State v. Robinson

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

Nos. 118,499
118,500
118,501
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS
STATE OF KANSAS,
Appellee,

v.

TERRY LYNN ROBINSON,
Appellant.



MEMORANDUM OPINION


Appeal from Saline District Court; JARED B. JOHNSON, judge. Opinion filed June 29, 2018.
Affirmed.


Submitted for summary disposition pursuant to K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(g) and (h).



Before MALONE, P.J., LEBEN and POWELL, JJ.



PER CURIAM: Terry Robinson appeals the district court's decision to revoke her
probation and require that she serve her underlying prison sentences. Robinson suggests
that the district court should have entered intermediate sanctions, such as a short jail stay
followed by a return to probation, rather than send her to prison. But Robinson admitted
to the district court that she committed new crimes while on probation, and that gave the
district court the discretion to send her to prison. We find no abuse of discretion in the
district court's decision to do so.


Robinson's criminal activities resulted in three cases against her in Saline County:
case No. 15CR718, in which she was charged with forgery and theft, both felony
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offenses; case No. 16CR51, in which she was charged with felony theft; and case No.

16CR964, in which she was charged with felony theft.



After Robinson pleaded guilty to her charges in case No. 15CR718, the district
court released her on bond supervision to await sentencing. Around six months later,
Robinson tested positive for methamphetamine, and the court revoked her bond. The
court agreed to reinstate Robinson's bond supervision a few days later, but ordered her to
attend drug and alcohol treatment at Ashby House, a drug-addiction treatment center in
Salina. Unfortunately, Robinson did not successfully complete her treatment at Ashby
House.


A few months later, Robinson pleaded guilty to her theft charge in case No.

16CR51. Later, she was brought in for sentencing on case Nos. 15CR718 and 16CR51.
Noting that Robinson had struggled with an underlying drug-addiction, the court ordered
Robinson to serve an 18-month term of probation, rather than send her to prison, so that
she could move to a sober-living community and have another chance at treatment. For
her convictions in case No. 15CR718, Robinson received an underlying 12-month prison
term, and for case No. 16CR51 an underlying 10-month prison term, that she would have
to serve consecutively (back to back) if she did not successfully complete her probation.


While serving probation, Robinson was sentenced in case No. 16CR964. Although
Kansas sentencing guidelines provided a presumptive-prison sentence, the district court
gave Robinson a 12-month probation term, noting that Robinson needed drug treatment.
The court imposed an underlying 11-month term in prison, to be served consecutive to
her sentences in case Nos. 15CR718 and 16CR51 if she did not successfully complete
probation.
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A little over a month later, the State alleged that Robinson had violated her


probation by committing several new crimes—felony theft, interference with law
enforcement, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia,
possession with intent to distribute, and failure to obtain a drug-tax stamp. The State also
said Robinson had failed to report to her supervising officer, to submit to drug testing,
and to update her residence and employment information. It also claimed she had tested
positive for methamphetamine and failed to follow the court's orders to complete drug
treatment and to reside in a sober-living facility. At a hearing on the State's allegations,
Robinson admitted to all violations. The district court revoked Robinson's probation and
ordered her to serve her underlying sentences in case Nos. 15CR718, 16CR51, and
16CR964.



When a convicted felon violates the terms of probation, Kansas law generally
provides that he or she receive an intermediate sanction, such as a short jail stay followed
by a return to probation, rather than being sent to prison on the first violation. K.S.A.
2017 Supp. 22-3716(c)(1). But there's an exception to the general rule: intermediate
sanctions aren't required when the offender commits a new crime. See K.S.A. 2017 Supp.
22-3716(c)(8). And Robinson admitted that she committed new crimes while on
probation.


Thus, we review the district court's decision in Robinson's cases only for abuse of
discretion. Unless the court has made a legal or factual error, we may find an abuse of
discretion only when no reasonable person would agree with the decision made by the trial
court. State v. Ward, 292 Kan. 541, 550, 256 P.3d 801 (2011). We find nothing
unreasonable about the district court's decision here. Although Robinson urges that she
should have been sent for treatment rather than to jail, Robinson had several chances to
get treatment for her drug addiction. But Robinson didn't complete her treatment program
at Ashby House, didn't move into a sober-living community, and admitted to committing
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six new crimes while on probation. A reasonable person could agree with the district
court's decision to impose her underlying sentences.


On Robinson's motion, we accepted this appeal for summary disposition under

K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(g) and (h) and Supreme Court Rule 7.041A (2018 Kan. S.

Ct. R. 47). We have reviewed the record available to the sentencing court, and we find no
error in its decision to revoke Robinson's probation.


We affirm the district court's judgment.