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State v. Mitchell5/10/2005
I. Facts
This case arises from the Defendant's guilty pleas in two separate cases. The Defendant pled guilty to burglary of an automobile and theft of property over $500.00, in case number 5504, and he pled guilty to possession of a schedule IV controlled substance, in case number 5505. At the guilty plea submission hearing on both cases 5504 and 5505, the State offered a statement of facts, to which the Defendant agreed. According to the facts presented, Sergeant Christopher Halfacre, of the Livingston Police Department, was leaving the hospital and walking to his truck when he witnessed the Defendant removing items from Sergeant Halfacre's truck. Sergeant Halfacre found the Defendant with bolt cutters in one hand and a chain in the other, both of which the Defendant had removed from the sergeant's truck. Sergeant Halfacre called the police, and, when the police searched the Defendant pursuant to the arrest, they found six pills of Diazepam, or Valium, a schedule IV controlled substance. The plea agreement provided that the sentences in case 5504 would run concurrently with the sentence in case 5505, but the duration of the sentences and whether the two sentences in case 5504 would run concurrently or consecutively, were to be decided by the trial court after a sentencing hearing. The Defendant filed a motion for recusal of the trial court judge, which the trial court denied.
The sentencing hearing was conducted on portions of four dates: November 25, 2003; January 21, 2004; February 26, 2004; and March 5, 2004. At the sentencing hearing, the following evidence was presented: Brendia King testified that she is the probation and parole officer who prepared the Defendant's pre-sentence report. She testified that, Sergeant Halfacre, the victim, objected to the Defendant's being placed on house arrest. King noted that the Defendant's conduct neither threatened nor caused seriously bodily injury. She also said that she found two enhancing factors present in the Defendant's case, namely, that the Defendant has an extensive prior record of criminal convictions and behavior, and the Defendant has a history of unwillingness to comply with the conditions of a sentence involving release into the community. King explained that the Defendant previously had his probation in Tennessee revoked and, separately, had his federal probation revoked. She recounted that the Defendant has numerous adult convictions and two juvenile DUI convictions. She said that the Defendant advised her of numerous health problems, including tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, hepatitis C, degenerative disc disorder, anti-social personality disorder, and anxiety disorder. The Defendant also provided King with documentation of two prescriptions for Hydrocodone and Diazapam, and he informed King that he was prescribed other medications as well. King testified that the Defendant told her that he had been through alcohol and drug treatment on two previous occasions. King also said that the Defendant admitted to her that he had smoked marijuana a few weeks before the interview, and he had previously taken Tylox, a prescription painkiller, without a prescription. King said that the Defendant reported that he is currently unemployed, and he has applied for social security disability assistance, but he has not yet begun to receive it.
On cross-examination, King admitted that, subsequent to her investigation, she received a copy of a letter from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") stating that the Defendant was entitled to disability benefits. She testified that the SSA letter stated the SSA investigation found that the Defendant suffered from the conditions he reported. King affirmed that
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