Terry Sabo, age 34, of Warsaw, was sentenced in Marshall Superior Court 1 by Judge Robert Bowen on March 31, 2021. Sabo plead guilty to a Level 3 Burglary count and two counts of Intimidation as Level 5 felonies. Sabo injured a Bourbon homeowner when he broke and entered her home. After pleading guilty, the terms of the sentence were left to the discretion of Judge Bowen who heard evidence and arguments from the lawyers.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tami Napier and defense counsel Chris Berdahl represented the parties’ positions to Judge Bowen. Tami Napier called the victim who testified about the emotional, mental and physical effects she and her family have suffered due to incident. Berdahl argued that a contributing factor in this incident was Sabo’s methamphetamine use. Tami Napier stated, “Sabo kicked in one front door of the home, attempted to kick in the secondary front door of the home and finally threw a chair threw the front window. Sabo’s breaking and entering of the victims’ house was relentless and he did it with a knife in his hand.” Tami Napier also pointed out that Bourbon Officer Matt Geiger’s quick response was crucial in avoiding additional injury to the family inside of the home.
The case began in September of 2019 at nearly 10:30pm when the victim and her family heard aggressive banging at the front door. As the victim approached her front door, Sabo kicked in the door injuring the victim’s arm. Sabo was armed with a knife at the time. The victim was able to get Sabo back, secure the door and call 911. Meanwhile, Sabo tried to kick in another door on the residence, failed to do so and then threw a chair through the front window. Officer Matt Geiger of the Bourbon Police Department arrived within one minute of the 911 call and was able to locate Sabo as well as the knife Sabo had when he broke into the home.
Sabo was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Marshall County Jail. The victim’s arm injury was treated at the scene.
In determining an appropriate sentence, Judge Bowen weighed the aggravating and the mitigating circumstances. As aggravating circumstances, Judge Bowen found that Sabo’s criminal history, his negative conduct incidents in the jail and the victim being over the age of 65 was a situation that deserved a lengthy sentence. Judge Bowen imposed an aggravated sentence of twelve years at the Indiana Department of Correction on the Level 3 Burglary and four years on each of two counts of Level 5 Intimidation at the Indiana Department of Correction. All counts will run concurrently.
Napier said “The victim was pleased that Sabo accepted responsibility for his actions as well as with the sentence imposed by Judge Bowen. Closing this case has given the victims much-needed peace of mind. Sabo will be in prison for his crime and Marshall County is safer because of it. Home invasions like this are something I take very seriously as your sense of safety in your own home should never be violated.”
