Justin Haining, 28, of LaPaz, was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Robert O. Bowen of Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to a total of 25 years of imprisonment for a burglary and as being a Habitual Criminal Offender.
Haining previously pleaded guilty to a burglary that occurred on May 13, 2016 in a home located on 2C Road. Stolen were jewelry, an AR-15 rifle and almost 500 rounds of ammunition, as well as the homeowners’ vehicle. The vehicle was later found in Lakeville.
Subsequently, the St. Joseph County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on a residence in Lakeville, and among many items found was the AR-15 and the ammunition. Det. Lt. Duane Culp of the Marshall County Police Department interviewed the subjects of the search warrant and was able to determine Haining was the person who sold them the rifle and ammunition. Culp later detained Haining and was able to secure an admission that he had sold the rifle and had committed the burglary. Charges were filed by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office for the burglary, theft of the gun, ammunition, jewelry and automobile. Later, a count alleging Haining was an Habitual Criminal Offender was also added.
A plea agreement reached between Deputy Prosecutor Lynn Berndt and defense counsel Joseph Simanski and Haining provided for acknowledgment of guilt to the burglary and an admission he was an Habitual Criminal Offender. Various other counts, and other pending cases were dismissed in exchange for the plea of guilty. The parties were free to argue the sentence with a maximum executed term of twenty-five years imprisonment. The range of sentence on a Level 4 felony burglary is 2 to 12 years with 6 years being the advisory sentence. The range for an Habitual Offender for a Level 4 felony is 6 to 20 years, consecutive to the underlying offense.
Witnesses testified Wednesday in court and the attorneys argued their respective positions. Judge Bowen then sentenced Haining to the maximum of 12 years on the Burglary charge and 13 years on the Habitual Offender count for a total of 25 years of imprisonment in the Indiana Department of Correction. With good time credit of 25%, Haining must serve a minimum of 75% of the sentence, or 18.75 years before being eligible for release.
Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman noted, “Justin Haining has been a menace to our community his entire adult life, which frankly has only been 10 years as an adult. Now he is going to spend almost the next two decades in prison. He is one of those guys who is and will be a constant drain of societal resources. He needs to be locked away to no longer victimize the good people of our community”
