MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Feb 15 2017, 8:26 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Leanna Weissmann Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Lawrenceburg, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Jesse R. Drum
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Allison Moore, February 15, 2017
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
69A05-1601-CR-68
v. Appeal from the Ripley Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Jeffrey L. Sharp,
Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
69C01-1301-MR-1
Pyle, Judge.
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Statement of the Case
[1] Allison Moore (“Moore”) appeals the sentence imposed following her
convictions for murder,1 Class B felony burglary,2 and Class B felony conspiracy
to commit burglary.3 She specifically contends that the trial court abused its
discretion in imposing consecutive sentences and that her one-hundred-and-five
(105) year sentence is inappropriate. Concluding that the trial court did not
abuse its discretion in imposing consecutive sentences and that her sentence is
not inappropriate, we affirm.
Issues
1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in imposing
consecutive sentences.
2. Whether Moore’s sentence is inappropriate.
Facts
[2] While having dinner on December 29, 2012, twenty-two-year-old Ohio resident
Moore asked her mother if she would “tell on” Moore if Moore told her that
she had killed someone. (Tr. 2404). Moore’s mother responded that she
would, and Moore replied that she would not confide in her mother if she ever
did anything like that.
1
IND. CODE § 35-42-1-1.
2
I.C. § 35-43-2-1.
3
I.C. § 35-43-2-1; I.C. § 35-41-5-2.
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[3] After dinner, Moore and her fifteen-year-old neighbor D.H. (“D.H.”) picked up
D.H,’s friends, fifteen-year-old K.B. (“K.B.”), fifteen-year-old S.N. (“S.N.”),
and S.N.’s nineteen-year-old brother Ben Nichols (“Nichols”). While they were
riding around in Moore’s car, D.H., who knew that S.N. carried a .40 caliber
handgun, suggested stealing money and drugs from Ryan Jackson (“Jackson”)
in Cross Plains, Indiana. D.H. claimed that he thought Jackson would have a
“couple of thousand dollars.” (Tr. 2020).
[4] The drive from Ohio to Cross Plains in Moore’s car took forty-five minutes to
an hour. Along the way, Moore and the young men smoked marijuana. When
they arrived at Jackson’s house, Moore parked down the street. D.H. and S.N.
covered their faces with a mask, walked to Jackson’s front door, and kicked it
open. Jackson’s mother was asleep on the couch, and Jackson was in his
bedroom with his girlfriend, Emily Spencer-King (“Spencer-King”).
[5] When D.H. opened Jackson’s bedroom door, Jackson slammed it shut. D.H.
kicked the door back open and told Jackson he was “going to kill this b[****]
on the couch if you don’t come out.” (Tr. 2029). Jackson opened the door, and
S.N. pointed the gun at Jackson and Spencer-King and demanded money and
marijuana. Jackson gave D.H. and S.N. two bags of marijuana and $300.00 to
$400.00. The two young men ran back to Moore’s car and gave the money to
Moore, who needed it for a trip to Georgia.
[6] The young men wanted to go home, but a dissatisfied Moore said they “needed
to get another one.” (Tr. 2034). Moore drove to a house that D.H. was
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familiar with but the young men did not attempt to go inside because of an
alarm system. D.H. suggested one more stop in Milan and directed Moore to
sixty-eight-year-old Nancy Hershman’s (“Hershman”) house. When they
arrived at approximately 12:30 a.m., Moore got out of the car with D.H. and
S.N. because she did not “think [they] were doing anything right.” (Tr. 2040).
Specifically, Moore told the young men that they were “being a bunch of
p***ies.” (Tr. 2122-23). Moore asked S.N. for his gun and a glove, which he
gave her. He also instructed her on how to use the gun’s safety.
[7] Moore, D.H., and S.N. approached Hershman’s house, and D.H. kicked open
the back door. Moore went inside first and the two young men followed.
While the young men looked around the house for items to steal, Moore
headed directly to a downstairs bedroom, where she discovered Hershman,
who was in her pajamas. When Hershman began screaming, Moore told her to
“shut up, b****” and not to test her. (Tr. 2178). Hershman pushed Moore and
reached for the gun. Moore pushed Hershman back and shot her in the throat.
[8] After the shooting, Moore, D.H., and S.N. quickly ran out of the house without
taking any property. On the way back to the car, S.N. asked for his gun back
because he was afraid that Moore might shoot him too. When they got back to
the car, Moore told K.B. and Nichols that she had shot a woman. Moore
further stated that she “thought [she] would have had a little bit more remorse
for killing somebody but [she] didn’t.” (Tr. 2068). Moore drove the four young
men back to Ohio.
