MEMORANDUM DECISION
Brown, Judge.
[1] Joseph Turner appeals his sentence for unlawful carrying of a handgun as a level 5 felony and claims his sentence is inappropriate. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] On the evening of June 14, 2023, Elijah Takushi, a ministerial worker at the Church of Christ in Marion County, locked the doors of the church after a service. Takushi, his wife, and a church member he was counseling remained inside the church.
[3] Rachelle Trinidad, who had attended evening services entered a van with her grandparents and observed a shirtless man, later identified as Turner, walk by with a gun in his hand. Meanwhile, Takushi observed Turner walk to the church doors on a live feed of security cameras viewable from inside his office. The video showed that Turner held a handgun in his right hand. After Turner was unable to enter the church, “he took off right away.” Transcript Volume II at 142. After leaving the church and arriving home, Takushi reviewed the video, zoomed in on the video and “was certain to identify that object as being a gun,” and called the police. Id. at 145.
[4] The State charged Turner with two counts of unlawful carrying of a handgun as level 5 felonies. At the jury trial, Takushi testified that he decided to call the police because “it did seem like a threatening incident, we did feel threatened,” and “we thought it was threatening and we dont want that happening again, especially during a worship service full of ․ brethren.” Id. at 143. The jury found Turner guilty of knowingly carrying a handgun. Turner pled guilty to the enhancements to elevate the convictions to level 5 felonies by acknowledging that he had been convicted of prior felonies.
[5] At the sentencing hearing, Turners grandmother indicated that Turners father was abusive toward him and he “just really didnt do anything for him.” Id. at 224. Turner indicated that he had a drug problem and had been part of a treatment program in the jail that provided Suboxone, which seemed to be helping him. He stated that he has three children, CPS came to see him about one of his children, and his other two children were “with their mothers.” Id. at 227. When asked if he paid support, he answered: “Well, when Im out, I help out. So I never been put on child support.” Id. He also stated: “I aint never been in a rehab before ․” Id. at 228. Upon questioning by the court, he indicated that his three children were thirteen, nine, and seven years old. He stated: “Im really honestly done getting in trouble. I swear.” Id. at 230.
[6] The court found Turners criminal history and recent violation of the conditions of any probation, parole, pardon, community corrections placement or pretrial release, as aggravating circumstances. It found that the crime neither caused nor threatened serious harm to persons or property and imprisonment would work an undue hardship on Turner or his dependents as mitigating circumstances, which it assigned minimal weight. The court stated:
My recollection of the video and my thought process when I was watching the video is that I thought that Mr. Turner look[ed] like he was quite high. I dont know that. Obviously, that wasnt part of the evidence that was in the trial, but that was my impression of somebody that was totally, I guess, whacked out isnt a proper term, but thats – that was what I saw was somebody who looked like they were under the influence of something. That couldve gone bad, like the State said, had the door been opened, but it didnt. So Im gonna give that some minimal weight.
Id. at 235. It found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances.
[7] The court vacated Count II and sentenced Turner to four years in the Department of Correction to be served consecutive to the sentences in two other cause numbers. It stated:
I am not gonna follow the States recommendation of five years. I am going to sentence you to four years. Mr. Turner, I – what Im not gonna do is Im not gonna have anything hanging over your head when you get out of DOC. What ․ Ive seen is that you struggled with probation and community corrections and other things. Youre gonna be on parole. So youre gonna have that supervision. Im not gonna put that extra burden on you. Im gonna give you four years executed. What I hope you can do is at the department of corrections that you can continue to get some sort of drug treatment, that you can enroll in classes.
* * * * *
I think you had a ․ tough childhood. I dont think that excuses, you know, what youve done. [W]hen I read your PSI, its pretty shocking to see that you apparently overdosed 40 times, and I frankly hope that four years off the streets, plus whatever other time you got, you know, added onto ․ that ․ your time in prison is gonna clean you up and when you come out, youre not gonna have this hanging over your head.
Id. at 235-236.
Discussion
[8] Turner argues that the sentence is inappropriately harsh in light of the nature of the offense and his character. He asserts that the offense was not egregious and that, while the minister testified he felt threatened when he reviewed the video, neither he nor anyone else at the church were physically harmed. He acknowledges his criminal history but points to his difficult childhood, his struggle with substance abuse for many years, and his seeking medication to treat his substance abuse disorder during his pre-trial incarceration.
[9] Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B) provides that we “may revise a sentence authorized by statute if, after due consideration of the trial courts decision, [we find] that the sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.” Under this rule, the burden is on the defendant to persuade the appellate court that his or her sentence is inappropriate. Childress v. State, 848 N.E.2d 1073, 1080 (Ind. 2006). Ind. Code § 35-50-2-6 provides that a person who commits a level 5 felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between one and six years, with the advisory sentence being three years.
[10] Our review of the nature of the offense reveals that Turner carried a handgun after committing the offense of obstruction of justice as a level 6 felony within the prior fifteen years. Our review of the character of the offender reveals that Turner pled guilty to the enhancement that made the offense a level 5 felony. The presentence investigation report (“PSI”) indicates that Turner described his family life during his childhood as “pretty rough” and stated that his father “beat him all of the time.” Appellants Appendix Volume II at 149. At the sentencing hearing, Turner reported that he had three children. The PSI indicates that Turner was employed at the time of his arrest, he had worked as a full-time laborer from 2021 to 2023, which was his longest period of employment, and that he had worked in construction most of his life. Turner has a long history of substance abuse, and he stated that he has overdosed on heroin forty times. He reported that he had never participated in substance abuse treatment but believed he would benefit from treatment.
[11] The PSI indicates that Turner, who was born in 1993, has accumulated twenty-six adult arrests; nine felony convictions, including theft, carrying a handgun without a license, and resisting law enforcement; four misdemeanor convictions; has pending charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication; and has three probation terms that had not begun. The PSI also indicates that Turners overall risk assessment score using the Indiana risk assessment tool places him in the very high risk to reoffend category. After due consideration, we conclude that Turner has not sustained his burden of establishing that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character.
[12] For the foregoing reasons, we affirm Turners sentence.
[13] Affirmed.
Memorandum Decision by Judge Brown
Judges Riley and Foley concur.
Riley, J., and Foley, J., concur.