Court Opinion

ID: 9897310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-14 19:09:59.705227+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:14:05.500573
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                      Aug 18 2023, 8:47 am

                                                                          CLERK
                                                                      Indiana Supreme Court
                                                                         Court of Appeals
                                                                           and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT                                    ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Zachary J. Stock                                          Theodore E. Rokita
Zachary J. Stock, Attorney at Law, P.C.                   Attorney General of Indiana
Carmel, Indiana                                           Erica S. Sullivan
                                                          Deputy Attorney General
                                                          Indianapolis, Indiana

                                            IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Vincent S. Horns,                                         August 18, 2023
Appellant-Defendant                                       Court of Appeals Case No.
                                                          22A-CR-2813
        v.                                                Appeal from the Hendricks Circuit
                                                          Court
State of Indiana,                                         The Honorable Daniel F. Zielinski,
Appellee-Plaintiff.                                       Judge
                                                          Trial Court Cause No.
                                                          32C01-2105-F3-9

                                     Opinion by Judge Pyle

                             Judges Vaidik and Mathias concur.

Pyle, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023                            Page 1 of 9
      Statement of the Case
[1]   A jury convicted Vincent Horns (“Horns”) of Level 6 felony leaving the scene

      of an accident1 and Level 6 felony obstruction of justice,2 and the trial court

      imposed an aggregate sentence of four years for the two convictions. Horns

      appeals the Level 6 felony obstruction of justice conviction as well as the

      aggregate sentence imposed. He argues that the evidence is insufficient to

      support the Level 6 felony obstruction of justice conviction and that the four-

      year aggregate sentence is inappropriate. Concluding that the evidence is

      sufficient to support Horns’ conviction and that the aggregate sentence is not

      inappropriate, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

[2]   We affirm.

      Issues
                 1.       Whether there is sufficient evidence to support Horns’
                          conviction for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice.

                 2.       Whether Horns’ aggregate sentence is inappropriate.

      Facts
[3]   The facts most favorable to the verdict reveal that on April 5, 2021, sixty-two-

      year-old George Walsh (“Walsh”) was riding his motorcycle eastbound on US

      40 when fifty-seven-year-old Horns, who was driving a pick-up truck, made a

      1
          IND. CODE § 9-26-1-1.1(b)(2).
      2
          IND. CODE § 35-44.1-2-2.

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023           Page 2 of 9
      left turn from the oncoming westbound lane and “t-boned” Walsh’s

      motorcycle. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 183). The impact of the crash sent Walsh

      “tumbling” onto a grassy area at the side of the road. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 183).

      Horns approached Walsh and asked him if he was okay. Walsh, whose leg had

      been completely severed, told Horns that he was not okay and asked Horns to

      call 911. Horns, however, left the scene with Walsh’s leg and foot wedged in

      the front of his truck and drove to his job at a nearby warehouse.

[4]   Witnesses to the accident stopped, called 911, and assisted Walsh. When

      Paramedic Cole Zeunik (“Paramedic Zeunik”) arrived at the scene, he noticed

      that Walsh’s leg from the “mid-calf down was missing. And what was

      remaining looked like it had gone through a meat grinder[.]” (Tr. Vol. 2 at 80).

      Paramedic Zeunik looked for Walsh’s lower leg and foot in the surrounding

      grassy area; however, witnesses told him “that it was gone and it was in the

      truck” that had hit Walsh. (Tr. Vol. 2 at 82).

[5]   One of the witnesses had written down the license plate number of Horns’

      truck, and Plainfield Police Department officers began looking for the truck.

      Plainfield Police Department Officer Ryan Salisbury (“Officer Salisbury”)

      subsequently located the truck in a nearby warehouse parking lot. Officer

      Salisbury noticed blood and human flesh on the front of the truck.

[6]   Plainfield Police Department Detective Corporal Brian Stewart (“Detective

      Stewart”) arrived at the warehouse parking lot to assist Officer Salisbury and

      noticed a lidded trash can that was located next to an employee entrance to the

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023        Page 3 of 9
      warehouse. When Detective Stewart lifted the lid off the trash can, he

      discovered Walsh’s severed leg and foot in the trash can. The foot was still in

      the black boot that Walsh had been wearing at the time of the accident.

      Detective Stewart had looked in the trash can because, in his experience as a

      law enforcement officer, subjects who have left the scene have put evidence in

      trash cans. According to Detective Stewart, subjects do not think that law

      enforcement officers will look in trash cans “because it is just trash.” (Tr. Vol. 2

      at 176). Detective Stewart further explained that subjects place evidence in

      trash cans in an attempt to distance themselves from the evidence.

[7]   A Plainfield Police Department officer escorted Horns from the warehouse to

      the police station. Plainfield Police Department Officer Nicholas Wennen

      (“Officer Wennen”) interviewed Horns, who initially denied being involved in

      the accident with Walsh. Horns subsequently acknowledged that he had been

      involved in the accident, had left the scene, and had gone to work. When

      Officer Wennen asked Horns why he had placed Walsh’s limb in the trash can,

      Horns “alluded to the fact that he was trying to conceal the crime.” (Tr. Vol. 2

      at 142).

[8]   The State charged Horns with Level 4 felony leaving the scene of an accident

      and Level 6 felony obstruction of justice. In addition, the State charged Horns

      with other offenses that it later dismissed.

[9]   The jury heard the evidence as set forth above at Horns’ two-day jury trial in

      August 2022. The jury convicted Horns of Level 6 felony obstruction of justice

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023         Page 4 of 9
       and Level 6 felony leaving the scene of an accident, a lesser-included offense of

       Level 4 felony leaving the scene of an accident. At Horns’ sentencing hearing,

       the trial court reviewed Horns’ presentence investigation report, which revealed

       that Horns has a forty-year criminal history that includes twenty-one arrests,

       resulting in nine felony and two misdemeanor convictions. Specifically, Horns

       has four felony convictions for theft, two felony convictions for robbery, one

       felony conviction for possession of cocaine, one felony conviction for

       possession of marijuana or hash, and one felony conviction for battery. In

       addition, Horns has misdemeanor convictions for driving while suspended and

       criminal trespass. Horns also has a history of violating community corrections

       and parole.

[10]   Thereafter, the trial court found Horns’ criminal history and past criminal

       behavior, which includes the twenty-one arrests that resulted in nine felony and

       two misdemeanor convictions, to be aggravating factors. In addition, the trial

       court found Horns’ remorse to be a mitigating factor. Thereafter, the trial court

       sentenced Horns to two years for each of the two Level 6 felony convictions.

       The trial court further ordered the sentences to run consecutively to each other

       for an aggregate executed sentence of four years in the Indiana Department of

       Correction.

[11]   Horns now appeals his conviction for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice and

       his aggregate four-year sentence.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023       Page 5 of 9
       Decision
[12]   Horns argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his Level 6 felony

       obstruction of justice conviction and that his four-year aggregate sentence is

       inappropriate. We address each of his contentions in turn.

       1. Sufficiency of the Evidence

[13]   Horns first argues that there is insufficient evidence to support his Level 6

       felony obstruction of justice conviction. We disagree.

[14]   Our standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence claims is well settled.

       We consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting

       the verdict. Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146 (Ind. 2007). We do not

       reweigh the evidence or judge witness credibility. Id. We will affirm the

       conviction unless no reasonable fact finder could find the elements of the crime

       proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The evidence is sufficient if an

       inference may be reasonably drawn from it to support the verdict. Id. at 147.