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[9] Hershman’s daughter, Dawn Evans (“Evans”), who had been upstairs watching
television when she heard a thud, went downstairs and found her mother lying
in her bedroom doorway. Evans put a towel on Hershman’s neck to try and
stop the bleeding. However, because of the extent of Hershman’s injury, there
was nothing Evans could do to help her mother, and Hershman died in front of
Evans.
[10] D.H., S.N., K.B., and Nichols eventually confessed, and the police questioned
and arrested Moore.4 She was subsequently charged with: (1) murder for
killing Hershman; (2) burglary for breaking and entering Hershman’s home
with the intent to commit theft; and (3) conspiracy to commit burglary for
agreeing with D.H. or S.N. to commit the burglary of Jackson’s home. A jury
convicted Moore as charged.
[11] At the December 2015 sentencing hearing, Ripley County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy and jail administrator Bob Curl (“Deputy Curl”) testified that Moore
had received thirteen jail write-up reports for incidents such as using abusive
language to staff, failing to comply with staff orders, throwing objects at staff,
and attempting to destroy property of the staff. In addition, while incarcerated,
Moore was charged with battery resulting in bodily injury as a Class A
misdemeanor for knowingly or intentionally touching another inmate in a rude,
4
The trial court granted Moore’s motion to suppress her police statement. This Court affirmed the
suppression in an interlocutory appeal. See State v. Moore, 23 N.E.3d 840 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).
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insolent, or angry manner and intimidation for threatening an inmate that had
testified at Moore’s trial.
[12] Following the sentencing hearing, the trial court issued a detailed seventeen-
page Pronouncement of Sentence, which provides in relevant part as follows:
Aggravating Factors
[1.] Nature and circumstances of the crime - Murder and
Burglary of Nancy Hershman
The Court finds the nature and circumstances of the crimes
committed by the defendant as a significant aggravating factor.
The facts supported by the evidence introduced at trial show that
the defendant murdered Nancy Hershman after breaking into her
home in the early morning hours of December 30, 2012. The
defendant entered the home armed with a .40 caliber handgun
loaded with hollow point bullets. Just hours prior to the murder
the defendant asked her mother over dinner, “If I ever killed
anyone, would you tell on me.” Prior to entering the home, the
defendant retrieved the gun and glove from one of the co-
defendants.
* * * *
Mrs. Hershman was a random unsuspecting victim lying in her
bed presumably safe and secure in her home. The Court finds
that this type of crime is extremely heinous in nature. The
victim’s family continues to feel its effects. Someone randomly
picking your house and kicking in the door armed with a deadly
weapon in the middle of the night is a horrific nightmare. There
was very little, if anything, a home owner or law enforcement
could do to prevent this horrific offense. A person who chooses
to act with such disregard for another human being’s life and
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property, and take complete control of another’s fate commits the
very worst type of crime.
* * * *
A sixty-eight-year-old woman, unarmed and outnumbered,
screamed out and made desperate attempts to grab the gun. The
Court can only imagine the sheer terror that Mrs. Hershman
must have felt in the final moments of her life.
* * * *
Therefore, after reviewing the nature of the offense and the facts
surrounding the crime the Court finds that this was a particularly
heinous, terrorizing, and deliberate act and considers this to be a
significant aggravating circumstance.
[2.] Nature and circumstances of the crime - Conspiracy to
commit Burglary of Ryan Jackson and Emily Spencer-King
The evidence shows that the defendant made an agreement with
the co-defendants [D.H.] and [S.N.] to rob Ryan Jackson. These
parties discussed this plan in the car ride from Colerain, Ohio to
Ryan Jackson’s home in Cross Plains. The defendant was the
driver of the car and completed the overt act as charged by
driving to the victim’s home. The parties had a lengthy car ride
to think about this plan. It was not an impulsive act but yet
another deliberate violent crime committed by the defendant.
* * * *
Once again the Court cannot think of a more frightening
situation than to be awakened from your sleep by an individual
pointing a firearm at you. This burglary was particularly heinous
in that the parties were armed with a deadly weapon and
threatened to not only shoot Mr. Jackson (the intended victim),
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but also his mother. The fact that the burglary took place at night
when the victim was at home and in bed, and committed while
armed with a deadly weapon makes this crime particularly
egregious and goes beyond the basic elements of the offense.
* * * *
The Court finds the facts particularly egregious considering this
burglary took place at night, while the victims were home asleep
in bed, armed with a deadly weapon and threatened to shoot the
victim and his mother. . . . Therefore, the Court finds that nature
and circumstances of the crime a significant aggravating factor.
