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:
ANTHONY C. LAWRENCE GREGORY F. ZOELLER
Anderson, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
RICHARD C. WEBSTER
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
May 24 2013, 8:54 am
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
LEONA PEAVLER, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 48A02-1209-CR-775
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
APPEAL FROM THE MADISON CIRCUIT COURT
The Honorable Thomas Newman, Jr., Judge
Cause No. 48C03-1110-FC-1997
May 24, 2013
MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION
CRONE, Judge
Case Summary
Leona Peavler pled guilty to class C felony non-support of a dependent child and was
sentenced to two years of home detention and six years of probation. She admitted to
violating the terms of her home detention by using methamphetamine, and the trial court
ordered her incarcerated for the balance of her eight-year sentence. Peavler contends that the
trial court abused its discretion in doing so. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
In October 2011, the State charged Peavler with class C felony non-support of a
dependent child. Peavler agreed to plead guilty and that she would receive an eight-year
sentence in the Department of Correction, with two years executed on home detention and six
years suspended to probation. On April 9, 2012, the trial court sentenced her pursuant to the
terms of the plea agreement. One of the terms of probation was the successful completion of
home detention.
On August 1, 2012, the State filed a petition for termination of home
detention/suspended sentence. On August 6, 2012, the State filed an amended petition
alleging that Peavler had violated the rules of home detention by testing positive for
methamphetamine on July 12, 2012, and by testing positive for methamphetamine and
opiates on July 24, 2012. The petition also alleged that Peavler had admitted to using
methamphetamine “a few days” before her July 12 urine test. Appellant’s App. at 44. On
September 10, 2012, the trial court held a hearing on the petition. Peavler claimed that she
had prescriptions for the opiates and admitted to using methamphetamine. The trial court
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found that Peavler had violated the conditions of her home detention by possessing
methamphetamine and ordered her incarcerated for the balance of her eight-year sentence.
This appeal ensued.
Discussion and Decision
“The consideration and imposition of alternatives to incarceration is a matter of grace
left to the discretion of the trial court.” Hollar v. State, 916 N.E.2d 741, 744 (Ind. Ct. App.
2009) (footnote and quotation marks omitted). “For purposes of appellate review, we treat a
hearing on a petition to revoke a placement of in home detention the same as we do a hearing
on a petition to revoke probation.” Williams v. State, 937 N.E.2d 930, 933 (Ind. Ct. App.
2010).
Probation revocation is a two-step process. First, the court must make a
factual determination that a violation of a condition of probation has occurred.
Second, the trial court must determine if the violation warrants revocation of
the probation. Upon revoking probation, the trial court may impose one [or
more] of several sanctions provided by statute.
Hardy v. State, 975 N.E.2d 833, 835 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (citations omitted). Those
sanctions include continuing the person on probation, with or without modifying or enlarging
the conditions, extending the person’s probationary period for not more than one year beyond
the original probationary period, and ordering execution of all or part of the sentence that was
suspended at the time of initial sentencing. Ind. Code § 35-38-2-3(h). “We review a trial
court’s sentencing decisions for probation violations for an abuse of discretion. An abuse of
discretion occurs when the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and
circumstances before the court.” Hardy, 975 N.E.2d at 834 (citation omitted).
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Peavler does not challenge the trial court’s finding that she violated the rules of her
home detention and focuses solely on its sentencing decision. Peavler claims that the trial
court abused its discretion in ordering her to serve the balance of her sentence because
[t]he record here indicates [she] had struggled for some time with substance
abuse. It appeared from the record that [she] possessed some legitimate
prescriptions for the substances identified in her positive screen stemming
from physical injury. Further, it appeared that she had taken positive steps
forward in cultivating a new relationship with her child and secured a
residence with her mother and step-father that would be drug and alcohol free.
Appellant’s Br. at 9.
We do not find Peavler’s argument persuasive. She violated the rules of her home
detention within a matter of months by using methamphetamine, and she offered no
corroborating proof of her prescriptions for opiates. She has been convicted of numerous
traffic offenses, including seatbelt violations and operating a vehicle without financial
responsibility, and at the time of her guilty plea was facing charges for class A misdemeanor
operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol
concentration of .15 of greater.1 She was convicted of two counts of theft/receiving stolen
property in July 2001 and subsequently violated probation numerous times, failed to appear
for evidentiary hearings, and was found in contempt multiple times. When asked whether
she “[h]onestly” believed that she deserved “yet another break” for her latest transgressions,
Peavler answered, “No.” Tr. at 41, 42. Based on Peavler’s demonstrated inability or
1
These charges were mentioned at the violation hearing, and Peavler said, “I went to court on that and
I’m supposed to be doing community service, which I have to finish that up by I believe the middle of next
month.” Tr. at 44.
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unwillingness to obey the law and the conditions of probation and in-home detention, we
cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering her incarcerated for the
balance of her eight-year sentence. Therefore, we affirm.
Affirmed.
ROBB, C.J., and FRIEDLANDER, J., concur.
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