Jecori M. Jeffries v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: May 5, 2017
• Docket: 79A02-1612-CR-2792
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any May 05 2017, 6:52 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 Timothy P. Broden Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Lafayette, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Christina D. Pace Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Jecori M. Jeffries, May 5, 2017 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 79A02-1612-CR-2792 v. Appeal from the Tippecanoe Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Steven P. Meyer, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge Trial Court Cause No. 79D02-1606-F5-82

Baker, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1612-CR-2792 | May 5, 2017 Page 1 of 4 [1] Jecori Jeffries appeals the sentence imposed by the trial court after Jeffries

pleaded guilty to Level 5 felony carrying a handgun while having a prior felony

conviction. Jeffries contends that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the

nature of the offense and his character. Finding that the sentence is not

inappropriate, we affirm.

[2] On February 14, 2016, at 3:16 a.m., Jeffries had been drinking at a house party

and walked across the street to a gas station. Jeffries approached a police

officer; when Jeffries turned around, the officer saw the pistol grip of a black

semi-automatic handgun in Jeffries’s possession. The handgun was a Smith &

Wesson M&P 45 and was fully loaded with ten rounds in the magazine. The

officer knew Jeffries and knew that he had a prior felony conviction. An officer

secured Jeffries’s handgun and attempted to handcuff him; Jeffries turned and

forcibly pulled away multiple times. After he was handcuffed and being

transported to the patrol vehicle, Jeffries continued to forcibly pull away from

the officers.

[3] On June 2, 2016, the State charged Jeffries with Level 5 felony carrying a

handgun while having a prior felony conviction and with Class A misdemeanor

resisting law enforcement. The State also alleged that Jeffries was a habitual

offender. On September 26, 2016, Jeffries pleaded guilty to the handgun charge

in exchange for the dismissal of the resisting law enforcement charge and the

habitual offender enhancement. On November 14, 2016, the trial court

sentenced Jeffries to five years, with one year to be served on community

corrections and one year suspended to probation.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1612-CR-2792 | May 5, 2017 Page 2 of 4 [4] Jeffries’s sole argument on appeal is that the sentence is inappropriate in light of

the nature of the offense and his character. Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B)

provides that this Court may revise a sentence if it is inappropriate in light of

the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. We must “conduct

[this] review with substantial deference and give ‘due consideration’ to the trial

court’s decision—since the ‘principal role of [our] review is to attempt to leaven

the outliers,’ and not to achieve a perceived ‘correct’ sentence . . . .” Knapp v.

State, 9 N.E.3d 1274, 1292 (Ind. 2014) (quoting Chambers v. State, 989 N.E.2d

1257, 1259 (Ind. 2013)) (internal citations omitted).

[5] Jeffries was convicted of one Level 5 felony. For this conviction, he faced a

term of two to eight years, with an advisory term of four years imprisonment.

Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(b). Jeffries received a five-year term, but one of those

years is suspended to probation and one of those years is to be served on

community corrections.

[6] As for the nature of the offense, Jeffries, who was on probation, was out

drinking at 3 in the morning. He went to a college party with a fully loaded

semi-automatic handgun. Jeffries was aware that he was not permitted to have

this weapon because he had a previous felony conviction. While this offense is

not the worst of the worst, Jeffries escalated the potential for violence by

attending a party with a loaded handgun.

[7] As for Jeffries’s character, he was only twenty-four years old at the time of

sentencing but had a lengthy history of contact with the criminal justice system.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1612-CR-2792 | May 5, 2017 Page 3 of 4 As a juvenile, he was adjudicated delinquent on three occasions. Two of his

adjudications were for attempted dealing and possession of a controlled

substance; for these adjudications, Jeffries was waived to adult court. He has

three prior felony convictions, including Class C felony possession of a

controlled substance and two convictions for Class D felony possession of

marijuana. He has six prior misdemeanor convictions, has violated probation

on two occasions, and was on probation at the time he committed the instant

offense. Moreover, the State has filed two new criminal cases against Jeffries

since filing the instant charges.

[8] Given the nature of the offense, including Jeffries’s decision to bring a loaded

handgun to a party where alcohol was being consumed, and Jeffries’s character,

including a lengthy history of contact with the criminal justice system that has

not deterred him from continuing to commit crimes, we do not find the

sentence imposed by the trial court to be inappropriate.

[9] The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Barnes, J., and Crone, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1612-CR-2792 | May 5, 2017 Page 4 of 4