Lacey v. State

• Decision Date: 28 September 2001
• Docket Number: No. 49S00-0002-CR-111.,49S00-0002-CR-111.
• Citation: 755 N.E.2d 576
• Parties: Michael LACEY, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

755 N.E.2d 576

Michael LACEY, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49S00-0002-CR-111.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

September 28, 2001.

Eric K. Koselke, Steven G. Poore, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

Karen M. Freeman-Wilson, Attorney General of Indiana, Arthur Thaddeus Perry, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellees.

RUCKER, Justice.

In this direct appeal, Michael Lacey contends the evidence is not sufficient to sustain his conviction for felony murder and that his sixty-year sentence is manifestly unreasonable. We disagree with both contentions and therefore affirm.

Facts

In the early morning hours of May 15, 1997, Wajibu Wynn along with his sister and two others were asleep in Wynn's apartment when two armed intruders wearing dark clothing and Halloween masks broke through the front door. R. at 269. Wynn's sister was asleep on a living room couch. One of the intruders sprayed her with mace, while the other intruder pointed a "machine gun" looking weapon to her head and began dragging her to the back of the apartment. R. at 204, 271-72, 282-83. Awakened by the noise, Wynn rushed to his bedroom door and saw a man wearing a Frankenstein mask dragging his sister at gunpoint down the hallway. Wynn retrieved his handgun, fired at the man, and fatally wounded him. R. at 203, 281-82. That intruder was later identified as Guy Simpson. The other intruder fled the apartment.

A K-9 officer was called to the scene. Shortly after arrival, the officer and his dog located Lacey in a wooded area approximately 200 feet from Wynn's apartment. R. at 314, 431. He was lying on the ground among a clump of bushes. R. at 314. Five feet away, the officer found a can of mace and a Halloween mask. R. at 389, 424-25.

Lacey was charged with felony murder, burglary, and confinement. The jury convicted him as charged. At sentencing, the trial court vacated the burglary and confinement convictions and sentenced Lacey to an enhanced term of sixty years for the felony murder conviction. This direct appeal followed.

Discussion

I.

Lacey first contends the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. Pointing out that no one ever identified him as one of the assailants and no fingerprints linked him to the crime, Lacey argues the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the second intruder who broke into Wynn's apartment.¹ The standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence claims is well settled. We do not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses. Houston v. State, 730 N.E.2d 1247, 1248 (Ind. 2000). Rather, we look to the evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom that support the verdict and will affirm the conviction if there is probative evidence from which a reasonable jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. A verdict may be sustained based upon circumstantial evidence alone if that circumstantial evidence supports a reasonable inference of guilt. Id. In this case, Lacey's argument is essentially an invitation for this Court to reweigh the evidence. We decline. Evidence that he was found near Wynn's apartment in the early morning hours, apparently attempting to conceal himself among the vegetation, and in close proximity to items used by the intruders, was sufficient for the jury to conclude that Lacey was the second intruder who broke into Wynn's apartment.

II.

The trial court sentenced Lacey to an enhanced term of sixty years. In so doing the court listed as aggravating factors Lacey's criminal history and that Lacey was on bond in two other cases when he committed the crime for which he was being sentenced. The trial court also found as aggravating factors Lacey's need of correctional or rehabilitative treatment that could best be provided by his commitment to a penal facility and that a suspended sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime. In this appeal, Lacey does not challenge the trial court's findings. The trial court noted Lacey's young age as a mitigating factor, cf. Brown v. State, 720 N.E.2d 1157, 1159 (Ind.1999)

(noting a defendant's youth is a significant mitigating factor in some circumstances); however, the court concluded the aggravating factors outweighed the sole mitigating factor. Lacey does not contend there are additional mitigating factors that the trial court ignored. Rather, pointing out that he was not the triggerman and again focusing on his age, Lacey argues his sixty-year sentence is manifestly unreasonable and asks that we reduce it to the presumptive term of fifty-five years.

This Court does have the constitutional authority to review and revise sentences. See Ind. Const. art. 7, § 4. However, we will not exercise that authority unless the sentence imposed is "manifestly unreasonable in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender." Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B) (formerly App.R. 17(B)); Evans v. State, 725 N.E.2d 850, 851 (Ind.2000)...