[3.] Victim over 65
Under I.C. § 35-38-1-7.1(3), the Court may consider an
aggravating factor that the victim was at least sixty-five years of
age at the time the defendant committed the offense. At the time
of Mrs. Hershman’s murder she was sixty-eight years old.
Therefore, the Court finds this to be an aggravating
circumstance.
[4.] Lack of Remorse
[T]he defendant stated immediately after the shooting that, “I’ve
never shot anyone before, I don’t know how to feel, and I
thought I would feel worse.” The Court finds that the words
spoken by the defendant immediately after the shooting, outside
the setting of a sentencing hearing, as extremely persuasive in
determining the defendant’s level of remorse.
After viewing the defendant’s demeanor through the course of
these proceedings and considering the defendant’s testimony at
sentencing and letter to the court with the statements made
immediately after the shooting, the Court finds the defendant’s
alleged remorse as nothing more than shallow self-serving
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attempts to help her cause and not true acts of remorse or
acceptance of responsibility for her actions. The Court finds the
lack of remorse as a significant aggravating factor.
[5.] Character of the defendant
Testimony was presented at trial that the defendant was
aggravated with the co-defendants for not breaking into a
residence in between Ryan Jackson’s residence and Mrs.
Hershman’s home. She was so aggravated that when they got to
Mrs. Hershman’s residence, the defendant stated she was going
in because the co-defendants weren’t doing it right.
* * * *
While incarcerated the defendant has received thirteen separate
jail write ups, ranging from abusive language to staff, failing to
comply with orders from staff, throwing objects at jail staff, and
attempting to destroy property of the jail. . . . The defendant has
been involved in at least three separate physical altercations
while incarcerated. One of which led to a new charge of Battery.
. . . The Court also finds it significant that the defendant
threatened, Amanda Napier, a jail house informant who testified
against her. . . . This threat resulted in a separate charge of
Intimidation as a Level 6 felony.
The Court finds that the defendant’s lack of respect for authority
and rules, inability to control her anger and propensity for
violence as aggravating circumstances. Furthermore, the Court
finds that these character traits indicate that the defendant is an
extreme danger to the community and likely to reoffend.
[6.] Victim Impact
The Court considers the impact this crime had on Mrs.
Hershman’s family a significant aggravating circumstance.
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Dawn Evans, Mrs. Hershman’s daughter, testified that a large
part of her life is now gone. . . . The Court also recalls her
testimony at trial and the 911 call. Ms. Evans was the first
person to find her mother. She witnessed firsthand the damage
to the throat of her mother caused by the bullet. She placed a
towel on the wound in an attempt to help: but due to the extent
of the damage there was nothing she could do. On the 911 call
you can hear the fear, desperation and terror in her voice, stating,
“My mother is dying right in front of me.” She is now not able
to live in the home because of these events.
* * * *
The Court recognizes that in any murder there will be an impact
on family members. A loved one is lost and the family loses
everything that comes with that. However, in this case the court
considers the impact on the family with regards to the evidence
presented at trial. They had to hear Mrs. Hershman referred to
as a [b****] and “old lady.” They had to listen to the co-
defendants recount the details of the shooting. They had to view
pictures of Mrs. Hershman lying dead in the doorway of her
bedroom. They had to listen to a detailed account of the damage
done by the bullet to Mrs. Hershman’s body. They had to view
pictures of the wounds taken during the autopsy showing the
[three] inch hole in Mrs. Hershman’s throat. . . .
Therefore, the Court considers the impact on the victim’s family
to be greater than the expected or normal impact in a murder and
considers it a significant aggravating circumstance.
(Appellant’s App. Vol. 6, 2-11).
[13] [The trial court sentenced Moore to sixty-five (65) years for murder, twenty (20)
years for burglary, and twenty (20) years for conspiracy to commit burglary.
The court further ordered the sentences to run consecutively to each other, for
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an aggregate sentence of one-hundred and five (105) years in the Department of
Correction].
The Court recognizes that this is the maximum possible penalty
allowed under the law. The Court also believes that maximum
penalties should be reserved for the worst offenses and the worst
offenders. Given the nature and circumstances of this heinous
crime, the character of the defendant, a complete lack of remorse
or acceptance of responsibility, and the impact on the victim’s
family the Court finds such sentence is warranted in this matter.
Furthermore, the Court finds that after reviewing all of the facts
of this case, specifically, the deliberateness of the defendant’s
actions, the randomness of the victim, the complete disregard of
human life exhibited by shooting a human being in the throat
with a .40 caliber hollow point bullet in the sanctuary of their
home; along with the fact that the victim was a sixty-eight year
old woman, unarmed and outnumbered, that this violent act
exhibited a level of malicious intent far beyond what was
necessary. Therefore, after reviewing those factors the Court
finds the defendant is an extreme danger to society and highly
likely to reoffend.
