Rodriguez v. State, 49A02-0207-CR-549.

Citation785 N.E.2d 1169
Decision Date07 April 2003
Docket NumberNo. 49A02-0207-CR-549.,49A02-0207-CR-549.
PartiesAaron RODRIGUEZ, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
CourtCourt of Appeals of Indiana

Jerry T. Drook, Carmel, IN, for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Christopher L. Lafuse, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, for Appellee.

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant, Aaron Rodriguez (Rodriguez), appeals the sentence imposed on him by the trial court.

We reverse and remand for resentencing.1

ISSUES

Rodriguez raises two issues on review, which we restate as follows:

1. Whether the trial court properly evaluated his aggravating and mitigating factors when it imposed an enhanced sentence.

2. Whether the trial court imposed a manifestly unreasonable sentence.2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On September 8, 2001, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Indianapolis Police officers were dispatched to a personal injury accident on East Raymond Street at the I-65 northbound exit ramp involving a teal colored Honda Civic and a brown, full sized Ford truck. Dispatch advised the officers that a person was possibly trapped in one of the vehicles. Officer Sparks, a South District Accident Investigator, arrived on the scene and observed a teal colored Honda Civic on the eastern median of the intersection with severe damage to the driver's side. Then, he saw a brown Ford F-250 pickup truck on the western median of the intersection.

Officer Sparks identified the driver of the Honda Civic as Kristi Broughton (Broughton) and the driver of the Ford truck as Rodriguez. Broughton was extricated from her vehicle by the Indianapolis Fire Department and transported to Wishard Memorial Hospital in extremely critical condition. Officer Sparks attempted to speak to Rodriguez, but was unable to do so due to the fact that Rodriguez spoke little or no English. At this time, a Spanish-speaking officer was requested.

Detective Alan Leinberger (Leinberger) responded to the scene as the Spanish translator. Upon his arrival, Leinberger spoke with Rodriguez. Leinberger observed that Rodriguez's balance was unsteady, his eyes were bloodshot, his manual dexterity was poor, and his speech was slow and slurred. Leinberger also smelled the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from Rodriguez's breath. At this time, Leinberger advised Rodriguez of his Miranda rights, to which Rodriguez stated that he understood. Leinberger then proceeded to ask Rodriguez what happened.

Rodriguez stated that he was driving his employer's truck and was traveling eastbound on East Raymond Street towards the intersection of the I-65 northbound exit ramp. First, he stated that the automatic traffic light was green and then he stated that it was yellow. Rodriguez continued through the intersection and collided with Broughton. He thought that he was only going between thirty and thirty-five miles per hour. Leinberger asked Rodriguez if he consumed any alcoholic beverages on this day of the accident. Rodriguez claimed that he drank two beers at approximately 7:00 a.m. and some water.

Based on this information, Leinberger asked Rodriguez to submit to field sobriety tests and Rodriguez agreed. Leinberger administered the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, the One-Leg-Stand, and the Nine-Step Walk and Turn. Rodriguez failed all three tests. Leinberger informed Rodriguez of the Indiana implied consent law and asked him to submit to a blood draw. Rodriguez agreed to take a blood test.

Leinberger transported Rodriguez to Wishard Memorial Hospital where a registered nurse performed the blood draw. During the testing, Leinberger was informed that Broughton died as a result of the injuries that she sustained from the crash. On September 10, 2001, Leinberger received notification from the Marion County Crime Lab that the analysis Rodriguez's blood indicated that the blood alcohol content was 0.25% weight/volume.

Leinberger also talked to witnesses about the accident. The witnesses reported that Rodriguez disregarded the traffic light while going eastbound and collided with Broughton's vehicle.

On September 12, 2001, the State filed an information against Rodriguez charging him with Count I, operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, a Class C felony, Ind.Code § 9-30-5-5; Count II, operating a vehicle with .08 or more alcohol in the blood causing death, a Class C felony, I.C. § 9-30-5-5; and Count III, reckless homicide, a Class C felony, I.C. § 35-42-1-5. On May 24, 2002, Rodriguez filed a plea agreement.

On June 14, 2002, a guilty plea hearing was held and Rodriguez pled guilty to Count I, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death. The plea agreement provided that in exchange for Rodriguez's plea of guilty on Count I, the remaining charges, Counts II and III, would be dismissed. The plea agreement also stated that the State and Rodriguez were free to argue to the trial court for an appropriate sentence. The trial court found that Rodriguez understood his rights and knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights. Therefore, the trial court accepted the guilty plea and the terms of the plea agreement and entered a judgment of conviction on Count I.

