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Published by the Indiana Office of Court Services

White v. State, No. 15A01-1008-CR-463, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Mar. 9, 2011)

March 11, 2011 Filed Under: Criminal Tagged With: Appeals, J. Baker

BAKER, J.
Here, the charging information alleged that White had amassed the following convictions in Nebraska: (1) burglary and arson on August 18, 1998; and (2) theft by unlawful taking on October 10, 1999. It is undisputed that White was born on October 11, 1981. The burglary and arson were alleged to have been committed on March 11, 1997, meaning that at the time he committed those offenses, White was only fifteen years old.
Although the documents from Nebraska appear to show that White was tried and convicted in adult court, there was no evidence introduced to establish those facts. We do not know how Nebraska delineates between adult convictions and juvenile adjudications in its judicial documents, and the State neglected to introduce evidence to that effect. It may, in fact, be the case that White was tried and convicted as an adult for an act he committed at the age of fifteen, but it was the State’s burden to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt, and it failed to do so. Consequently, we find that the evidence is insufficient to support the habitual offender finding and direct the trial court to vacate the finding and the sentence enhancement thereon.
VAIDIK, J., and BARNES, J., concur.

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