MEMORANDUM DECISION
Feb 03 2015, 9:56 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
Kristin A. Mulholland Gregory F. Zoeller
Crown Point, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Graham T. Youngs
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Everett Harry Koonce, Jr., February 3, 2015
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
45A03-1405-CR-184
v. Appeal from the Lake Superior
Court; The Honorable Salvador
Vasquez, Judge;
State of Indiana, 45G01-1310-FC-120
Appellee-Plaintiff.
May, Judge.
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[1] Everett Harry Koonce, Jr., appeals his sentence of seven and a half years for
Class C felony attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon.1 As the
sentence was not inappropriate, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
[2] On October 3, 2013, Koonce was arrested after he bumped a sixteen-year-old
girl with his car and then chased her with his car, nearly running over her when
she tripped and fell. Koonce agreed to plead guilty and the judge imposed a
sentence six months short of the maximum eight-year sentence allowed for a
Class C felony.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
[3] Koonce argues his sentence is inappropriate because it imposes an undue
hardship on his family, who needs his assistance caring for his father so that his
mother can maintain employment.2
We may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due
consideration of the trial court’s decision, the Court finds that the
sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-2-1(a)(3) (2013).
2
Koonce also claims the trial court did not give due consideration to certain mitigating circumstances
including his remorse, his taking responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty, and the undue hardship the
sentence will have on his family. However, “the trial court no longer has any obligation to ‘weigh’
aggravating and mitigating factors against each other when imposing a sentence.” Anglemyer v. State, 868
N.E.2d 482, 491 (Ind. 2007), clarified on reh’g, 875 N.E.2d 218 (Ind. 2007). As such, we will not reweigh the
factors that brought the trial court to its decision for sentencing. See Healey v. State, 969 N.E.2d 607, 616 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2012) (“the determination of mitigating circumstances is within the discretion of the trial court . . .
and a trial court is not required to give the same weight to proffered mitigating factors as does a defendant”),
trans. denied.
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character of the offender. Although appellate review of sentences must
give due consideration to the trial court’s sentence because of the
special expertise of the trial bench in making sentencing decisions,
Appellate Rule 7(B) is an authorization to revise sentences when
certain broad conditions are satisfied. Whether we regard a sentence
as appropriate at the end of the day turns on our sense of 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.
In addition to the due consideration we are required to give to the trial
court’s sentencing decision, we understand and recognize the unique
perspective a trial court brings to its sentencing decisions.
[4] Couch v. State, 977 N.E.2d 1013, 1017 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (citations and
quotation marks omitted), reh’g denied, trans. denied. The appellant bears the
burden of demonstrating his sentence is inappropriate. Amalfitano v. State, 956
N.E.2d 208, 212 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans. denied.
[5] At the time Koonce committed his crime, the sentencing range for a Class C
felony was “between two (2) and eight (8) years, with the advisory sentence
being four (4) years.” Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(a) (2013). The court imposed a
seven and a half year sentence. Koonce claims that is inappropriate in light of
his character and the nature of his offense.
[6] As for Koonce’s character, the record reflects: Koonce, a thirty-seven-year old
man, has a predilection for young girls, and the court surmised he is “a predator
of children.” (Sent. Hrg. Tr. at 39-40.) His first offense against children was in
1991 and would have been felony child molestation if he had been an adult. In
2005, Koonce was charged with rape and incest and was convicted of Class C
felony sexual misconduct with a minor pursuant to a plea agreement. Koonce
was convicted of various drug offenses. Prosecution was deferred twice and
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probation was allowed once. Although Koonce completed some self-help
programs while in the Department of Correction, those programs and his prior
punishments did not deter him from committing the instant offense. Koonce
has been given the benefit of leniency and treatment to no avail, which leads us
to conclude his sentence is not inappropriate in light for his character.
[7] As to his offense, Koonce asserts his actions “were not particularly egregious.”
(Appellant’s Br. at 9.) Koonce prowled around the area of a high school; he
stopped his car in front of a teenage girl in an alley, forcing her to walk around
his car; he bumped her with his car as she walked down the alley in front of
him; he began chasing her with his car after she confronted him for bumping
her; he drove after her through a park on a bicycle path; and when the girl
tripped and fell, Koonce nearly ran over her with his car. We decline to
characterize his crime as “not particularly egregious.” The victim testified she
is “so scared and paranoid” that she does not go anywhere on her own. (Sent.
Hrg. Tr. at 28.) Although she was not hurt physically, she was traumatized
mentally and emotionally. (See id. (“I’m terrified.”).) We cannot say this
sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of his offense.
[8] The trial court did not impose an inappropriate sentence on Koonce based on
his character or offense. Accordingly, we affirm.
[9] Affirmed.
Barnes, J., and Pyle, J., concur.
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