NAJAM, Judge.
Following a hearing on the State's notice of probation violation, the trial court revoked Robert L. Comer's probation and imposed sentence on two counts pursuant to Comer's plea agreement. We consider two issues on appeal:
We affirm.
On December 30, 2005, the State charged Comer by information with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, as a Class A felony, and with use of a firearm in a controlled substance offense, as sentence enhancement under Indiana Code Section 35-50-2-13. On January 31, 2008, the State tendered a plea agreement to the trial court. Following a hearing on February 5, 2008, the court took the plea agreement and Comer's admissions under advisement. At a hearing on March 6, the court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Comer, pursuant to the terms of the agreement, as follows:
Appellant's App. at 13-14.
On August 19, 2009, the State filed a petition to revoke Comer's probation, and on October 2 it filed an amended petition to revoke probation. On October 1, following a revocation hearing, the court took the matter under advisement. And on November 12, 2009, the court entered an amended order revoking Comer's probation and sentencing him as follows:
Id. at 17. Comer now appeals.
In his brief, Comer questions whether the sentence imposed by the trial court based upon a petition to revoke probation was "reasonable" given that he "did not commit the worst offense nor was [he] the worst offender." Appellant's Brief at 1. We cannot discern from Comer's discussion whether he is challenging the imposition of the maximum sentence following his convictions, the order that he serve the remainder of his sentence following the revocation of probation, or both. An appellant waives an issue for the failure to support it with cogent argument. Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a). Waiver notwithstanding, we exercise our discretion to address the merits of both issues.
Comer contends that the court should not have imposed the maximum, twenty-year sentence for the Class B felony offense because Comer's was not the worst offense and he is not the worst offender. We initially note that Comer was given a unique opportunity when the trial court ordered him to serve his probation first and, possibly, to avoid incarceration altogether. But Comer wasted that opportunity when he violated the terms of his probation. And, while he was serving probation, the period for filing an appeal
We also consider whether the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered Comer to serve the balance of his sentence following the revocation of probation. Our Supreme Court has explained that "a trial court's sentencing decisions for probation violations are reviewable using the abuse of discretion standard." Prewitt v. State, 878 N.E.2d 184, 187 (Ind. 2007). An abuse of discretion occurs where the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances. Id. Furthermore, "the judge should have considerable leeway in deciding how to proceed." Id. Consequently, so long as proper procedures have been followed, the trial court may order execution of a suspended sentence after finding a violation by a preponderance of the evidence. Goonen v. State, 705 N.E.2d 209, 212 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). The consideration and imposition of any alternatives to incarceration are "matter[s] of grace" left to the discretion of the trial court. Monday v. State, 671 N.E.2d 467, 469 (Ind.Ct.App. 1996).
Here the trial court afforded Comer with an extraordinary opportunity to avoid incarceration altogether. But less than five months into his probation, he committed new offenses that resulted in three new causes being filed. Specifically, Comer was charged with resisting law enforcement, battering a police officer, and public intoxication. His disrespect for the rule of law and his fellow citizens is evident, as is his unwillingness to comply with the terms of probation even where he could avoid incarceration altogether by doing so. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it imposed the balance of the suspended sentence.
Affirmed.
BAKER, C.J., and MATHIAS, J., concur.