Kaleb Wayne Grossman, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

[1] Kaleb Wayne Grossman appeals his sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a level 4 felony and asserts that his sentence is inappropriate. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] Grossman was convicted of battery on an officer resulting in bodily injury as a level 5 felony in 2020. As a condition of placement in community corrections, Grossman was prohibited from possessing a firearm or dangerous weapon, and he agreed that he and his residence were subject to search and seizure at any time by Huntington County Community Corrections or anyone assisting them.

[3] On February 5, 2025, Justin Yohe, a field officer with Huntington County Community Corrections, conducted a search of the house where Grossman lived.¹ He searched a bedroom closet and found a bag or case, “which appeared to be a computer case (inaudible) had wheels on it,” containing a “handgun, the magazine, and extra ammunition.”² Transcript Volume II at 38. When Yohe asked Grossman about the firearm, “[a]t first he said he didn't realize ․ it was in there, [ ] and then he made a statement about maybe that was the lost one, and then right after that he said it was a violation of his Second Amendment rights.” Id. at 42.

[4] The State charged Grossman with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a level 4 felony and alleged that he was an habitual offender. A jury found Grossman guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a level 4 felony, and the court found that he was an habitual offender. The court found Grossman's criminal history and violations of probation and community corrections to be aggravating factors, and did not find any mitigating factors. The court sentenced Grossman to ten years for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a level 4 felony and enhanced the sentence by ten years based on Grossman being an habitual offender.

Discussion

[5] Grossman asserts that he “merely possessed the firearm in his home; he did not carry it or use it in any manner and was not aware the firearm was in his home” and that “[t]he nature of this offense is the least egregious imaginable for a case involving possession by a serious violent felon.” Appellant's Brief at 8. Grossman “does not dispute that he has a prior criminal history that includes violations of his community correction placements,” but argues that, “[n]evertheless, [he] dutifully served in the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard until 2013.” Id. at 9.

[6] Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that we “may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due consideration of the trial court's decision, [we find] that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.” The burden is on the defendant to persuade the appellate court that his or her sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006). Ind. Code § 35-50-2-5.5 provides that a person who commits a level 4 felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between two and twelve years with the advisory sentence being six years. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-8 provides that the court shall sentence a person found to be an habitual offender to an additional fixed term that is between eight years and twenty years for a person convicted of a level 4 felony.

[7] Our review of the nature of the offense reveals that Grossman, a serious violent felon and habitual offender, unlawfully possessed a firearm. Yohe found the firearm, magazine, and additional ammunition in a case in a bedroom closet.

[8] Our review of the character of the offender reveals that Grossman, who was born in 1990, has an extensive criminal history. The presentence investigation report (the “PSI”), in the summary of legal history, states that Grossman has five prior felony convictions, five prior misdemeanor convictions, six prior petitions to revoke probation filed, and five petitions to revoke community corrections filed. It states that he was placed in Huntington County Community Corrections under two cause numbers when he committed the instant offense. Grossman's criminal record includes convictions for public intoxication, operating a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more, operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction, resisting law enforcement, criminal trespass, carrying a handgun without a license with a prior conviction within fifteen years, and battery on an officer resulting in bodily injury. With respect to family information, the PSI states that, “when he was asked how his family feels about him getting in trouble with the law, he stated, ‘laws have become unconstitutional. We have become Nazi America.’ ” Appellant's Appendix Volume II at 101. With respect to employment, the PSI states Grossman “was last employed in 2023-2024” and, when asked “how he supports himself, he stated, ‘Huntington tax payer.’ ” Id. at 102. It states: “From 2007 to December 2013 [he] served in the United States Army and Army National Guard. He received a general discharge.” Id. It also states that, when “asked about the victim(s) in this case and how they may feel about what he did[,] he stated, ‘I'm the victim.’ ” Id. at 104. The PSI indicates that Grossman's overall risk assessment score using the Indiana risk assessment tool places him in the high risk to reoffend category. After due consideration, we conclude that Grossman has not sustained his burden of establishing that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character.

[9] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Grossman's sentence.

[10] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Yohe testified that Grossman had lived at the address, “[a]t that point, for like at least a couple of years, maybe,” that “[w]hen he first wanted to move back to the address, his mother was” living there, that “then she had a medical condition and was moved out of the residence and then [Grossman] was the only one in the residence,” and he believed that Grossman's mother moved out in the spring of 2024. Transcript Volume II at 35-36.

2.   Yohe testified that, prior to February 5, 2025, he had searched the residence “[p]obably eight or nine times,” Transcript Volume II at 36, during the prior searches he did not find any firearms, and he had “searched that bedroom multiple times.” Id. at 39.

Brown, Judge.

Bailey, J., and Weissmann, J., concur.