Laker v. State

• Decision Date: 16 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 49A04-0611-CR-666.,49A04-0611-CR-666.
• Citation: 869 N.E.2d 1216
• Parties: Richard LAKER, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

869 N.E.2d 1216

Richard LAKER, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49A04-0611-CR-666.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 16, 2007.

Taffanee L. Keys, Marion County Public Defender, Indianapolis, IN, attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Gary Damon Secrest, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

ROBB, Judge.

Case Summary and Issues

Following a bench trial, Richard Laker appeals his conviction for operating a vehicle while an habitual traffic violator ("HTV") and the trial court's order that he pay restitution. Laker raises two issues, which we restate as whether sufficient evidence supports his conviction and whether the trial court abused its discretion in ordering Laker to pay restitution without determining his ability to pay. Concluding that sufficient evidence exists, we affirm Laker's conviction. However, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering Laker to pay restitution without determining his ability to pay, and reverse the trial court's restitution order and remand for the trial court to make such a determination.

Facts and Procedural History

On March 24, 2006, around 3:30 a.m., the car Laker was driving struck a vehicle driven by Dewayne Moss, who had rented the vehicle from ACE Rent A Car ("ACE"). Moss, who was not injured in the crash, exited his vehicle and saw Laker in the driver's seat of his vehicle, and another man, later identified as Marcus Allen, in the passenger's seat. Officer Chad Dailey, of the Indianapolis Police Department, arrived on the scene and saw Laker walking in the area. Laker told Officer Dailey that Allen had been driving. Officer Dailey obtained Laker's operator's license and copied information from the license onto a crash report. Officer Dailey ran Laker's information, discovered that Laker's license was suspended because of his status as an HTV,¹ and arrested Laker.

The State charged Laker with operating a motor vehicle while an HTV, a Class D felony. At trial, Moss testified that he had seen Laker in the driver's seat immediately after the accident. Laker testified that Allen had been driving because Laker did not have a valid driver's license at that time. The State introduced a certified copy of Laker's BMV record indicating that his license was suspended because of his status as an HTV, a copy of the notice of suspension mailed to the address listed in the BMV's database, and a crash report with Laker's birth date and driver's license number, which Officer Dailey testified came from the license that Laker gave him. The trial court found Laker guilty of driving while an HTV and entered judgment of conviction.

At the sentencing hearing, the State introduced documentation assembled by Khoury Alternative Claims Management ("Khoury"), a claims management company acting on behalf of ACE, indicating that ACE lost $15,162.95 because of the damage to its vehicle. The trial court sentenced Laker to 730 days, 210 executed, with the rest suspended to probation, and ordered restitution in the amount of $15,162.95 to Khoury. Laker now appeals his conviction and the restitution order.

Discussion and Decision

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Our supreme court has recently summarized the standard of review when assessing claims of insufficient evidence.

When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, appellate courts must consider only the probative evidence and reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. It is the fact-finder's role, not that of appellate courts, to assess witness credibility and weigh the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to support a conviction. To preserve this structure, when appellate courts are confronted with conflicting evidence, they must consider it most favorably to the trial court's ruling. Appellate courts affirm the conviction unless no reasonable fact-finder could find the elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It is therefore not necessary that the evidence overcome every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The evidence is sufficient if an inference may reasonably be drawn from it to support the verdict.

Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144, 146-47 (Ind.2007) (quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis in original).

"A person who operates a motor vehicle ... while the person's driving privileges are validly suspended under this [HTV] chapter ... and the person knows that the person's driving privileges are suspended ... commits a Class D felony." Ind.Code § 9-30-10-16(a). The statute also states: "Service by the bureau of notice of the suspension ... by first class mail to the person at the last address shown for the person in the bureau's records ... establishes a rebuttable presumption that the person knows that the person's driving privileges are suspended or restricted." Ind.Code § 9-30-10-16(b).

In State v. Jackson, 864 N.E.2d 431, 439 (Ind.Ct.App.2007), we held that this statute requires the State to prove "that the defendant had actual knowledge of his or her suspension based on his or her status as an HTV." Laker argues that insufficient evidence exists to prove this knowledge. We disagree.

