Loretta A. Manier v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: May 26, 2016
• Docket: 34A02-1512-CR-2234
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), May 26 2016, 8:35 am

this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK Indiana Supreme Court regarded as precedent or cited before any Court of Appeals and Tax Court court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Derick W. Steele Gregory F. Zoeller Kokomo, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Angela N. Sanchez Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Loretta A. Manier, May 26, 2016 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 34A02-1512-CR-2234 v. Appeal from the Howard Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable George A. Appellee-Plaintiff Hopkins, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 34D04-1507-F6-85

Bailey, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 1 of 6 Case Summary [1] Loretta Manier (“Manier”) appeals her conviction for Failure to Register as a

Sex Offender, a Level 6 felony.1 We affirm.

Issues [2] Manier presents two issues for review:

I. Whether there is sufficient evidence to support her conviction; and

II. Whether her two-year sentence is inappropriate.

Facts and Procedural History [3] In 2006, Manier was convicted of two counts of Child Molesting as Class B

felonies. She was required to register as a sex offender. In 2014, Manier moved

to Howard County, Indiana and reported to the Howard County Sheriff’s

Office to register as a sex offender. Employee Christina Kline provided Manier

with a sex offender packet including a sex offender registration form. Manier

initialed the form, which included advice of heightened reporting requirements

for persons who were homeless or living in a temporary residence; specifically,

a seven-day reporting requirement.

1 Ind. Code § 11-8-8-12.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 2 of 6 [4] In June of 2015, Manier became homeless. She reported her status to her

probation officer, who advised her to go to the Howard County Sheriff’s Office

to update her sex offender registry information. On June 16, 2015, Manier

appeared at the Sheriff’s Office and reported that she could be staying at four

different places and lacked a permanent address. Employee Donna Bowland

(“Bowland”) obtained Manier’s signature on a Temporary

Residence/Homeless Offender Form which set forth the seven-day reporting

requirement. Manier agreed to return within seven days but she did not do so.

When Manier failed to return by June 23, 2015, Bowland advised her

supervisor of the omission. Manier reported to the Sheriff’s Office on June 29,

2015, July 6, 2015, and July 14, 2015.

[5] On July 20, 2015, Manier came to the Sheriff’s Office and was arrested. She

was charged with failure to report by June 23, 2015. Manier was convicted by a

jury and sentenced to two years imprisonment. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision Sufficiency of the Evidence [6] The State charged that Manier “did knowingly and intentionally fail to report

within the seven day time frame as required for registering as a homeless

offender[.]” (App. at 21.) Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-12 governs registration

when an offender resides in a temporary residence. In particular, subsection (c)

provides:

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 3 of 6 A sex or violent offender who does not have a principal residence or temporary residence shall report in person to the local law enforcement authority in the county where the sex or violent offender resides at least once every seven (7) days to report an address for the location where the sex or violent offender will stay during the time in which the sex or violent offender lacks a principal address or temporary residence.

[7] 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 assess

the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. Id. We will affirm the

conviction unless “no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the

crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quoting Jenkins v. State, 726

N.E.2d 268, 270 (Ind. 2000)). “The evidence is sufficient if an inference may

reasonably be drawn from it to support the verdict.” Id. at 147 (quoting Pickens

v. State, 751 N.E.2d 331, 334 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001)).

[8] The State offered testimony and exhibits to establish that Manier, a homeless

person, was aware of her seven-day reporting requirement and failed to comply.

Indeed, Manier does not claim that she lacked knowledge of the seven-day

requirement or that she actually maintained compliance. Rather, she claims

that she “substantially complied” with the reporting requirement. Appellant’s

Br. at 3, 5. Manier suggests that the legislature recognized the transportation

difficulties faced by the homeless and thus, in subsection (c), relaxed the

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 4 of 6 requirement from “registering” to “reporting.”2 She then argues that she

substantially complied with the requirement of that subsection by keeping her

parole officer telephonically apprised of her whereabouts on a daily basis from

June 16 to June 29, 2015. We must disagree, as the plain language of

subsection (c) of Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-12 requires that the offender

“report in person to the local law enforcement authority.” (emphasis added.) The

State presented sufficient evidence to support Manier’s conviction.

Appropriateness of Sentence [9] Upon conviction of a Level 6 felony, Manier faced a sentencing range of between

six months and two and one-half years, with one year as the advisory term. I.C.

§ 35-50-2-7(b). She was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

[10] Under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), this “Court may revise a sentence

authorized by statute if, after due consideration of the trial court’s decision, the

Court finds that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense

and the character of the offender.” In performing our review, we assess “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). The principal role of such review is

to attempt to leaven the outliers. Id. at 1225. A defendant ‘“must persuade the

2 We observe that Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-4 clarifies that “register means report in person to a local law enforcement authority and provide the information required[.]”

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 5 of 6 appellate court that his or her sentence has met th[e] inappropriateness standard

of review.”’ Anglemyer, 868 N.E.2d 482, 494 (Ind. 2007) (quoting Childress v.

State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006)).

[11] As for the nature of the offense, Manier, as a sex offender, failed to report as

required by statute. As to her character, Manier has four prior felony

convictions for Solicitation (Prostitution), Child Abuse, and Child Molesting,

and one prior misdemeanor conviction for Driving While Suspended. She was

on probation at the time she committed the present offenses.

[12] Having reviewed the matter, we conclude that the trial court did not impose an

inappropriate sentence under Appellate Rule 7(B), and the sentence does not

warrant appellate revision. Accordingly, we decline to disturb the sentence

imposed by the trial court.

Conclusion [13] Sufficient evidence supports Manier’s conviction. The two-year sentence

imposed is not inappropriate.

[14] Affirmed.

Bradford, J., and Altice, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 34A02-1512-CR-2234 | May 26, 2016 Page 6 of 6