Rowe v. State

813 N.E.2d 1232, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 1713, 2004 WL 1908300
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided August 27, 2004·No. 76A03-0312-CR-503·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

OPINION

MAY, Judge.

Jennings Aaron Rowe appeals his conviction of failure to return to lawful detention, a Class D felony. 1 He questions whether the evidence was sufficient to prove he failed to return to lawful detention. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 30, 2001, the trial court sentenced Rowe to one hundred eighty days imprisonment for being an habitual traffic violator, a Class D felony. 2 The court explained that despite Rowe's reason for driving, 3 the court had no choice but to sentence him to 180 days executed because Rowe had been on probation when he committed the offense. The court gave Rowe credit for five days of pre-sentence incarceration.

Rowe, his counsel, and the trial court then discussed whether the court might stay execution of Rowe's sentence so Rowe could work over the summer. Counsel explained Rowe's construction job required him to stay in other cities, which would not be possible even if he were placed on work release during his sentence. The trial court agreed to suspend execution, and the sentencing order provided: "Defendant is remanded to the custody of the Sheriff of Steuben County, Indiana for execution of the judgment of conviction and sentencing order of this Court, effective October 1, 2001 at 9:00 a.m." (Exhibits at 7.)

On September 30, 2001, Rowe called the county jail and requested an extension of his stay of sentence because he was working out of town and "there was no way I could make this." (Tr. at 64.) An extension was denied, and Rowe was told to report to the jail as instructed. Rowe did not surrender himself to the Sheriff on October Ist. Rather, he went to work that day. Eventually, an arrest warrant was issued and Rowe was taken into custody.

On December 18, 2001, the State charged Rowe with failure to return to lawful detention. A jury found Rowe guilty. The trial court gave Rowe a three-year sentence, with two years suspended to probation and one year to be served on work release or through community corrections.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Rowe contends the evidence was insufficient to convict him of failure to return to lawful detention. Our standard of review for claims of insufficient evidence is well settled. We must affirm a convietion unless no reasonable fact-finder could have found the evidence proved the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Winn v. State, 748 N.E.2d 352, 357 (Ind.2001). When making our determination, *1234 we must view the evidence and the inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the verdict, and we may neither reweigh the evidence nor reassess the credibility of the witnesses. Id.

Failure to return to lawful detention occurs when "[al person ... knowingly or intentionally fails to return to lawful detention following temporary leave granted for a specified purpose or limited period." Ind.Code § 35-44-3-5(c). The legislature has defined "lawful detention" as:

(1) arrest;
(2) custody following surrender in lieu of arrest;
(8) detention in a penal facility;
(4) detention in a facility for eustody of persons alleged or found to be delinquent children;
(5) detention under a law authorizing civil commitment in leu of eriminal proceedings or authorizing such detention while criminal proceedings are held in abeyance;
(6) detention for extradition or deportation;
(7) placement in a community corrections program's residential facility;
(8) electronic monitoring;
(9) custody for purposes incident to any of the above including transportation, medical diagnosis or treatment, court appearances, work, or recreation; or
(10) any other detention for law enforcement purposes.

Ind.Code § 85-41-1-18(a).

Rowe claims he was never lawfully detained after he was sentenced, and therefore there was no lawful detention to which he failed to return. His argument is original and intriguing, but in the end, it fails.

To decide Rowe's question, we must interpret the statute defining "lawful detention." The interpretation of a statute, which is a question of law, is reserved for the courts Anglin v. State, 787 N.E.2d 1012, 1016 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. demied. Our objective when construing a statute is to give effect to the intent of the legislature. Id. We must give words their common and ordinary meaning, while examining the statute as a whole. Id. "We presume the legislature intended the language to be applied in a logical manner consistent with the statute's underlying policy and goals." Id.

In Anglin, a defendant was in court for his sentencing hearing. The court sentenced him to one year in jail and one year on probation. "At the end of the sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered Anglin to wait in the hall for the transport officer from the Sheriff's Department to come and pick him up." Id. at 1015. Instead of waiting in the hall, Anglin left. He was later arrested and charged with escape. He was convicted and he appealed, claiming the evidence was insufficient to prove he fled from "lawful detention." In affirming his conviction, we explained:

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Rowe v. State, 813 N.E.2d 1232, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 1713, 2004 WL 1908300 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

813 N.E.2d 1232 (Rowe v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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