Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman on Friday asked the Indiana Supreme Court to appoint a new judge to determine whether a Muncie man’s sentence for being a habitual offender must be served in prison.
On March 20, Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Kimberly Dowling sentenced 42-year-old Joshua Lee Ireland to nine years on electronic home detention, followed by three years on probation.
Ireland, of Muncie, had pleaded guilty to a robbery charge stemming from a 2018 armed home invasion on the city’s south side, along with a count of possession of meth. Ireland, with more than 10 prior criminal convictions, also admitted to being a habitual offender.
Six years of the sentence imposed by Dowling were the result of the habitual offender finding.
Hoffman on April 4 filed a motion “to correct erroneous sentence,” maintaining that under state law, the habitual offender sentence must be served in prison, not at home.
In his motion filed Friday, the Delaware County prosecutor said because Dowling had not ruled on his earlier motion within 30 days, the case “may be withdrawn from the trial judge and transferred to the Supreme Court for the appointment of a special judge.”
A state court document on “procedural issues” related to such motions refers to “lazy judge” rules.