Court proceedings for a man connected to a string of burglaries and one rape in September 2016 near the IU campus were postponed Tuesday after his team requested to review psychiatric records and possibly withdraw his plea.
Devin Grounds appeared for a sentencing hearing in the Monroe County Circuit Court after pleading guilty in May to one felony count of rape. The charge stems from five 2016 break-ins, including two where Grounds’ DNA was linked to the crime scene.
Grounds said in court he is concerned he did not receive enough advice before agreeing to the plea deal. He is currently represented by public defenders Stuart Baggerly and Isabella Bravo but said he is considering hiring private counsel to make sure he has chosen the best option for his case.
“It felt like I was just put on the spot to accept something,” Grounds said.
But Judge Marc Kellams said extra counsel would almost count as a third opinion since Grounds already had two lawyers, which is unusual. The judge said Baggerly and Bravo are also experienced and may actually be more qualified than their private counterparts.
In addition, Grounds should understand the plea because they had already talked about possible charges and sentencings at length, Kellams said.
Baggerly said in court he and Bravo weren’t offended by Grounds’ request and understood his desire for more advice.
There could be a chance the team had missed something important, Baggerly said, and it could mean an unnecessarily long sentence.
“If I was a doctor and said you needed to go cut your foot off, you might want to go talk to somebody else,” Baggerly said.
Grounds’ lawyers also filed a motion asking for Kellams to waive an Indiana Department of Corrections fee for Grounds’ psychiatric records.
Although Grounds never went through a competency evaluation, Baggerly said he believes Grounds may show signs of mental disability at certain times.
“It’s one of those things that you can’t put your finger on,” Baggerly said. “You just get the feeling that he’s not wired like everybody else.”
Another court conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 10 after the defense has had time to obtain and review the records.
