FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
WILLIAM BYER, JR. JEFFREY A. MODISETT
Byer & Byer Attorney General of Indiana
Anderson, Indiana
KIMBERLY MACDONALD
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
JACKIE R. BROOKS, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 48A02-9706-CR-403
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
and ran. Officer Russ then ordered Brooks to stop so that he could talk with him, and Brooks
complied. When Brooks concealed his hands in his pockets, Officer Russ ordered him
several times to remove his hands from his pockets, but Brooks would not comply. Finally,
Brooks walked around the opposite side of the car from Officer Russ, and Officer Russ
observed Brooks slip an object from his pocket and drop it to the ground. Officer Russ heard
a "ping" sound on the ground where Brooks was standing as Brooks slipped the object from
his pocket. After a second police officer arrived, Officer Russ went to the location where
Brooks had been standing and found a black wallet and a small metal pipe that is commonly
used to smoke crack cocaine. Inside the wallet, Officer Russ found a small metal rod, which
is used to push crack down inside a pipe, a small screen, and a cellophane wrapper that
contained a small, white, rock-like substance, later found to be cocaine.
On February 6, 1997, the State charged Brooks with Possession of Cocaine, a Class
D Felony, and Possession of Paraphernalia, a Class B Misdemeanor. On February 13, 1997,
the Probation Department filed a Violation of Suspended Sentence alleging that Brooks
violated his probation when he committed new criminal offenses of possession of cocaine
and possession of drug paraphernalia. On March 27, 1997, after a hearing, the court found
that Brooks violated his terms of in-home detention when he possessed cocaine and drug
paraphernalia, imposing the balance of his sentence.
Indiana failed to prove that he had in fact committed any additional offenses to justify the
termination of in-home detention.
This court has analyzed the connection between community correction programs and
probation, determining the difference between the two to be insignificant. Million v. State,
646 N.E.2d 998, 1001, (Ind. Ct. App. 1995). This court held that, "a community corrections
program is an alternative to commitment to the Department of Correction and made at the
sole discretion of the trial court." Id. We further held that, "a defendant is not entitled to
serve his sentence in a community corrections program but, as with probation, placement in
the program is a 'matter of grace' and a 'conditional liberty that is a favor, not a right.'" Id.
at 1002 (quoting Gilfillen v. State, 582 N.E.2d 821, 824 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991); Perry v. State,
642 N.E.2d 536, 538 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994)). Similarly, placement in an in-home detention
program is a matter of grace and a conditional liberty that is a favor, not a right.
Furthermore, in Ashba v. State, 570 N.E.2d 937 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991), aff'd 580 N.E.2d 244,
cert. denied, 503 U.S. 1007, 112 S.Ct. 1767, 118 L.Ed.2d 428 (1992), this court construed
the probation revocation statute [Ind. Code Sec. 35-38-2-1] and held that the trial court may
revoke a defendant's probation before he enters the probationary phase of his sentence. Id.
at 939. Based upon this similarity of an in-home detention program and probation, the
standard of review for a petition for termination of in-home detention privileges is analogous
to that of a probation revocation hearing.
A probation revocation hearing is in the nature of a civil proceeding and the alleged
violation need be proven only by a preponderance of the evidence. King v. State, 642 N.E.2d
1389, 1393 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994). When the sufficiency of a factual basis is challenged, the
court on appeal neither reweighs the evidence nor rejudges the credibility of the witnesses,
but looks to the evidence most favorable to the State. Id. If there is substantial evidence of
probative value to support the trial court's decision that the probationer is guilty of any
violation, revocation of probation is appropriate. Id. Proof of any one violation is sufficient
to revoke a defendant's probation. Menifee v. State, 600 N.E.2d 967, 970 (Ind. Ct. App.
1992), clarified and reh'g denied, 605 N.E2d 1207 (1993).
Brooks argues that the State failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that
he had in fact committed any additional offenses to justify the revocation of probation.
Brooks argues that the evidence most favorable to the State does not reveal that he violated
his probation by having crack cocaine, a pipe, and other paraphernalia in his possession.
Specifically, Brooks argues a direct conflict in the arresting officer's original affidavit and
this same officer's testimony at trial as to the fact that the individual accompanying Brooks
was in the same area where the billfold and pipe were located. Additionally, Brooks argues
that testimony revealed that his wallet was in his possession at the time he was incarcerated
and booked into the Madison County Detention Center. Brooks contends that this evidence
directly contradicts the State's evidence of a billfold being found with cocaine and a push-pin
inside it belonging to Brooks.
Although mere evidence of an arrest is not sufficient to support revocation of
probation, proof at the revocation hearing that the defendant engaged in the alleged criminal
conduct or proof of the conviction thereof, is sufficient to support revocation of probation.
Gleason v. State, 634 N.E.2d 67, 68 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994). Furthermore, if the trial court,
after a hearing, finds that the arrest was reasonable and there is probable cause to believe the
defendant violated a criminal law, revocation will be sustained. Gee v. State, 454 N.E.2d
1265, 1267 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983). In the present case, the State presented sufficient evidence
showing probable cause to believe that Brooks violated a criminal law. At Brooks's
termination hearing, Officer Russ, the arresting officer, testified that when he approached
Brooks on February 5, 1997, he ran from him and attempted to conceal his hands in his
pockets. Brooks then dropped a crack pipe and a wallet containing a white, rock-like
substance from his pocket to the ground. An Anderson Police Department chemist found
that this white substance was cocaine and the pipe contained cocaine residue. The trial court
could infer from Officer Russ's testimony that the cocaine and drug paraphernalia found on
the ground belonged to Brooks, entitling the trial court to conclude that Brooks violated the
terms of his in-home detention by committing a criminal offense.
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