Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-1115 | October 14, 2020 Page 1 of 7

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

Arturo Rodriguez II

Rodriguez Law, P.C.

Lafayette, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

Attorney General

Caroline G. Templeton

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Rudy L. Space,

Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

October 14, 2020

Court of Appeals Case No.

20A-CR-1115

Appeal from the 

Warren Circuit Court

The Honorable 

Hunter J. Reece, Judge

Trial Court Cause No.

86C01-1909-F6-75

Vaidik, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-1115 | October 14, 2020 Page 2 of 7

Case Summary

[1] Rudy Space pled guilty to Level 6 felony identity deception and being a 

habitual offender, and the trial court sentenced him to two years for the felony 

enhanced by two years for being a habitual offender. Space now appeals his 

sentence, arguing it is inappropriate. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On September 13, 2019, an Indiana State Police trooper came upon a disabled 

car and two men along the side of a road in Warren County. The trooper

stopped to help and asked the men “for identification.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II 

p. 10. Neither man had an identification card. However, one man verbally 

identified himself as Anthony Jennings and provided a date of birth. The other 

man—the defendant in this case, Rudy Space—verbally identified himself as 

“Roger Space” but hesitated before providing a date of birth and couldn’t

provide a social-security number. The trooper ran the name “Roger Space” and 

the birthday given but “was unable to get a return.” Id. Space admitted he had 

given his cousin’s first name because he thought there was a warrant for his 

arrest. He then provided his correct name, date of birth, and social-security 

number. 

[3] The State charged Space with Level 6 felony identity deception and being a 

habitual offender. On September 16, Space was released on his own 

recognizance subject to numerous pretrial conditions, including that he attend 
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 20A-CR-1115 | October 14, 2020 Page 3 of 7

all court hearings and “[m]aintain good and lawful behavior.” Id. at 12. Space, 

however, failed to appear at hearings in October and November. After the

second failure to appear, a warrant was issued for Space’s arrest in November 

2019. Also in November 2019, Space was charged with felony sex-offenderregistry violation in Illinois. He pled guilty to that offense in December 2019

and was sentenced to 180 days executed and three years of probation. Id. at 32. 

Space was then arrested on the outstanding warrant in this case in January 

2020. In March 2020, Space and the State entered into a plea agreement under 

which Space agreed to plead guilty as charged. According to the plea 

agreement:

[A]ny executed sentence shall not exceed four and one-half (4

1/2) years. Any sentence in excess of four and one-half (4 1/2) 

years shall be required to be suspended. The Defendant shall be 

sentenced as deemed appropriate by the Court.

Id. at 24. 

[4] At the sentencing hearing, evidence was presented about Space’s “significant”

criminal history. Tr. pp. 9, 17. Specifically, Space had eight felony convictions

and one misdemeanor conviction (domestic battery) when he committed the 

offense in this case. According to the PSI, the eight felony convictions include 

two convictions for possession of a controlled substance in 2001 (Illinois), 

aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 2011 (Illinois), a federal conviction for 

conspiracy to commit robbery in 2014, and four convictions for failure to report 
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weekly/no fixed address in 2018 (Illinois).

1 For these convictions, Space has 

spent time in both state and federal prison. In addition, Space has violated his 

probation several times, including in the federal case. The State recommended a 

sentence of eight years with four-and-a-half years executed, and Space asked for

the minimum sentence of two-and-a-half years. The trial court found two 

aggravators: (1) Space’s criminal history and (2) his “recent[] violat[ion] [of]

conditions of probation, parole, pardon, community corrections or pretrial 

release.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 39. The court found one mitigator: Space’s

guilty plea. The court sentenced Space to two years enhanced by two years for 

being a habitual offender, all executed. The court recommended Therapeutic 

Community and said if Space completed the program, it would consider a 

modification of his sentence.

[5] Space now appeals his sentence. 

Discussion and Decision

[6] Space contends his four-year sentence is inappropriate and asks us to revise it to 

three years with one year suspended under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), which 

provides that an appellate court “may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, 

after due consideration of the trial court’s decision, the court finds that the 

1 At the sentencing hearing, Space argued he had only four prior felony convictions. Specifically, he claimed 

he had only one conviction for failure to report weekly/no fixed address instead of four and that he had only 

one conviction for possession of a controlled substance instead of two. Even if Space had only four prior 

felony convictions, our result would be the same.
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sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character 

of the offender.” “Whether a sentence is inappropriate ultimately turns on the 

culpability of the defendant, the severity of the crime, the damage done to 

others, and a myriad of other factors that come to light in a given case.”

Thompson v. State, 5 N.E.3d 383, 391 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (citing Cardwell v. 

State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1224 (Ind. 2008)). Because we generally defer to the 

judgment of trial courts in sentencing matters, defendants must persuade us that 

their sentences are inappropriate. Schaaf v. State, 54 N.E.3d 1041, 1044-45 (Ind. 

Ct. App. 2016).

[7] A person who commits a Level 6 felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of 

between six months and two-and-a-half years, with an advisory sentence of one 

year. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-7(b). “The court shall sentence a person found to be a 

habitual offender to an additional fixed term that is between . . . two (2) years 

and six (6) years, for a person convicted of a Level 5 or Level 6 felony.” Ind. 

Code § 35-50-2-8(i). However, the plea agreement capped the executed portion 

of the sentence at four-and-a-half years. The trial court sentenced Space to an 

above-advisory term of two years enhanced by the minimum term of two years 

for being a habitual offender, resulting in a four-year executed sentence.

[8] We agree with Space that “[t]here are no egregious facts or actions” in this case. 

Appellant’s Br. p. 10. When a police officer stopped to help Space, he gave his 

cousin’s first name but then provided his name shortly thereafter.
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[9] Space’s character, however, supports his four-year executed sentence. It is true 

Space pled guilty and was employed when he committed the offense in this 

case. However, he has a “significant criminal history.” Tr. p. 17. Although

three of Space’s felony convictions were used to support his habitual-offender 

enhancement (possession of a controlled substance, aggravated criminal sexual 

abuse, and conspiracy to commit robbery), he has other felony convictions plus 

a misdemeanor conviction for domestic battery. In addition, Space has served 

time in both state and federal prison and has violated his probation on several 

occasions. Notably, while he was on pretrial release in this case, he failed to 

appear at two hearings and was charged with and pled guilty to a felony—his 

ninth—in Illinois. Despite being given numerous opportunities to reform, Space 

has repeatedly demonstrated that he will not.

[10] Nevertheless, Space claims “[i]ncarceration should not have been the answer to

address his problems”; rather, he “needs treatment to address his longstanding 

substance abuse issues.” Appellant’s Br. p. 12. Although the PSI notes that 

Space abused alcohol and marijuana, Space presented no evidence of his 

substance-abuse issues at the sentencing hearing. Moreover, the trial court said 

it would consider a modification of Space’s sentence if he completed 

Therapeutic Community. Space has failed to persuade us that his four-year 

executed sentence—with the chance of having it modified—is inappropriate. 

We therefore affirm the trial court. 

[11] Affirmed.
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Bailey, J., and Weissmann, J., concur.