Prosecutor says habitual offender sentence must be served in prison

Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press
·1 min read
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MUNCIE, Ind. — Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman says the six-year sentence a Muncie man received for being a habitual offender must be served in prison.

Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling recently sentenced Joshua Lee Ireland to nine years — including six years as the habitual offender penalty — on electronic home detention, followed by three years on probation. The 42-year-old Muncie man had pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of meth and being a habitual offender.

In the wake of the sentencing hearing, Hoffman issued a statement saying he "vehemently" disagreed with the handling of Ireland's case, calling the defendant "a career criminal who belongs in prison."

Hoffman this week filed a motion "to correct erroneous sentence," asking Dowling to resentence Ireland."

"The sentence imposed for a habitual offender enhancement cannot be served as a direct commitment to home detention," the prosecutor wrote, noting earlier court rulings. "It must be served as an executed sentence to the Indiana Department of Correction."

More: Habitual offender from Muncie sentenced to 9 years on home detention

Hoffman called the order imposing home detention for Ireland "an illegal order."

Dowling on Wednesday gave public defender Brandon Murphy two weeks to respond to Hoffman's motion.

Ireland's robbery conviction stemmed from a 2018 armed home invasion on Muncie's south side. Under the terms of a plea agreement, eight other charges — two counts each of armed robbery and theft, and single counts of dealing in a narcotic drug, dealing in marijuana, domestic battery and possession of paraphernalia — were dismissed.

The Muncie man's earlier criminal record included more than 10 convictions, including two for burglary.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Habitual offender must be sentenced to prison, prosecutor contends