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FOR PUBLICATION

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: ADAM LENKOWSKY TASHA ROBERTS Roberts & Bishop Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana RYAN D. JOHANNINGSMEIER Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
PATRICK AUSTIN, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Dec 21 2012, 9:23 am

CLERK

No. 20A03-1112-CR-588

APPEAL FROM THE ELKHART SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable George W. Biddlecome Cause No. 20D03-1105-FA-8

December 21, 2012 OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION

MAY, Judge

Patrick Austin appeals his conviction of and sentence for two counts of possession of cocaine as Class A felonies.1 Austin argues: the trial court erred by denying his motion for discharge under Criminal Rule 4; the trial court abused its discretion by admitting contested evidence; the trial court abused its discretion by rejecting his tendered jury instruction regarding constructive possession; and the sentence assigned by the trial court was both an abuse of discretion and inappropriate based on Austin's character and offenses. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 28, 2011, State trooper Joseph White stopped Austin on the Indiana Toll Road. Austin was driving a semi-tractor and trailer, and Trooper White stopped Austin because he thought a trailer like Austin's would normally be pulled by a pickup truck and not a semi-tractor.2 When Trooper White inspected Austin's logbooks and shipping papers, he noted Austin had been off duty for the past seven days. That made Trooper White suspicious, because he believed truck drivers do not make money if they are not working. There were some errors in Austin's paperwork, and although Austin said he was headed for a trailer parts store in Elkhart, Austin did not know the name and address of the store. Nor was Elkhart listed as a destination in Austin's logbooks. Because of his suspicions, Trooper White called the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) and learned Austin "had been involved in a bulk cash seizure" (Tr. at 17) in Michigan.3 Trooper White finished his inspection of Austin's records, then asked for

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Ind. Code

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