Case Title: State v. Chase in Winter

Citation: 534 N.W.2d 350

Docket Number: 

State: south-dakota

Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Date: 1995-06-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
534 N.W.2d 350 (1995) STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Fabian CHASE IN WINTER, Defendant and Appellant. No. 18720. Supreme Court of South Dakota. Considered on Briefs December 1, 1994. Decided June 28, 1995. *351 Mark Barnett, Atty. Gen., Todd A. Love, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for plaintiff and appellee. Frank A. Bettmann of Finch, Bettman, Maks, Rapid City, for defendant and appellant. PER CURIAM. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Fabian Curtis Chase in Winter (Chase in Winter) pled guilty but mentally ill to kidnapping, SDCL 22-19-1(3), and aggravated assault, SDCL 22-18-1.1(5). The seven remaining counts[*] of the information were dismissed. He was sentenced to serve two hundred years in the penitentiary on the kidnapping conviction and a concurrent fifteen years on the aggravated assault conviction. On appeal, Chase in Winter contends that the two-hundred-year sentence is an abuse of discretion and violates the Eighth Amendment's proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. We affirm. Chase in Winter is an Indian male who was born in 1972. He was raised in a home where drinking and violence were common and he was physically, emotionally, and perhaps sexually abused by his alcoholic parents. He began drinking at age eleven. Since the age of thirteen, Chase in Winter has been routinely examined for alcohol addiction as well as mental and emotional problems which include violence, threats of violence, and a propensity for being involved with pre-pubescent males. He has been placed in at least three separate facilities due to these problems and has also taken anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medications. Treatment has met with little success due to Chase in Winter's lack of interest. Between 1986 and 1989 Chase in Winter was arrested eight times on juvenile delinquency charges, assault and battery, and tribal pickup orders. He served in juvenile detention facilities. He ran away from one facility and stole a car. The grand theft auto charge was not formally disposed of. In 1989, seventeen-year-old Chase in Winter was engaged in satanic worship, was high on marijuana, and was drinking heavily when he took his eleven-year-old male cousin hostage at knife point. Throughout the two day ordeal, Chase in Winter choked the victim, held a knife to the victim's throat, sodomized him, and forced the victim to perform oral sex on Chase in Winter. Chase in Winter was sentenced on one count of aggravated sexual abuse in a federal juvenile delinquency proceeding. He violated his probation and was committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons until age twenty-one. The incidents leading to the two-hundred-year sentence Chase in Winter is challenging began on February 4, 1993. The facts are strikingly similar to those in his previous federal juvenile case. Chase in Winter drove to Rapid City with his sister, argued with her, and began drinking heavily. He called up thirteen-year-old *352 DGB, a male acquaintance who was small for his age, and offered to feed him at Wendy's. The two met, and, rather than eating, went to K-Mart where Chase in Winter told DGB that he would buy him a belated Christmas gift. At K-Mart, Chase in Winter took DGB to a bathroom, held a knife to his neck, and threatened to kill DGB if he did not travel to Oglala with him. Chase in Winter and DGB began to walk to Oglala. At the bridge by Sioux Pottery, Chase in Winter choked DGB with both hands for five seconds. As the journey continued, they stopped by some radio towers. Chase in Winter gave DGB the choice of being stabbed to death or beaten to death. DGB tried to run away, made it to a train, and was captured. Chase in Winter held his knife to DGB's temple and threatened to kill him. He took off DGB's shirt and jacket, exposing him to the blizzard conditions for ten minutes until DGB agreed to continue to Oglala. When they reached a billboard, Chase in Winter dropped his pants and had DGB touch his penis and masturbate him until he ejaculated. Chase in Winter also fondled DGB's penis through DGB's clothes. The journey continued until they reached a barn. Chase in Winter made DGB remove his pants and lie face down on some bushes. After Chase in Winter's attempt to anally penetrate DGB failed, he forced DGB to perform oral sex until he ejaculated in DGB's mouth. The two then continued the walk to Oglala. Chase in Winter pled guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of aggravated assault. As a part of the plea agreement, the state dismissed the remaining seven counts. It agreed not to pursue any other offenses stemming from this incident. It also agreed not to pursue habitual offender charges and "not specifically be requesting a life sentence to be imposed." Prior to sentencing an extensive presentence report was prepared. It noted that a week after the incident with DGB, Chase in Winter pled guilty to federal charges of cruelty to a minor, assault and battery, and public intoxication. The court services officer noted that Chase in Winter felt little remorse for the DGB incident and believed he would simply forget about DGB. The officer noted that long term therapy had not been successful, but was needed. The sentencing judge also