Wynford Jones v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION Mar 05 2015, 7:02 am Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be 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 Deborah Markisohn Gregory F. Zoeller Marion County Public Defender Attorney General of Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Kenneth E. Biggins Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Wynford Jones, March 5, 2015

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Cause No. 49A02-1407-CR-520 v. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court Cause No. 49G21-1312-CM-081564 State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. The Honorable Gary Miller, Judge

Barnes, Judge. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1407-CR-520 | March 5, 2015 Page 1 of 6

Case Summary [1] Wynford Jones appeals the revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his

suspended sentence. We affirm.

Issue [2] The issue is whether the trial court abused its discretion in revoking Jones’s

probation and ordering him to serve his suspended sentence of 319 days.

Facts [3] On December 30, 2013, Jones was involved in a domestic dispute with his

girlfriend, N.Y., in which he grabbed her hair and pulled her head toward his

waist, applying pressure to her neck. On January 22, 2014, Jones pled guilty to

Class A misdemeanor domestic battery and was sentenced to 365 days

incarceration, with a suspended sentence of 319 days on probation. The order

required that Jones pay a court-ordered fee, complete twenty-six weeks of

domestic violence classes, refrain from new criminal charges, and be subjected

to random drug screens and GPS monitoring. Additionally, Jones was

prohibited from making contact with N.Y. [4] On April 16, 2014, the probation department filed a notice alleging that Jones

had violated several conditions of his probation. The notice stated that Jones

was arrested and charged with invasion of privacy and resisting law

enforcement on April 10, 2014, and that he violated the no-contact order, did

not attend domestic violence counseling, failed to pay the court-ordered

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financial obligation, and failed to submit to several mandatory drug screenings.

An amended notice also alleged that Jones was arrested on May 29, 2014, and

charged with four criminal counts. [5] At the probation violation hearing on July 2, 2014, Jones admitted to all alleged

probation violations except the May 29 criminal charges, which had been

dismissed. Jones also acknowledged that he pled guilty and was convicted of

the April 16 resisting law enforcement charge. Megan Morguson of the Marion

County Probation Department testified that Jones had “violated every

condition of probation.” Tr. p. 8. [6] At the hearing, Jones requested that the court retain his probation rather than

reinstate his suspended sentence. Jones alleged extenuating circumstances to

explain his noncompliance with probation conditions, such as his lack of

transportation, his inability to finance the domestic violence counseling, and a

disconnected phone that prevented him from receiving notice to report for drug

screens. Jones also explained that his violation of the no-contact order was the

result of a mistaken belief that it was no longer in effect, claiming that N.Y. had

made contact on her own initiative and had told Jones that she had the order

rescinded. [7] The trial court emphasized that Jones had “clearly” violated the conditions of

probation and found his explanations in an attempt to mitigate the violations

“incredible.” Id. at 50-51. The court revoked Jones’s probation and reinstated

the 319-day suspended sentence. Jones now appeals.

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Analysis [8] Jones argues that because of his alleged extenuating circumstances, the trial

court should have imposed a sanction less serious than reinstatement of his

suspended sentence. In probation orders, the trial court devises the conditions

of probation and may revoke probation if those conditions are violated. Prewitt

v. State, 878 N.E.2d 184, 188 (Ind. 2007) (citing Ind. Code. § 35-38-2-3). We

review a trial court’s sentencing decisions for probation violations pursuant to

the abuse of discretion standard. Id. “An abuse of discretion occurs where the

decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances.”

Id. [9] Probation serves as an alternative to incarceration and is granted at the sole

discretion of the trial court. Cox v. State, 706 N.E.2d 547, 549 (Ind. 1999).

Probation is not a right conferred to defendants but rather a “matter of grace”

and a “conditional liberty that is a favor.” Id. If the trial court finds that an

individual has violated a condition of probation, the court is empowered to

“[o]rder execution of all or part of the sentence that was suspended at the time

of the initial sentencing.” I.C. § 35-38-2-3(h). [10] The trial court did not abuse its discretion by reinstating all of Jones’s

suspended sentence. Given that Jones admitted to violating every condition of

his probation, the decision to restore his original sentence was well within the

trial court’s discretion. Breach of a single condition is sufficient to remove an

individual from probation. See J.J.C. v. State, 792 N.E.2d 85, 88 (Ind. Ct. App.

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2003). The reinstatement of Jones’s suspended sentence comports with the

express language of Indiana Code Section 35-38-2-3(h), which indicates that

“trial courts have the flexibility both to use and to terminate probation when

appropriate.” Stevens v. State, 818 N.E.2d 936, 941–42 (Ind. 2004) (emphasis

added). [11] Because probation is a matter of grace, the individual who benefits from this

grace is expected to strictly comply with the conditions of probation. Woods v.

State, 892 N.E.2d 637, 641 (Ind. 2008). Jones’s probation record is a far

departure from this level of compliance. [12] Ordering execution of the suspended sentence for Jones’s multiple probation

violations was well within the trial court’s scope of discretion. See Abernathy v.

State, 852 N.E.2d 1016, 1020 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). Reinstatement of the full

suspended sentence is appropriate in a case of repeated noncompliance, as more

liberal probation-violation sanctions would reduce probationers’ motivation to

modify their behavior, and “the ‘grace of probation’ would be rendered

meaningless.” Id. at 1022.

Conclusion [13] The trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking Jones’s probation and

reinstating his suspended sentence. [14] Affirmed.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1407-CR-520 | March 5, 2015 Page 5 of 6 May, J., and Pyle, J., concur. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1407-CR-520 | March 5, 2015 Page 6 of 6