Payne v. State

ON PETITIONER TO TRANSFER

SULLIVAN, Justice.

Defendant contends that the trial court violated the limitations on consecutive sentences imposed by a statute enacted in 1994. We agree with defendant and reverse the trial court.

Background

Around 2:00 a.m. on March 20,1994, defendant, armed with a rifle, entered a Burger King restaurant in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He demanded that the manager open the safe and, after retrieving the money, locked the manager and three other employees in the cooler. All four employees were released from the cooler when the opening manager arrived for his shift. The…