Anthony R. Henson, Appellant-Defendant v. State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff (2026)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Case Summary

[1] Anthony R. Henson appeals his sentence of 11 years and 11 months for Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, arguing that it is inappropriate. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On May 31, 2024, officers with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department were searching for Devin Luchauer, who was believed to be armed and dangerous. While conducting a K-9 search near Luchauer's house, officers saw Henson's car drive “back and forth” several times. Tr. p. 108. Eventually, officers saw Henson pull out of Luchauer's driveway. One of the officers stopped Henson and saw “plain as day” a shotgun on the passenger seat. Id. at 109. Henson, who was the only occupant, had a felony conviction that prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Henson told the officer that Luchauer had called him about an hour earlier and asked him to “grab a few things,” including the shotgun, from his house. Id. at 128.

[3] The State charged Henson with Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (SVF) based on his 2007 conviction for Class B felony burglary.¹ At the jury trial, Henson testified that he had picked up Luchauer, who was fleeing from the police for allegedly “killing a girl,” and drove Luchauer to his house, where Luchauer loaded some of his things, including the shotgun, into Henson's car. Id. at 156.² According to Henson, Luchauer fled on foot when he saw the police, leaving Henson alone in the car with the shotgun. Henson admitted lying to the officer when he was pulled over because he feared Luchauer. The jury found Henson guilty.

[4] At the sentencing hearing, evidence was presented about Henson's criminal and juvenile history. Henson, who by then was 39 years old, had four juvenile adjudications and had spent time at Boys School twice. As an adult, Henson had four convictions: (1) Class B felony burglary (2004); (2) Class B felony burglary (2007), which was used to establish that he was an SVF; (3) Level 6 felony maintaining a common nuisance, which was reduced to a misdemeanor (2019); and (4) Level 6 felony possession of a narcotic drug (2022). Henson has spent time in prison and on probation, and he has violated his probation several times.

[5] In addition, when Henson committed this offense, he was on pretrial release in three other cases. See Cause Nos. 47D02-2310-F5-1478 (felony burglary), 47D02-2311-F3-1554 (felony possession of methamphetamine), 53C09-2311-F4-1067 (felony burglary). And after Henson was arrested and charged in this case, he was charged with an offense that occurred in December 2023, before these events. See Cause No. 51C01-2411-F5-236 (misdemeanor theft).

[6] Henson's attorney acknowledged that Henson has a “significant criminal history.” Tr. p. 194. The trial court found two aggravators: (1) Henson's “long,” “distinguished,” and “very bad” criminal and juvenile history and (2) his failure to ever successfully complete probation. Id. at 197. The court found as a mitigator that Henson's incarceration would cause hardship to his two-year-old child but gave it little weight. The court sentenced Henson to 4,350 days— roughly 11 years and 11 months—in prison.

[7] Henson now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

[8] Henson contends that his sentence is inappropriate and asks us to revise 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 Henson to 11 years and 11 months, one month shy of the maximum. He asks us to reduce his sentence to the advisory term of 6 years.

[10] Henson claims that there is “simply nothing about this offense that makes it more egregious than exactly the conduct the legislature had in mind when it set the advisory sentence for [this offense] at six years.” Appellant's Br. p. 13. But Henson did not simply possess a firearm in the abstract. He possessed a firearm on behalf of a man he believed had killed someone and who was attempting to evade the police, and he lied to the police to hide that fact. This is not the paradigm case the legislature had in mind for the advisory sentence.

[11] But even if we found that the nature of the offense does not support Henson's near-maximum sentence, his character does. Notably, Henson makes no argument about his character and glosses over his criminal and juvenile history. As detailed above, Henson has an extensive criminal and juvenile history, has served time in Boys School and prison, has numerous probation violations, and committed this offense while on pretrial release in three other cases. Henson has failed to persuade us that his sentence is inappropriate.

[12] Affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The State charged Henson with additional offenses and being a habitual offender; however, it dismissed the additional offenses before trial and the habitual-offender enhancement at trial.

2.   It appears that the woman survived. Luchauer was charged with seven felonies but ultimately pled guilty to one: Level 5 felony intimidation. See Cause No. 47D02-2406-F3-787.

Vaidik, Judge.

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