Whatley v. State

928 N.E.2d 202 (2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was arrested at his home on a warrant issued in an unrelated case. The arresting officer discovered a bag containing 3.2459 grams of cocaine in D's pocket. P charged D with possession of cocaine as a Class A felony. The possession of three grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a youth program center elevates the offense to a Class A felony. D's home, where the arrest occurred, was located approximately 795 feet from Robinson Community Church (RCC). D was found guilty sentenced 35 years. The Court of Appeals reversed on the grounds that RCC did not qualify as a 'youth program center.' It found that RCC's hosting of various programs for children did not change its status as a church. P appealed. D contends in part that the statute defining a youth program center are unconstitutionally vague as applied to him and that there was nothing about RCC that would put a person of ordinary intelligence on notice that it was a youth program center. D posits that there was no objective indicia signaling its designation as a protected area and no way for him to know that he was within the proscribed distance of an 'unmarked youth program center.'