JESSEE v. STATE (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Joshua Dewayne Jessee appeals his sentence following the Ripley Superior Court's revocation of his probation. Jessee presents a single issue for our review, namely, whether the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered him to serve his previously suspended sentence in the Department of Correction.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] In 2018, Jessee pleaded guilty, under four case numbers, to Level 5 felony domestic battery with a victim less than fourteen (his daughter) and a habitual offender enhancement; Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement; Level 6 felony domestic battery; and Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy. Pursuant to his plea agreement, the trial court sentenced Jessee to an aggregate term of seventeen years with ten years suspended to probation.

[4] In February 2023, Jessee started his probation. But in December and again in February 2024, Jessee tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and THC. The State filed a petition to revoke his probation, and the trial court issued a warrant for his arrest. Jessee did not turn himself in. In October, Jessee gave a false name to an Ohio law enforcement officer to avoid arrest. He was convicted in Ohio of misdemeanor obstructing official business. Then, in accordance with his Indiana warrant, he was transported to the Ripley County Jail.

[5] At a hearing on the State's petition to revoke his probation, Jessee admitted to violating the terms of his probation by twice testing positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and THC, and to having committed the Ohio offense of obstructing official business. The trial court revoked his probation and imposed his entire suspended sentence. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

[6] Jessee appeals the trial court's order that he serve his previously suspended sentence in the Department of Correction. As our Supreme Court has explained:

Probation is a matter of grace left to trial court discretion, not a right to which a criminal defendant is entitled. It is within the discretion of the trial court to determine probation conditions and to revoke probation if the conditions are violated. In appeals from trial court probation violation determinations and sanctions, we review for abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion occurs where the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances or when the trial court misinterprets the law ․

Probation revocation is a two-step process. First, the trial court must make a factual determination that a violation of a condition of probation actually occurred. Second, if a violation is found, then the trial court must determine the appropriate sanctions for the violation.

Heaton v. State, 984 N.E.2d 614, 616 (Ind. 2013) (cleaned up).

[7] Jessee does not challenge the revocation of his probation. Instead, he argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered him to serve his previously suspended sentence. In support, Jessee points to the evidence that he is a valued employee at his job and he has the support of his family.

[8] Jessee's argument on this issue is simply a request for our Court to reweigh the evidence, which we will not do. In sentencing Jessee, the trial court noted that his assault on his daughter was videorecorded and depicted Jessee threatening to “beat [her] f***ing brains in[.]” Tr. p. 46. The trial court also noted that Jessee has a history of violating the terms of his probation “multiple” times and that he had failed to register as a sex offender. Id. at 47. The court stated that Jessee had been given “chance, after chance, after chance” and that it was “done with chances.” Id. at 48.

[9] Considering only the evidence most favorable to the trial court's judgment, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered Jessee to serve his previously suspended sentence in the Department of Correction.

[10] Affirmed.

Mathias, Judge.

Foley, J., and Felix, J., concur.