Chasity M. Turpen v. State of Indiana

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: April 30, 2026
• Docket: 25A-CR-03024
• Status: Published
• Author: Judge Brown

Opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana FILED Chasity M. Turpen, Apr 30 2026, 10:31 am

Appellant-Defendant CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court

v.

State of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff

April 30, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-CR-3024 Appeal from the Lawrence Superior Court The Honorable Robert R. Cline, Pro Tem Judge Trial Court Cause No. 47D01-2408-CM-1133

Opinion by Judge Brown Judges Altice and DeBoer concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 1 of 11 Brown, Judge.

[1] Chasity M. Turpen appeals the trial court’s order of restitution. We reverse.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On August 25, 2024, Turpen was found in a location in Bedford in a state of

intoxication caused by her use of alcohol or a controlled substance. Turpen

told Whitney Baker that “she needed to learn how to drive.” Transcript

Volume II at 12.

[3] On August 26, 2024, the State charged Turpen with Count I, criminal mischief

as a class B misdemeanor, and Count II, public intoxication as a class B

misdemeanor. Count I alleged that Turpen “did, without the consent of

[Baker], recklessly or knowingly damage or deface the property of [Baker].”

Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 10. Count II alleged that Turpen “was

found . . . in a state of intoxication caused by [her] use of alcohol or a

controlled substance, said location being a public place of public resort and

[Turpen] was harassing, annoying or alarming [Baker].” Id.

[4] On August 20, 2025, Turpen and the State filed a plea agreement in which

Turpen agreed to plead guilty to Count II, public intoxication as a class B

misdemeanor. The plea agreement provided for a sentence of “180 days in [the

Lawrence County Jail], with Time Served executed in [the Lawrence County

Jail], remainder suspended” with probation beginning after the executed

portion of the sentence and the dismissal of “all remaining counts and the

entirety of Cause Number 47D01-2507-CM-000826” (“Cause No. 826”). Id. at

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 2 of 11 19. It also provided: “Restitution: The parties would request that this matter be

set for a restitution hearing.” Id.

[5] That same day, the court held a hearing. During the factual basis, Turpen

acknowledged she was found in a state of intoxication, she “did have words”

with Baker, she told Baker that she needed to learn how to drive, and that her

behavior could objectively be seen as annoying. Transcript Volume II at 12.

The court accepted the plea agreement and entered judgment of conviction for

public intoxication as a class B misdemeanor. The prosecutor moved to dismiss

the remaining count and the entirety of Cause No. 826, and the court granted

the motion. The court scheduled a restitution hearing for November 6, 2025.

[6] On August 20, 2025, the court entered an order sentencing Turpen to 180 days

in the Lawrence County Jail with 170 days suspended. Under the heading

“Special Terms and Conditions of Probation,” the court stated, “You shall pay

restitution for damages or losses caused as a result of your actions in the

amount of $TBD at the Restitution Hearing on November 6, 2025 at 11:00

a.m.” Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 25 (capitalization and emphasis

omitted).

[7] On November 6, 2025, the court held a restitution hearing. The State presented

Baker’s testimony. Baker testified that she pulled into a parking spot, that she

“started cussing at” her, she “got so close to [her] car,” and “[t]here is still the

dent in my car” and “multiple scratch marks and everything else.” Transcript

Volume II at 20. She indicated that she received an estimate of $964.96 to

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 3 of 11 repair the damage to her vehicle. The prosecutor moved to admit the estimate,

and the court admitted it. On cross-examination, Baker indicated that she had

no reason to dispute that the count alleging that Turpen recklessly and

knowingly damaged her property was dismissed. Defense counsel argued that

the court could not order restitution because Turpen did not plead guilty to the

criminal mischief charge. The court indicated it would order restitution of

$964.96. Defense counsel asked if the restitution was a condition of probation

and asked that it be reduced to a civil judgment due to Turpen’s indigency. On

November 14, 2025, the court entered an order that Turpen pay restitution of

$946.96 and that “[s]aid restitution shall be entered as a civil judgment.” 1

Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 9.

Discussion

[8] Turpen argues that the trial court erred by ordering her to pay restitution. She

contends that she did not plead guilty to the criminal mischief charge “nor did

she lay a factual basis that would support a restitution order for that alleged

conduct.” Appellant’s Brief at 11. She also argues that the portion of the plea

agreement requesting that the trial court schedule a restitution hearing was not

an explicit agreement to pay any and all restitution.

1 The court’s order appears to contain a scrivener’s error as it ordered restitution for $946.96 instead of $964.96, which was the amount testified to by Baker, the amount mentioned in the estimate, and the amount mentioned by the court at the hearing.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 4 of 11 [9] The State cites to the probable cause affidavit and argues that “Turpen

committed a crime when she, while intoxicated, yelled and cursed at Baker in

the parking lot and slammed her truck door into Baker’s car.” Appellee’s Brief

at 8 (citing Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 12-13). 2 It also argues that

“Turpen implicitly agreed to a restitution award as a provision in her signed

plea agreement.” Id. at 9. It contends that “[a] restitution hearing could have

no purpose unless the parties were agreeing that restitution would be made for

conduct underlying the dismissed charge.” Id. In her reply brief, Turpen argues

that the plea agreement’s provision regarding a restitution hearing was not an

agreement that she owed restitution and, even if the provision was ambiguous,

it should be construed against the State as it furnished and drafted the

agreement.

