CROCKETT v. STATE (2025)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Antoine Lamar Crockett contends his 10-year sentence for Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon is inappropriate. We disagree and affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] In May 2021, Crockett was on probation for a Level 6 felony domestic-battery conviction in Marion County. See Cause No. 49D21-2009-F6-28768. That same month, Crockett was arrested and charged in the present case with Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (based on a prior felony conviction for criminal confinement) and three drug offenses in Henry County.

[3] The next month, the State filed a notice of probation violation in the Marion County case, alleging that Crockett violated his probation by committing the Henry County offenses. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

[4] In August, while the warrant was still outstanding, Crockett and the State entered into a plea agreement in this case under which Crockett would plead guilty to the unlawful-possession charge, the State would dismiss the other charges, and sentencing would be left to the discretion of the trial court. The court accepted the plea agreement and noted that although Crockett had been approved for placement at House of Hope in Anderson, he needed to take care of the warrant first. The court said it would arrange for Crockett to be transported to Marion County and that sentencing in this case would be held later. The court told Crockett that if Marion County released him without returning him to Henry County, he needed to contact his attorney within 48 hours. And if he didn't, the court warned him that his placement at House of Hope was in jeopardy: “if something happens, you're released or you have any other new charges or anything happens or you're picked up, then we're going to have an issue with respect to what's going to happen on the sentence.” Tr. p. 8. Crockett said he understood.

[5] Once back in Marion County, Crockett admitted that he violated his probation and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 275 days on community corrections home detention. Crockett was discharged from community corrections in February 2022. Marion County, however, didn't return him to Henry County. Instead, later that month, Crockett was arrested and charged with Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (based on prior felony convictions for criminal confinement and burglary) and four other offenses in LaPorte County. He later pled guilty to unlawful possession and was sentenced to three years in prison in September 2022. See Cause No. 46D01-2202-F4-231. Then, in September 2024, Crockett was arrested and charged with Level 6 felony domestic battery and Level 6 felony intimidation in St. Joseph County. He later pled guilty to intimidation and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in December 2024. See Cause No. 71D03-2409-F6-1032.

[6] Sentencing in this case was held in March 2025, almost four years after Crockett pled guilty. Crockett was serving his two-and-a-half-year prison sentence at the time. Crockett, who said he had addiction and mental-health issues, testified that after he finished serving his prison sentence, he would like to go to House of Hope to serve his sentence in this case, as they had originally agreed. The trial court said no:

[B]y my count from the pre-sentence investigation report I count at least nine (9) prior felony convictions. I think a couple cases as well ․ you received A misdemeanor treatment on an original felony charge. I counted at least five (5) different circumstances where there was some type of violation of either probation or some other suspended sentence. You have been convicted of a gun charge to Federal Court, went to Federal prison. You have been convicted of a state gun charge and went to the department of correction. I do recall when we worked out the release in this case, I think at that time [the State] agreed to let you be released so you could go to Marion County and get things taken care of so we could look at that trying to get you to House of Hope. Then after that release you had been arrested in LaPorte County for the possession of a firearm and you had the arrest and conviction in St. Joseph County for the intimidation charge. So, my thought was when I authorized the release that when you showed up at Marion County it was going to be that Marion County and you come right back here, but at some point, you went up to Northern Indiana and accumulated two (2) new cases, two (2) new convictions and two (2) new sentences to the department of correction. I think that agreement that we all kind of felt was in place I don't think you lived up to your end of that agreement, because you did go get arrested at least two (2) other times and convicted two (2) other times.

Tr. p. 20. The court sentenced Crockett to 10 years in prison but offered him a chance to have his sentence reduced after serving 5 years if he successfully completed Recovery While Incarcerated or Purposeful Incarceration in prison.

[7] Crockett now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

[8] Crockett contends that his 10-year sentence is inappropriate and asks us to reduce it under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), which provides that an appellate court “may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due consideration of the trial court's decision, the court finds that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.” The court's role under Rule 7(B) is to “leaven the outliers,” and “we reserve our 7(B) authority for exceptional cases.” Faith v. State, 131 N.E.3d 158, 160 (Ind. 2019). “Whether a sentence is inappropriate ultimately turns on the culpability of the defendant, the severity of the crime, the damage done to others, and a myriad of other factors that come to light in a given case.” Thompson v. State, 5 N.E.3d 383, 391 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (citing Cardwell v. State, 895 N.E.2d 1219, 1224 (Ind. 2008)). Because we generally defer to the judgment of trial courts in sentencing matters, defendants must persuade us that their sentences are inappropriate. Schaaf v. State, 54 N.E.3d 1041, 1044-45 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

[9] The sentencing range for a Level 4 felony is 2 to 12 years, with an advisory sentence of 6 years. See Ind. Code § 35-50-2-5.5. The trial court sentenced Crockett to an above-advisory term of 10 years.

[10] Crockett claims that the nature of his unlawful-possession conviction is “unremarkable.” Appellant's Br. p. 9. Even so, his character easily supports his sentence. Although Crockett acknowledges that he has “a prior criminal history that includes violations of probation and parole,” id. at 8, he doesn't acknowledge the details of his criminal history or how things played out here. According to the trial court's count, which Crockett doesn't dispute, he has nine felony convictions, including a couple of gun offenses. More importantly, Crockett, who was on probation when he committed the offense in this case, was allowed to return to Marion County to take care of his probation-violation case before being sentenced in this case. But after finishing his Marion County sentence, Crockett did not return to Henry County as agreed. Instead, he went to northern Indiana and committed two more felonies—all before returning to Henry County to be sentenced in this case. Even considering that Crockett pled guilty in this case and has struggled with mental health and addiction, he has failed to persuade us that his 10-year sentence is inappropriate. We therefore affirm the trial court.

[11] Affirmed.

Vaidik, Judge.

Tavitas, J., and Felix, J., concur.