[15]   In order to convict Horns of Level 6 felony obstruction of justice, the State was

       required to prove that he altered, damaged, or removed any record, document,

       or thing, with intent to prevent it from being produced or used as evidence in

       any official proceeding or investigation. See I.C. 35-44.1-2-2(a)(3). Horns

       specifically argues that “[t]here is . . . no evidence that [he] intended to prevent

       the use of the severed foot in a criminal investigation when he placed the foot in

       the garbage.” (Horn’s Br. 5-6). Intent is a mental state, and absent the

       defendant’s admission, “the jury must resort to the reasonable inferences from
       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023          Page 6 of 9
       both the direct and circumstantial evidence to determine whether the defendant

       ha[d] the requisite . . . intent to commit the offense in question.” Pritcher v.

       State, 208 N.E.3d 656, 665-66 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023) (cleaned up).

[16]   Here, our review of the evidence reveals that Horns, who had just been

       involved in an accident that had severed Walsh’s lower leg, left the scene with

       Walsh’s severed leg attached to the front of his truck and drove to work as if no

       accident had occurred. When Horns arrived at work, he removed Walsh’s

       severed limb from the front of his truck, took the lid off a trash can that was

       located near the employee’s entrance to the warehouse, placed Walsh’s severed

       limb in the trash can, and then placed the lid back on the trash can, covering

       Walsh’s limb. Detective Stewart testified that in his experience as a law

       enforcement officer, subjects who have left the scene have disposed of evidence

       in trash cans. According to Detective Stewart, subjects do not think law

       enforcement officers will look in trash cans because it is just trash. Detective

       Stewart further explained that placing evidence in a trash can serves to distance

       the subject from the evidence. We further note that Detective Wennen testified

       that when he asked Horns why he had placed Walsh’s limb in the trash can,

       Horns alluded to the fact that he was trying to conceal the crime. Based on this

       evidence, the jury could have reasonably inferred that Horns placed Walsh’s

       limb in the trash can with the intent to prevent the limb from being produced or

       used as evidence against him. Horns’ argument is essentially an invitation to

       reweigh the evidence, which we cannot do. See Drane, 867 N.E.2d at 146.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023           Page 7 of 9
       There is sufficient evidence to support Horns’ conviction for Level 6 felony

       obstruction of justice.

       2. Inappropriate Sentence

[17]   Horns also argues that his four-year aggregate sentence, which includes a two-

       year sentence for Level 6 felony leaving the scene of an accident and a two-year

       sentence for Level 6 felony obstruction of justice, is inappropriate. Indiana

       Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that we may 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. The defendant bears the burden of persuading this Court that

       his 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).

[18]   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, Horns was convicted of two Level 6 felonies. The sentencing range for a

       Level 6 felony is between six (6) months and two and one-half (2½) years, and

       the advisory sentence is one (1) year. IND. CODE § 35-50-2-7(b). Here, the trial

       court imposed a two-year sentence for each of the two Level 6 felonies and

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023           Page 8 of 9
       ordered the two sentences to run consecutively to each other for an aggregate

       sentence of four years.

[19]   With regard to the nature of the offenses, we note that after being involved in

       an accident that severed Walsh’s leg, Horn failed to remain at the scene, call

       911, or render aid to Walsh. Rather, in an extraordinary display of cold-

       hearted selfishness, Horn left the scene of the accident with Walsh’s leg and

       foot attached to the front of Horn’s truck and went to work as if no accident

       had occurred. When Horn arrived at work, he placed Walsh’s limb in a lidded

       trashcan so that the limb was hidden from view.

[20]   With regard to Horns’ character, we note that Horns has an extensive criminal

       history that spans forty years and includes twenty-one arrests, resulting in nine

       felony and two misdemeanor convictions. Horns’ criminal history reflects

       poorly on his character for the purposes of sentencing. See Rutherford v. State,

       866 N.E.2d 867, 874 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).

[21]   Based on the nature of the offenses and his character, Horns has failed to

       persuade this Court that his aggregate four-year executed sentence is

       inappropriate.

[22]   Affirmed.

       Vaidik, J., and Mathias, J., concur.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 22A-CR-2813| August 18, 2023        Page 9 of 9