Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 73A05-1412-CR-575 | August 24, 2015 Page 1 of 6

MEMORANDUM DECISION

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

Andrew B. Arnett

Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Gregory F. Zoeller

Attorney General of Indiana

Karl M. Scharnberg

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Patrick D. Keith,

Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff.

August 24, 2015

Court of Appeals Cause No.

73A05-1412-CR-575

Appeal from the Shelby Circuit 

Court

The Honorable Charles D. 

O’Connor, Judge

Trial Court Cause No.

73C01-1301-FD-13 and 

73C01-1304-FB-27

Barnes, Judge.
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Case Summary

[1] Patrick Keith appeals his aggregate sentence of twenty and one-half years, three 

of which were suspended to probation, for Class B felony possession of 

methamphetamine, Class D felony possession of methamphetamine, Class D 

felony possession of a controlled substance, Class A misdemeanor possession of 

paraphernalia, and for being an habitual substance offender. We affirm.

Issue

[2] Keith raises one issue, which we restate as whether his sentence is

inappropriate.

Facts

[3] In January 2013, police executed a writ of attachment on Keith in Shelby 

County for his failure to pay child support. During a pat down of Keith, the 

arresting officer found a glass pipe, pills, and a baggie containing 

methamphetamine in his pockets. The State charged Keith with Class D felony 

possession of methamphetamine, Class D felony possession of a controlled 

substance, and Class A misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia in Cause No. 

73C01-1301-FD-13 (“FD-13”). After Keith was released on bond, an 

information alleging he was an habitual substance offender was filed. 

[4] In April 2013, while out on bond, police were investigating the purchase of 

pseudoephedrine by a woman who indicated that she traded Keith 
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 73A05-1412-CR-575 | August 24, 2015 Page 3 of 6

pseudoephedrine for methamphetamine, when they encountered Keith outside 

of a family housing complex. During the encounter, Keith took a baggie 

containing methamphetamine from his pocket and gave it to the officers. The 

State charged Keith with Class B felony possession of methamphetamine and 

alleged that he was an habitual substance offender in Cause No. 73C01-1304-

FB-27 (“FB-27”).

[5] Keith pled guilty to all the charges and he admitted to the habitual substance 

offender allegations in an open plea. The trial court considered as aggravating 

Keith’s criminal history and the fact that he was on bond when he committed 

the FB-27 offense. The trial court considered Keith’s guilty plea as mitigating. 

[6] For FD-13, the trial court sentenced Keith to two and one-half years on each of 

the Class D felony charges and to one year on the misdemeanor charge. The 

trial court enhanced the possession of methamphetamine charge by three years 

for Keith’s status as an habitual substance offender and ordered the sentences to 

be served concurrently for a total executed sentence of five and one-half years. 

[7] For FB-27, the trial court sentenced Keith to twelve years, with three years 

suspended to probation and enhanced by three years for his habitual substance 

offender status, for a sentence of fifteen years executed and three years 

suspended to probation. The trial court ordered the sentence to be served 

consecutive to the FD-13 sentence for a total of twenty and one-half years, with 

seventeen and one half years executed and three years suspended. Keith now 

appeals.
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Analysis

[8] Keith argues that his sentence is inappropriate. Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B) 

permits us to revise a 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. Although Appellate 

Rule 7(B) does not require us to be “extremely” deferential to a trial court’s 

sentencing decision, we still must give due consideration to that decision. 

Rutherford v. State, 866 N.E.2d 867, 873 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). We also 

understand and recognize the unique perspective a trial court brings to its 

sentencing decisions. Id. “Additionally, a defendant bears the burden of 

persuading the appellate court that his or her sentence is inappropriate.” Id.

[9] The principal role of Appellate Rule 7(B) review “should be to attempt to 

leaven the outliers, and identify some guiding principles for trial courts and 

those charged with improvement of the sentencing statutes, but not to achieve a 

perceived ‘correct’ result in each case.” Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1225 

(Ind. 2008). We “should focus on the forest—the aggregate sentence—rather 

than the trees—consecutive or concurrent, number of counts, or length of the 

sentence on any individual count.” Id. Whether a sentence is inappropriate 

ultimately turns on the culpability of the defendant, the severity of the crimes, 

the damage done to others, and myriad other factors that come to light in a 

given case. Id. at 1224. 
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[10] Regarding the nature of the offenses, we acknowledge that Keith’s offenses are 

not particularly egregious. However, Keith did commit the FB-27 offense while 

out on bond from the FD-13 offense. Further, although he denied making 

methamphetamine, Keith acknowledged that he was providing the ingredients 

needed to make methamphetamine in exchange for the drug. Also, the 

probable cause affidavit indicates that he engaged the help of others to obtain 

the ingredients. 

[11] Moreover, Keith’s character, particularly his criminal history, supports his 

sentence notwithstanding his guilty pleas. Twenty-nine-year-old Keith’s 

criminal history includes a juvenile adjudication for what would have been 

misdemeanor possession of marijuana and adult criminal convictions for Class 

D felony causing serious bodily injury while operating a motor vehicle while 

intoxicated, Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Class B 

misdemeanor disorderly conduct, two counts of Class D felony resisting law 

enforcement, Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief, Class B misdemeanor 

public intoxication that endangers the person’s life, Class A misdemeanor 

criminal trespass, and Class D felony possession of a controlled substance. A 

review of his numerous criminal charges he faced over the years shows that 

most of the offenses involved alcohol or drugs. Further, Keith was given the 

benefit of probation three times in the past, and it was revoked every time. 

Under these circumstances, we are not convinced that Keith’s aggregate 

sentence of twenty and one-half years, with three years suspended, is 

inappropriate. 
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Conclusion

[12] Keith has not established that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature 

of the offenses and the character of the offender. We affirm.

[13] Affirmed.

Riley, J., and Bailey, J., concur.