CEJIC v. STATE (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Sava Cejic pled guilty to Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years in the Department of Correction (DOC). He now appeals, arguing that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character. We disagree and affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] The stipulated factual basis for the guilty plea is sparse, but the following facts are undisputed. On August 8, 2024, Cejic was driving a semi-truck in Highland. During a traffic stop, he fled in the truck and struck seven cars occupied by eight people. While none of the victims suffered major injuries, each experienced pain. Police were eventually able to stop Cejic and take him into custody. Cejic, who has bipolar disorder, was “delirious and confused.” Appellant's App. Vol. 2 p. 34.

[3] The State charged Cejic with eight counts of Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon, Level 6 felony resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident, and Class B misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident. The parties entered into a plea agreement under which Cejic pled guilty to one consolidated count of Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon, the State dismissed the other charges, and sentencing was left to the discretion of the trial court.

[4] In sentencing Cejic, the trial court found three aggravating circumstances: (1) Cejic's criminal history (one felony conviction, four misdemeanor convictions, many other contacts with law enforcement, and several active warrants in Illinois); (2) Cejic had recently violated the conditions of probation and pretrial release in other cases; and (3) the nature and circumstances of the crime “in that it was gruesome in the execution, heinous overall, and shocks the conscience of any reasonable person.” Tr. p. 48. The court found as a mitigating factor that incarceration will cause undue hardship for Cejic, who by then was 57 years old and suffered from congestive heart failure and chronic leukemia. Finding the aggravators to outweigh the mitigator, the court sentenced Cejic to five years in the DOC.

[5] Cejic now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

[6] Cejic asks us to revise his sentence 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).

[7] Cejic was charged with eight counts of Level 5 felony battery with a deadly weapon and several lower-level offenses. The sentencing range for a Level 5 felony is one to six years, with an advisory sentence of three years. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6(b). Therefore, Cejic faced up to 48 years on the battery charges alone. But he was allowed to plead guilty to one count, and the trial court imposed a sentence of five years, one year below the maximum. Cejic does not challenge the five-year sentence, but he argues that what remains of the sentence should be suspended to probation.

[8] As to the nature of his offense, Cejic acknowledges that he battered eight people, not just one, but he notes that he has bipolar disorder and that he was “delirious and confused” in the immediate aftermath of the incident. He contends that he “was apparently suffering from the effects of his mental illness at the time of the offense” and “it is likely that [he] could not contemporaneously appreciate the consequences of his actions as they were carried out.” Appellant's Br. p. 8. But there is no evidence in the record of his mental state before or during the incident. As the State notes, it is entirely possible that fleeing from police and crashing into seven cars caused his delirium and confusion, not the other way around.

[9] As for his character, Cejic notes that his IRAS score indicates that he presents a low risk of reoffending. He claims this conclusion is bolstered by the fact that he suffers from congestive heart failure and chronic leukemia. But his criminal history reflects poorly on his character and supports his fully executed sentence. He has a prior felony conviction, four prior misdemeanor convictions, and many other arrests and charges. He has also violated probation and pretrial release in other cases, and at the time of sentencing he had several active warrants.

[10] Cejic has not shown that his sentence is an outlier in need of revision.

[11] Affirmed.

Vaidik, Judge.

Altice, J., and Foley, J., concur.