COA upholds probation revocation, rules probationer squandered his opportunity

Holding probation is an “opportunity that can be squandered,” the Indiana Court of Appeals found a Fayette County man suffering from “poor mental health” had no one but himself to blame for the revocation of his probation.

Derek Gaddis pleaded guilty to possession of a destructive device, a Level 5 felony, and received a three-year sentence with one year executed in community corrections and two years suspended to probation.

Less than a week after his plea was accepted in January, Gaddis violated the terms of his probation by testing positive for illegal substances. As a result, he lost his community corrections placement.

Three months later, Gaddis was accused of violating the terms of his probation by attacking another inmate and severely breaking his finger. The state petitioned for a probation violation hearing based on Gaddis’ commission of a new crime, Level 3 felony aggravated battery.

The Fayette Circuit Court revoked Gaddis’ probation and ordered him to serve those two years in the Indiana Department of Correction. Gaddis appealed, arguing the trial court abused its discretion in revoking his entire term of probation without adequately considering his mental health issues.

But the Court of Appeals upheld the revocation, finding Gaddis had squandered his opportunity for probation.

Gaddis cited Patterson v. State, 659 N.E.2d 220, 222-23 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), which held a probationer’s mental state must be considered during a probation revocation proceeding.

The appellate panel responded that Gaddis was relying on an overly broad interpretation of Patterson. Specifically, the consideration of the probationer’s mental health was limited to those cases where the state alleges the probationer has violated probation by committing a new crime, and the probationer’s mental health issues affect the degree of culpability in the new crime.

“Because Gaddis did not connect his new crime to his poor mental health, the trial court was not required to consider Gaddis’s mental health during the revocation proceeding,” Judge Leanna Weissmann wrote in Derek Gaddis v. State of Indiana, 21A-CR-1362.