received letters from the chief investigator of this case, DGB, and DGB's parents. The investigator wrote, in part, DGB expressed his fear, his lack of trust, and his sadness. His parents described DGB and their trauma following the incident. DGB daily takes Prozac and Ritalin and is in daily counseling. He has been expelled from several schools because of behavioral problems and has been hospitalized in two mental facilities due to fears for his safety and that of his family. They describe their twenty years as a lower income family which was nearly broken apart by the ordeal. The trial court, in imposing sentence, addressed Chase in Winter: The court also wrote to the Board of Pardons and Paroles: I have just recently sentenced Mr. Chase in Winter to 200 years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary. It was a difficult sentence in light of Mr. Chase in Winter's age. I harbor a belief that all of us have the opportunity to redeem ourselves in this world, if not in the next. Mr. Chase in Winter is however, a man for who I hold out little hope. I came very close to imposing a life sentence on him. My reservation was that he was only 21 years of age with a psychiatric problem and I felt there should be some small window of opportunity available for him in the event that some extraordinary circumstances should occur and he should truly understand the gravity of his crime and appropriately deal with his anger and depression, not to mention his psychiatric problems. While this is his first offense of record, he had a very similar offense previously and showed little remorse for his crime. I am enclosing with this letter, a copy of a letter I received from Lynn McLane with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. I too harbor serious concerns relating to the dangerousness of Mr. Chase in Winter. I have rarely taken it upon myself to send a letter to the Board of Pardons & Paroles; in this case, however, I felt an exception was warranted. Before even the slightest consideration is given to paroling Mr. Chase in Winter, I ask you to very, very, very scrupulously examine his *354 status to determine whether or not he could in the future victimize other children, perhaps kill somebody. It is frankly my assumption that he will be in custody for the rest of his life. However, I felt that he should have some hope in light of his very young age. Following sentencing Chase in Winter filed a motion seeking to have the sentence reconsidered and seeking money to pay for sentencing statistics from the Unified Judicial System. The motions were denied. The trial court addressed again why it imposed the two-hundred-year sentence. The court explained, in part: DOES CHASE IN WINTER'S TWO-HUNDRED-YEAR SENTENCE CONSTITUTE CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT? The principles governing sentence review are well known and were reiterated in State v. Ferguson, 519 N.W.2d 50, 53-54 (S.D. 1994): State v. Castaneira, 502 N.W.2d 112, 114-115 (S.D.1993) (quoting, State v. Gehrke, 491 N.W.2d 421, 423 (S.D.1992)). The test to determine whether a sentence is so constitutionally offensive as to shock the conscience is two-fold. State v. Shilvock-Havird, 472 N.W.2d 773 (S.D. 1991). Id., 472 N.W.2d at 779. Chase in Winter points to several factors which, he contends, lead to the conclusion that the two-hundred-year sentence shocks the conscience. First, he is a young man (21) from a dysfunctional family who is mentally ill but susceptible to treatment. Second, he is a first-time felon. And, third, a two-hundred-year sentence forecloses his opportunity for rehabilitation. This Court is no stranger to reviewing lengthy sentences given to young offenders, and, depending on the crime and the history of criminal some sentences have been upheld and some reversed. See, State v. Lohnes, 344 N.W.2d 686 (S.D.1984); State v. Holloway, 482 N.W.2d 306 (S.D.1992); Bult v. Leapley, 507 N.W.2d 325 (S.D.1993); State v. Ferguson, supra; State v. Bult, 529 N.W.2d 197 (S.D.1995). In this case, while the sentence is strict, it does not shock the conscience for several reasons. While Chase in Winter is a young first time felon, he has an extensive juvenile record which includes committing acts that mirror the crimes that he is before this Court on. Years of therapy and counseling have met with little success because of his lack of interest in them. The crimes he committed here were particularly vile and abhorrent and had a devastating effect upon the victim and his family. Chase in Winter shows little remorse. In addition, Chase in Winter pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement which allowed him to avoid a sentence of life without parole. According to the state, he will be parole eligible in July 2018 when he is forty-six years old and has had the opportunity for therapy and rehabilitation. Thus the trial court considered Chase in Winter in light of the required sentencing factors, including rehabilitation. State v. Bult, supra. The sentence neither shocks the conscience nor is disproportionate to the crime. The judgment is affirmed. MILLER, C.J., SABERS, AMUNDSON and KONENKAMP, JJ., and WUEST, Retired J., participating. GILBERTSON, J., not having been a member of the Court at the time this case was submitted did not participate. [*] Simple assault (one count), aggravated assault (one count), sexual contact with a child under the age of sixteen (three counts), second degree rape (one count), and attempted second degree rape (one count).