Correction, one year with the Tippecanoe County Community
Corrections, and one year suspended to supervised probation is inappropriate in
light of the nature of the offense and his character. 1
Conclusion
[12] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Collins’s sentence.
[13] Affirmed.
May, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
1
In his statement of facts, Collins asserts that the charges of robbery and theft were supported by the same set
of facts and “it appears that” the theft charge “is a lesser included offense of” the robbery charge. Appellant’s
Brief at 5 n.1. To the extent Collins challenges his conviction for theft, the Indiana Supreme Court has held
that a conviction based upon a guilty plea may not be challenged by direct appeal and that the proper avenue
for challenging one’s conviction pursuant to a guilty plea is through filing a petition for post-conviction relief.
Hayes v. State, 906 N.E.2d 819, 821 n.1 (Ind. 2009) (citing Tumulty v. State, 666 N.E.2d 394, 395-396 (Ind.
1996)). In addition, the Indiana Supreme Court has also held that “[d]efendants who plead guilty to achieve
favorable outcomes give up a plethora of substantive claims and procedural rights, such as challenges to
convictions that would otherwise constitute double jeopardy.” Lee v. State, 816 N.E.2d 35, 40 (Ind. 2004)
(quoting Davis v. State, 771 N.E.2d 647, 649 n.4 (Ind. 2002) (citation and quotation omitted)). Collins cites
no authority and does not develop an argument that he did not receive a benefit from the dismissal of the
charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.
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