State Responds To Todd Appeal
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
Rodriguez S. Todd
WARSAW — The State of Indiana has filed a brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals in response to Rodriguez S. Todd’s sentence appeal.
Todd, 53, is appealing his 80-year prison sentence after he was convicted for raping a woman in Warsaw over 20 years ago.
During a three-day jury trial in September 2022, Todd was found guilty of rape and kidnapping, both class A felonies. He was sentenced in October 2022 to 40 years in the Indiana Department of Correction on each charge, with both counts to run consecutively.
Todd is currently serving his sentence at the Indiana State Prison, with an estimated release date of Sept. 13, 2062.
In his appellant’s brief, Todd requested the Court of Appeals reverse and remand with instructions for Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath to vacate his convictions. In the alternative, he is asking the Court of Appeals to reverse the imposition of consecutive sentences or reduce his sentences.
A 29-page appellee’s brief, filed on Feb. 13 by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Deputy Attorney General Sierra Murray, argues the trial court did not err in its rulings and that Todd’s 80-year sentence is appropriate.
On July 31, 2022, Todd filed a petition for discharge and dismissal pursuant to Criminal Rule 4. In Indiana, this rule declares an individual accused of a crime has to be released on their own recognizance if they are incarcerated without a trial for a period exceeding one year from the date they were charged or arrested. The rule further states exceptions include when the accused continues or delays proceedings by their own motions.
“The rule allows persons to be held to answer to charges for more than 365 days because it provides for several categories of delay that do not count toward the 365 days the State is given to commence the trial,” reads the brief. “Most importantly for this case, delay caused by a defendant does not count toward the 365-day rule period.”
The State further argues delays in the case between Nov. 15, 2021, to Feb. 7, 2022, are attributed to Todd. In his brief, Todd’s counsel argued Todd reluctantly complied to the trial court’s decision to not set a trial date at a Nov. 29, 2021, hearing. However, the state’s brief argues since Todd and his counsel provided acceptable alternatives outside of setting a trial date, the delay in the case was caused by Todd’s own motion or actions, thus why it does not count toward Criminal Rule 4.
Since the trial court accepted Todd’s request for a Feb. 7, 2022, pretrial conference, the State argues this delay was caused by Todd.
The appellee’s brief also states Todd invited error to his case by admitting the delay in the case from Nov. 29, 2021, to Feb. 7, 2022, was caused by him. Todd admitted this but argued it could not be attributed to him under Criminal Rule 4 due to an incorrect legal theory.
“Specifically, Todd argued that delays caused before a trial date is set could not be attributable to a defendant because it did not result in a delay of the trial date,” read the brief. “But that is incorrect. Todd now argues that he did not acquiesce to the delay, but because he conceded this factual issue to the trial court and instead chose to argue that the time could not be legally attributed to him, he invited any error.”
The brief also elaborates on Todd’s 80-year sentence being appropriate and that the court did not abuse its discretion by imposing consecutive sentences for kidnapping and rape. It argues written and oral sentencing statements provided in Kosciusko Superior Court One sufficiently identified the reasons for consecutive sentencing.
As two aggravating circumstances were clearly identified, the state argues the trial court properly provided reason for consecutive sentencing.
It also states Todd’s sentence is not inappropriate due to the nature of the crimes, arguing “the details of the offenses are horrifying.”
The State further argues Todd has not led a law-abiding life in the 23 years between 1999 and the jury trial.
“He has acquired convictions for Class A misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, Class D felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated, misdemeanor reckless driving, and misdemeanor domestic battery,” reads the brief. “Additionally, Todd had recently committed a new crime while he was on probation and he committed a new crime while out on bond in this case, demonstrating that he is not dedicated to reforming his behavior.”
In conclusion, the State is asking the Court of Appeals to affirm Todd’s convictions and sentence.
The Case
On Nov. 23, 1999, a woman from Logansport said she was kidnapped by a black man with fake facial hair at a gas station in Warsaw, in the area of Center and Detroit Streets. The man took the woman to a wooded area, raped her twice, and left the scene.
The case remained cold until April 2019, when Indiana State Police were notified that a Combined DNA Index System search resulted in a computer match between Todd and a portion of the DNA profile entered earlier in the investigation.
The collected DNA profile was at least one trillion times more likely if it originated from the woman and Todd than if it originated from the woman and an unknown person.
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