Here, the State introduced evidence indicating that the BMV had mailed a notification of suspension to Laker at his last known address, according to the BMV's records. Such evidence establishes the rebuttable presumption that Laker knew of his HTV status. Ind.Code § 9-30-10-16(b); Jackson, 864 N.E.2d at 439. Further, Officer Dailey testified that he filled out a crash report and copied Laker's identifying information from a driver's license Laker gave to him. The information on this crash report, including Laker's date of birth and driver's license number, matches the information on the BMV driving record showing Laker's previous convictions and HTV status. Finally, Laker admitted to the judge that his license was suspended at the time of the accident.² "It is well-established that knowledge and intent may be inferred from the facts and circumstances of each case." Lykins v. State, 726 N.E.2d 1265, 1270 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000). This evidence introduced by the State constitutes sufficient evidence for a trier of fact to infer that Laker knew his license was suspended because of his HTV status.³ See Quarles v. State, 763 N.E.2d 1020, 1023 (Ind.Ct.App.2002) ("Quarles's knowledge of his suspension may be inferred from the printout of his driving record introduced into evidence which shows that these suspension notices were mailed to his last known address."); DeSantis v. State, 760 N.E.2d 641, 646 (Ind. Ct.App.2001), aff'd, 778 N.E.2d 787 (holding that copies of suspension notices mailed to defendant constitute sufficient evidence for the trier of fact to infer knowledge of the suspension).

We recognize that the State introduced similar evidence in Jackson, where we held that sufficient evidence existed to support the trial court's decision that the State had not proven knowledge. 864 N.E.2d at 439. However, Jackson is distinguishable from this case in two important aspects.

First, in Jackson, the trier of fact found the defendant not guilty. Under our standard of review, we would not have reversed the trial court unless its judgment "was unsupported by the evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom." Id. We found that sufficient evidence supported the trial court's judgment and noted that although the State had presented sufficient evidence to satisfy the statutory presumption of knowledge, "the trier of fact is not compelled to find the presumed fact.... The jury is free to accept the presumption or not, just as it is free to do with other evidence." Id. Because the trial court was not required to accept the presumption, and because sufficient evidence existed to support the trial court's judgment that the defendant was not guilty, we affirmed. Here, on the other hand, the trial court found Laker guilty. Therefore, the issue in this case is not whether sufficient evidence was introduced to rebut the presumption of knowledge, as it was in Jackson, but instead is whether sufficient evidence exists to support a finding that Laker knew of his status as an HTV.⁴ This distinction is important given the great deference appellate courts afford the trier of fact's factual determinations.

Second, the defendant in Jackson introduced evidence that he was not aware of his status as an HTV, including evidence that the defendant was no longer living at the address in the BMV's system, and testimony that the BMV instructs the post office to not forward HTV notifications. Id. Laker did not introduce such evidence, and therefore failed to rebut the statutory presumption that arose when the State introduced evidence that the BMV had mailed notice of Laker's suspension to his last known address.

We conclude that sufficient evidence exists to support a finding that Laker was driving while he knew his license was suspended because of his status as an HTV.

II. Restitution Order

As a condition of Laker's probation,⁵ the trial court ordered Laker to pay $15,162.95 to Khoury. The State argues that Laker has waived any complaint he has regarding this order as he did not object to it at the time it was entered. However, "the issue of whether a trial court has exceeded its authority in ordering restitution may be raised for the first time on appeal." Rumple v. State, 529 N.E.2d 861, 864 (Ind.Ct.App.1988), trans. denied (citing People v. Evans, 122 Ill. App.3d 733, 78 Ill.Dec. 50, 461 N.E.2d 634 (1984)). "Because the trial court ordered restitution as part of [Laker's] sentence, we treat this question like any other claim that a trial court has violated its statutory authority in imposing sentence, which amounts to fundamental error, and which may be raised for the first time on appeal." Green v. State, 811 N.E.2d 874, 877 (Ind. Ct.App.2004). Laker has not waived this issue, and we will address...