Thereafter, the trial court conducted the sentencing hearing. After considering the Pre-Sentence Investigation report and all of the evidence presented, the trial court imposed, in pertinent part, the following sentence:

Let me first extend my condolences to the family. Everyone talked a lot about Kristi Broughton's short life but I think she lived about three lifetimes in that time. .... She was a very giving person I think. Sometimes I think I am busy with my job and family and balancing all of that but I was very impressed. I think that it is something she would leave for all of you to remember. Not just to make everyday count, I think she was probably a person who made every minute count is what it sounds like. That is an important lesson for everybody to remember as they go forth from here. Part of me, I will just speak honestly and probably more from my heart than from any law book at this point. Part of me feels that I can't impose the "best" sentence because I don't think the legislature has done a very good job with this crime. I think that you are in a unique position, having a pretty powerful, potentially after November even more powerful legislator in your family. I would encourage you to work towards that end to consider that, as a means of providing some meaning to what has happened to you.
I am also confronted though with the difficult situation because I don't know that the law affords me the opportunity to punish Mr. Rodriguez more severely because of the exceptional person that Kristi was. No one had to prove to me today, the value that she brought to all of you, the love, the tenderness, the caring and the significance of her life. None of that is lost on me, believe me and none of your pain is either. I am a wife, I am a mom, I am a sister, I am a daughter, I hope I am a friend to many people and so I feel that pain. Her circle is ever widening[,] I think and probably goes out into the hall. But I am not sure that the prosecution was correct in saying that I could [ ] punish him more because of who she was. The punishment is for the act and the act has enough components of itself for me to consider. So, I say this, in a way I feel largely irrelevant up here. Nothing I do can really make much difference, can it? Except I suppose to give you a sense of value but I am not sure that the law really affords me that opportunity.
I say that for this reason, there are significant mitigators and I will start with those. .... I usually[,] since it is the Defendant who is being sentenced, let them go first and let the victim hear what they have to say to respond. I hope, as much as it must be hard for you in your hearts and minds, I hope you can accept that I accept Mr. Rodriguez's remorse as genuine. Also I think he lives with the knowledge that in a criminal way, albeit not intentionally, but criminally, recklessly, thoughtlessly, selfishly, he killed someone. I think he knows too the value of that person. If it had been someone in his family, there probably wouldn't be a courtroom full of people because they probably don't know as many people, nor are there many people in our community who were like Kristi, that could engender this much response. I do accept his remorse as genuine. I also accept that he has accepted responsibility for what he has done. He does not have a prior criminal history that is known to the Court. He did have prior stable employment as he tried to make his way in our country.
There is however, I think also some significant aggravation. The one fact that screams for higher aggravation is the blood alcohol content level. We aren't dealing with somebody who had one too many. We are dealing with somebody who could well have had ten or twelve too many. I don't know the math. The witnesses were all clear on whose fault the collision was. What we had here was somebody who went out on a binge and decided to drive and took a very precious life in that process. The time of day is of concern to me. The length of time that the alcohol was consumed. The job that I have is to balance those. While there is significant mitigation, the statutory aggravator about imposition of a reduced sentence, I think is appropriate to consider as the defense has asked for the presumptive or a mitigated sentence.
The Court finds the most significant aggravator is the blood alcohol content. I think there is an appropriate, probably the most significant justice or the most significant factor that I can look at in the evaluation of justice in the case is to consider that while Mr. Rodriguez's family will suffer for four years, he will be returned to them at the end of that time. To be fair, that is nothing compared to what Ms. Broughton's family has to endure. I struggled
...

To continue reading

Request your trial
38 cases
  • Wessling v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • 21 d5 Novembro d5 2003
    ...was appropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. See App. R. 7(B); Rodriguez v. State, 785 N.E.2d 1169, 1174 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). In the present case, Wessling received a six years sentence for his conviction. The presumptive sentence for a Class C felo......
  • Bryant v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • 29 d4 Janeiro d4 2004
    ...focus on the presumptive sentence that may be imposed following a conviction for a particular class of felony. Rodriguez v. State, 785 N.E.2d 1169, 1179 (Ind.Ct. App.2003), trans. In essence, Bryant argues that his sentence is inappropriate because he was not among the worst of offenders. A......
  • White v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • 3 d3 Maio d3 2006
    ...reversed only for abuse of discretion. Hayden v. State, 830 N.E.2d 923, 928 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. In Rodriguez v. State, 785 N.E.2d 1169, 1179 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. denied, we held that when considering the appropriateness of the sentence for the crime committed, courts shou......
  • Anglemyer v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • 20 d4 Abril d4 2006
    ...826 N.E.2d 635, 636 (Ind.2005). These changes were implemented in an effort to produce more uniform sentences. See Rodriguez v. State, 785 N.E.2d 1169, 1175 (Ind.Ct.App.2003), trans. However, in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) the Supreme Court re......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT