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Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: PAUL D. STANKO Appellate Public Defender Crown Point, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana MONIKA PREKOPA TALBOT Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
ALONZO C. KIRKWOOD, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 45A04-0604-CR-208

APPEAL FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Richard J. Conroy, Judge Cause No. 45G03-9503-CF-67

November 17, 2006

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

NAJAM, Judge

STATEMENT OF THE CASE Alonzo Kirkwood appeals his sentence following his conviction for Robbery, as a Class A felony, pursuant to a plea agreement. He presents a single issue for our review, namely, whether the trial court abused its discretion when it identified and weighed aggravators and mitigators and imposed an enhanced sentence. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On February 25, 1995, Kirkwood attacked and robbed Diana Goodman. Kirkwood struck Goodman on the head "with a claw hammer at least twelve times." Appellant's App. at 72. And Kirkwood took money and prescription medication from Goodman. The State charged Kirkwood with attempted murder, robbery, as a Class A felony, and being an habitual offender. On March 5, 1996, Kirkwood entered into a plea agreement with the State whereby he pleaded guilty to robbery, as a Class A felony, and the State dismissed the attempted murder and habitual offender charges. The plea agreement left sentencing open to the trial court's discretion. The trial court imposed a forty-year sentence and ordered it to run consecutive to Kirkwood's sentence in Cause Number 45G03-9505-CF00120. In 2006, Kirkwood filed a petition to file a belated notice of appeal, which the trial court granted. This appeal ensued. DISCUSSION AND DECISION Kirkwood contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it imposed an enhanced sentence. In particular, Kirkwood maintains that the trial court erred when it
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identified as an aggravator that he was on parole at the time of the offense. Kirkwood also contends that the trial court should have assessed more mitigating weight to his guilty plea. He asserts that a proper weighing of the valid aggravators and mitigator should result in the imposition of a lesser sentence. We cannot agree. Sentencing decisions lie within the sound discretion of the trial court and are reviewed only for an abuse of that discretion. Powell v. State, 751 N.E.2d 311, 314 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). If the sentence imposed is authorized by statute, we will not revise or set aside the sentence unless it is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. Ind. Appellate Rule 7(B); McCann v. State, 749 N.E.2d 1116, 1121 (Ind. 2001). At sentencing, the trial court identified the following aggravators: (1) Kirkwood was on parole at the time of the offense; (2) his "long history of criminal activity," including five prior felonies; (3) he is in need of correctional treatment; (4) the risk that he will commit another crime; (5) Goodman suffered emotional injury and recommended an aggravated sentence; and (6) the nature and circumstances of the crime, that is, striking Goodman twelve times with a hammer. The trial court identified a single mitigator, namely, his guilty plea. The trial court found that the aggravators outweighed the mitigator and imposed an enhanced sentence of forty years. 1 The trial court ordered that the sentence run consecutive to Kirkwood's forty-year sentence in Cause Number 45G03-9505-CF-00120.

At the time of the instant offense, the presumptive sentence for a Class A felony was twentyfive years, with up to twenty years added for aggravating circumstances. See Ind. Code

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