Zachary D. Reinders v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: July 31, 2015
• Docket: 02A04-1501-CR-12
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Jul 31 2015, 10:06 am 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 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE John C. Bohdan Gregory F. Zoeller Deputy Public Defender Attorney General of Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana J.T. Whitehead Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Zachary D. Reinders, July 31, 2015

Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 02A04-1501-CR-12 v. Appeal from the Allen Superior Court; The Honorable John F. Surbeck, Jr., State of Indiana, Judge; Appellee-Plaintiff. 02D05-1408-MR-4

May, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 1 of 6 [1] Zachary D. Reinders appeals his seventy-year aggregate sentence for murder 1

and Level 2 felony robbery. 2 We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] On August 8, 2014, Reinders killed seventy-eight year old Diane Woods in her

home by beating and stabbing her multiple times with a fire poker. Reinders

stole Woods’ television and wallet. He then convinced a friend to take a credit

card from Woods’ wallet and purchase video games and other personal items

with it. Reinders threw Woods’ wallet in the trash behind his mother’s house.

The police found a pair of Reinders’ shoes with Woods’ blood on them.

[3] On August 22, 2014, the State charged Reinders with murder, felony murder, 3

and Level 2 felony robbery. On October 31, 2014, Reinders entered guilty pleas

to all counts, in exchange for the State’s agreement not to seek life

imprisonment. On December 15, after a sentencing hearing, the trial court

sentenced Reinders to sixty years for murder, 4 to be served consecutive to a ten

year sentence for Level 2 felony robbery, for an aggregate sentence of seventy

years.

1 Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1(1) (2014). 2 Ind. Code § 35-42-5-1 (2014). 3 Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1(3) (2014). 4 The trial court merged the counts of murder and felony murder.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 2 of 6 Discussion and Decision Abuse of Discretion

[4] When the trial court imposes a sentence within the statutory range, we review

for an abuse of discretion. Anglemyer v. State, 868 N.E.2d 482, 490 (Ind. 2007),

clarified on reh’g, 875 N.E.2d 218 (Ind. 2007). We may reverse a decision that is

“clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the

court, or the reasonable, probable, and actual deductions to be drawn

therefrom.” Id. (quoting In re L.J.M., 473 N.E.2d 637, 640 (Ind. Ct. App.

1985)).

[5] Our review of the trial court’s exercise of discretion in sentencing includes an

examination of its reasons for imposing the sentence. Id. “This necessarily

requires a statement of facts, in some detail, which are peculiar to the particular

defendant and the crime . . . [and] such facts must have support in the record.”

Id. The trial court is not required to find mitigating factors or give them the

same weight that the defendant does. Flickner v. State, 908 N.E.2d 270, 273

(Ind. Ct. App. 2009). However, a court abuses its discretion if it does not

consider significant mitigators advanced by the defendant and clearly supported

by the record. Anglemyer, 868 N.E.2d at 490. Once aggravators and mitigators

have been identified, the trial court has no obligation to weigh those factors

against each other. Id. at 491.

[6] Reinders argues the trial court did not give enough mitigating weight to his

guilty plea. During sentencing, the trial court noted:

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 3 of 6 He entered a plea of guilty and accepted responsibility. I think there’s been some note perhaps about a hardship to the family. I’m not particularly focused upon and I can’t find that the impact on the Defendant’s family is anything beyond that suffered by the family of a person who commits a crime, especially an aggregious [sic] crime such as this. (Tr. at 24-25.) The trial court was not required to give his plea substantial

mitigating weight when Reinders’ accepted responsibility after the State

gathered strong evidence to link him to the crime. See Flickner, 908 N.E.2d at

273 (court is not required to accept defendant’s arguments as to the weight of a

mitigating factor). We find no abuse of discretion.

Inappropriate Sentence

We may revise a sentence if it is inappropriate in light of the nature of the

offense and the character of the offender. Williams v. State, 891 N.E. 2d 621,

633 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (citing Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B)). We consider not

only the aggravators and mitigators found by the trial court, but also any other

factors appearing in the record. Roney v. State, 872 N.E.2d 192, 206 (Ind. Ct.

App. 2007), trans. denied. The appellant bears the burden of demonstrating his

sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006).

[7] When considering the nature of the offense, the advisory sentence is the starting

point to determine the appropriateness of a sentence. Anglemyer, 868 N.E.2d at

494. The advisory sentence for murder is fifty-five years with a sentencing

range of forty-five to sixty-five years. The advisory sentence for the Level 2

felony is seventeen and one-half years, with a sentencing range of ten to thirty

years. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-4.5. The trial court pronounced an aggregate

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 4 of 6 sentence of seventy years; sixty years for murder and ten years for Level 2

felony robbery.

[8] One factor we consider when determining the appropriateness of a deviation

from the advisory sentence is whether there is anything more or less egregious

about the offense committed by the defendant that makes it different from the

“typical” offense accounted for by the legislature when it set the advisory

sentence. Rich v. State, 890 N.E.2d 44, 54 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied.

Reinders attacked Woods, a seventy-eight year old woman whom he

outweighed by about one hundred pounds. He beat Woods to death with a fire

poker. Marks on Woods’ hands indicated she attempted to defend herself.

While Woods lay dying, Reinders took her credit card and bought video games

and other personal items. Based on the nature of the offense, we cannot say

Reinders’ sentence is inappropriate.

[9] When considering the character of the offender, one relevant fact is the

defendant’s criminal history. Rutherford v. State, 866 N.E.2d 867, 874 (Ind. Ct.

App. 2007). The significance of a criminal history in assessing a defendant’s

character varies based on the gravity, nature, and number of prior offenses in

relation to the current offense. Id. Reinders had adjudications as a juvenile that

would have been felonies if committed by an adult as well as three

misdemeanor convictions as an adult. Based on Reinders’ character, we cannot

say his sentence is inappropriate.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 5 of 6 Conclusion [10] The trial court did not abuse its discretion when sentencing Reinders, nor was

his sentence inappropriate in light of his character and the nature of his crime.

Accordingly, we affirm.

[11] Affirmed.

Robb, J., and Mathias, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 02A04-1501-CR-12 | July 31, 2015 Page 6 of 6