Kevin Gayles v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be Feb 16 2016, 7:52 am
regarded as precedent or cited before any
court except for the purpose of establishing
the defense of res judicata, collateral
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Bernice A. N. Corley Gregory F. Zoeller
Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Karl Scharnberg
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Kevin Gayles, February 16, 2016
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1507-CR-942
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Bradley Keffer,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge Pro Tempore
Trial Court Cause Nos.
49F08-1210-FD-73788
49F08-1211-FD-79024
Baker, Judge.
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[1] Kevin Gayles appeals the revocation of his placement in community
corrections, arguing that the trial court did not specify the basis of the
revocation. Finding the trial court’s explanation of its reasoning sufficient, we
affirm.
Facts
[2] On February 7, 2013, Gayles was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 545
days in Marion County Community Corrections after pleading guilty to two
counts of class D felony theft. On December 22, 2014, the State filed a notice
of community corrections violation against Gayles. The violation stemmed
from Gayles’s submission of a positive drug screen on November 15, 2014.
Appellant’s App. p. 66. The notice also alleged that Gayles had failed to
comply with substance abuse treatment, job readiness programming, and
fulfillment of his monetary obligation. Id. The trial court found Gayles to be in
violation during a hearing on January 20, 2015, but ordered that he be returned
to work release. Id. at 68.
[3] On June 16, 2015, the State filed a new notice of community corrections
violation, which stemmed from two separate incidents occurring in May and
June 2015. On May 21, 2015, a sack lunch was confiscated from Gayles’s
room because possession of such food items was prohibited under the rules of
Liberty Hall, the community corrections facility in which Gayles was residing.
Tr. p. 27-28. Gayles later went into an office in the facility and began searching
through a bag containing the confiscated items. He pulled a sack lunch out of
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the bag, and was told by a staff member that he was not permitted to take the
sack lunch back to his room. Gayles then pulled another sack lunch out of the
bag, and was again told by the staff member that he could not take food to his
room. At this point, Gayles threw the sack lunches back into the bag and
angrily kicked it across the room. Id. at 25-26.
[4] On June 13, 2015, Gayles was allowed to assist Fred Drain, an operations
counselor at Liberty Hall, in ordering from a restaurant and picking up food for
the facility’s residents. While Gayles was placing the order at the restaurant, a
dispute arose between Gayles and a restaurant employee. Drain intervened,
and Gayles became upset because Drain “was preventing him from handling
his business.” Tr. p. 9. While they were walking out of the restaurant, Gayles
began to insult Drain, calling him a “dumb n****r.” Id. On the drive back to
the facility, Gayles pounded on the inside of the vehicle with his fists and told
Drain that he would “beat [Drain’s] a**.” Id.
[5] The notice of community corrections violation filed on June 16 alleged that
Gayles had violated Liberty Hall rules “regarding the unauthorized possession
of food items and refusing a staff order” on May 21, and that he had violated
Liberty Hall policy “regarding threatening to physically harm, harass or
intimidate another person” on June 13. Appellant’s App. p. 68. During a
hearing on July 7, 2015, the trial court revoked Gayles’s placement in
community corrections, stating that it was “abundantly clear that you did
violate a numbered term, . . . you shall cooperate and be respectful with any
members of Liberty Hall staff, anyone conducting business for Liberty Hall, and
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any visitors of the facility and fellow inmates.” Tr. p. 53. The trial court
ordered the balance of Gayles’s sentence to be executed in the Department of
Correction. Gayles now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[6] Gayles’s sole argument on appeal is that the trial court failed to specify the basis
of its revocation of his placement in community corrections. 1 Our standard of
review for a revocation of community corrections placement is well settled:
The standard of review of an appeal from the revocation of a
community corrections placement mirrors that for revocation of
probation. That is, a revocation of community corrections
placement hearing is civil in nature, and the State need only
prove the alleged violations by a preponderance of the evidence.
We will consider all the evidence most favorable to the judgment
of the trial court without reweighing that evidence or judging the
credibility of witnesses. If there is substantial evidence of
probative value to support the trial court’s conclusion that a
defendant has violated any terms of community corrections, we
will affirm its decision to revoke placement.
McQueen v. State, 862 N.E.2d 1237, 1242 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007) (internal citations
omitted).
1
Gayles also argues that under this Court’s decision in Jaynes v. State, 434 N.E.2d 923 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982),
the trial court was required to state in writing the basis for revocation of his community corrections
placement. However, this Court has subsequently held that “a trial judge’s oral statement, if it contains the
facts relied upon and reasons for revocation, and is reduced to writing in the transcript of the hearing, is
sufficient to satisfy this requirement.” Wilson v. State, 708 N.E.2d 32, 33 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999).
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[7] In support of his argument, Gayles contends that the trial court did not explain
the factual basis for the revocation. Admittedly, the trial court could have been
clearer in its description of its reasoning; however, the statement of the trial
court at the end of the hearing sufficiently detailed the factors it considered.
Specifically, the trial court stated that Gayles violated the requirement that he
“cooperate and be respectful with any members of Liberty Hall staff, anyone
conducting business for Liberty Hall, and any visitors of the facility and fellow
inmates.” Tr. p. 53. The trial court also noted that Gayles had entered into a
strict compliance agreement after he violated the terms of community
corrections in November 2014, and that unauthorized possession of a sack
lunch was enough to “send you back to the Department of Corrections [sic].”
Id. Finally, the trial court stated that its “main problem” was that Gayles
“disrespected a community corrections staff order.” Id.
[8] Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment of the trial
court, we find that the trial court’s statement of its basis for the revocation of
Gayles’s placement in community corrections was sufficiently specific.
[9] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Bradford, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
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