[14] (Appellant’s App. Vol. 6, 18-19). Moore now appeals.
Decision
[15] Moore appeals her one-hundred-and-five-year sentence. She specifically argues
that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences and that her
sentence is inappropriate. We address each of her contentions in turn.
[16] 1. Consecutive Sentences
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[17] Moore first argues that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences.
The decision to impose consecutive sentences lies within the discretion of the
trial court. IND. CODE § 35-50-1-2. We will affirm an order of consecutive
sentences if it is supported by a statement of the trial court’s reasoning and at
least one aggravating circumstance. McBride v. State, 992 N.E.2d 912, 919-20
(Ind. Ct. App. 2013), trans. denied.
[18] Here, the trial court explained its reasoning in a sixteen-page order that listed
six detailed aggravating circumstances, none of which are challenged by Moore
on appeal. These aggravating circumstances included the heinous nature and
horrific circumstances of the offenses, the age of the victim, Moore’s lack of
remorse, Moore’s poor character as demonstrated by her lack of respect for
authority and rules as well as her inability to control her anger, and the
significant impact of the crime on Hershman’s family. These aggravating
circumstances amply support the trial court’s imposition of consecutive
sentences, and we find no abuse of the trial court’s discretion.5
2. Inappropriate Sentence
[19] Moore also argues that her one-hundred-and-five-year sentence is
inappropriate. Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that we may revise a
5
Moore further argues that “concurrent sentences more fairly reflect [the] episodic nature of [the] Hershman
burglary and murder.” (Moore’s Br. 24). However, as she further acknowledges in her brief, the single-
episode rule, which caps the total consecutive sentence for crimes “arising out of an episode of criminal
conduct,” simply does not apply to violent crimes such as murder and Class B felony burglary. See IND.
CODE § 35-50-1-2. Moore’s argument therefore fails.
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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. The defendant bears the burden of
persuading this Court that her sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848
N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006). Whether we regard a sentence as inappropriate
turns on 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.”
Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1224 (Ind. 2008).
[20] When determining whether a sentence is inappropriate, we acknowledge that
the advisory sentence is the starting point the Legislature has selected as an
appropriate sentence for the crime committed. Childress, 848 N.E.2d at 1081.
Here, Moore was convicted of murder, Class B felony burglary, and Class B
felony conspiracy to commit burglary. The sentencing range for murder is from
forty-five (45) to sixty-five (65) years, with an advisory sentence of fifty-five (55)
years. I.C. § 35-50-2-3. The trial court sentenced Moore to sixty-five (65) years,
which is the maximum sentence. In addition, the sentencing range for a Class
B felony is from six (6) to twenty (20) years, with an advisory sentence of ten
(10) years. I.C. § 35-50-2-5. The trial court sentenced Moore to twenty years for
both Class B felony convictions, which is also the maximum sentence. The trial
court then ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for a total sentence of
one hundred and five (105) years.
[21] With regard to the nature of the offenses, twenty-two-year-old Moore drove a
group of young men, including three fifteen-year-olds, from Ohio to Indiana for
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the sole purpose of committing crimes. The first stop was Jackson’s home,
where D.H. and S.N. busted down the door, threatened to shoot Jackson’s
mother, and robbed Jackson and his girlfriend at gunpoint. The next stop was
sixty-eight-year-old Hershman’s home. Moore, wearing a glove, entered the
home armed with a .40 caliber handgun loaded with hollow point bullets and
headed directly to the bedroom, where she found Hershman in her pajamas.
After a brief verbal exchange, Moore shot Hershman in the throat and then left
her to die.
[22] With regard to her character, we note that Moore appeared to have planned to
kill someone on the night of the offenses. Moore asked her mother if she would
“tell on” Moore if Moore told her she had killed someone and then drove three
fifteen-year-old young men across state lines to commit crimes. (Tr. 2404).
After the young men had committed the first crime and given Moore the money
they had stolen from Jackson, they were ready to return home. Moore,
however, was not satisfied. She went into Hershman’s home armed with a gun,
walked directly to Hershman’s bedroom, and murdered her. Moore then told
the young men that she thought she would have had a little more remorse for
killing someone but that she did not. After being arrested, and while
incarcerated at the county jail, Moore received thirteen write-up reports for bad
behavior. Two of these incidents led to charges for battery and intimidation.
Clearly, Moore has no respect for the law.
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[23] Based on the nature of the offenses and her character, Moore has failed to
persuade this Court that her one-hundred-and five (105) year sentence is
inappropriate.
[24] Affirmed.
Bradford, J., and Altice, J., concur.
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