[10] Ind. Code § 35-50-5-3 is titled “Restitution order” and provides:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (i), (j), (l), or (m), in addition to any sentence imposed under this article for a felony or misdemeanor, the court may, as a condition of probation or without placing the person on probation, order the person to make restitution to the victim of the crime . . . . The court shall base its restitution order upon a consideration of:

2 To the extent the State cites the probable cause affidavit, we note that neither the plea agreement nor the factual basis provided at the hearing referenced the probable cause affidavit and Turpen did not admit that the assertions in the probable cause affidavit were correct. During the factual basis established by the prosecutor at the hearing, Turpen acknowledged that she “did have words” with Baker and told her that “she needed to learn how to drive.” Transcript Volume II at 12. The factual basis established at the hearing did not indicate that Turpen struck Baker’s car.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 5 of 11 (1) property damages of the victim incurred as a result of the crime, based on the actual cost of repair (or replacement if repair is inappropriate);

*****

(b) A restitution order under subsection (a), (i), (j), (l), or (m) is a judgment lien that:

(1) attaches to the property of the person subject to the order;

(2) may be perfected;

(3) may be enforced to satisfy any payment that is delinquent under the restitution order by the person in whose favor the order is issued or the person’s assignee; and

(4) expires;

in the same manner as a judgment lien created in a civil proceeding.

[11] The Indiana Supreme Court has held that “Indiana courts have consistently

treated restitution as a criminal sanction—one of several ‘penal tools’ that forms

‘an integral part of the actual aggregate penalty faced by a defendant’ and which

is ‘properly considered as part of the sentence.’” B.K. v. State, 235 N.E.3d 142,

146 (Ind. 2024) (quoting Sharp v. State, 970 N.E.2d 647, 650 (Ind. 2012) and

citing Wininger v. Purdue Univ., 666 N.E.2d 455, 457 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996)

(characterizing the “[i]mposition of a restitution order” as a “form of

punishment”), reh’g denied, trans. denied). “And ‘[b]ecause restitution is penal in

nature, the statute providing for restitution must be strictly construed against

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 6 of 11 the State to avoid enlarging it beyond the fair meaning of the language used.’”

Id. (quoting Morgan v. State, 49 N.E.3d 1091, 1094 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016)

(emphasis added in B.K.)). “An order of restitution is a matter within the trial

court’s sound discretion and will only be reversed upon a showing of abuse of

discretion.” Archer v. State, 81 N.E.3d 212, 215 (Ind. 2017).

[12] To the extent the State relies upon the language in the plea agreement relating

to the hearing on restitution, “[b]ecause plea agreements are contracts, contract

law principles generally apply.” Anderson v. State, 269 N.E.3d 817, 824 (Ind.

2025) (citation omitted). “Like any contract, we ‘begin with its plain

language.’” Id. (quoting Berry v. State, 10 N.E.3d 1243, 1247 (Ind. 2014)).

“Any ambiguity is construed against the State, as the agreement’s drafter.” Id.

“We review questions of contract interpretation anew, giving no deference to

the lower court.” Id. (citation omitted). The plea agreement provided:

“Restitution: The parties would request that this matter be set for a restitution

hearing.” Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 19. While the State asserts such

a provision equated to an agreement “that restitution would be made for

conduct underlying the dismissed charge,” Appellee’s Brief at 9, we do not

agree. We cannot say that the plea agreement provided for restitution as to the

dismissed charge as it merely indicated that the parties requested that the matter

be set for a restitution hearing.

[13] With respect to Turpen’s argument that the trial court erred in ordering

restitution when she did not plead guilty to the criminal mischief charge, we

find Polen v. State, 578 N.E.2d 755 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991), trans. denied,

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 7 of 11 instructive. In that case, Polen pled guilty under a plea agreement to five of

eleven counts, with the court to determine whether a sufficient factual basis

existed on a sixth count. 578 N.E.2d at 756. The agreement also provided both

the State and Polen would be allowed to present evidence as to the propriety of

restitution. Id. The trial court accepted five of Polen’s guilty pleas and

determined the factual basis was insufficient on the sixth. Id. The court

sentenced Polen and ordered that she pay restitution in the amount of

$42,899.85. Id.

[14] On appeal, Polen argued that those portions of the trial court’s restitution order

covering crimes to which she did not plead guilty, of which she was not

convicted, or did not agree to repay as restitution, were contrary to law. Id. at

756-757. This Court agreed and observed that pronouncement from the United

States Supreme Court found in Hughey v. United States, 495 U.S. 411, 110 S. Ct.

1979 (1990), that held that “an award of restitution under the Victim and

Witness Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 357918 U.S.C. §§ 3579 and 35803580,

now [Miscellaneous Sentencing Provisions] §§ 3663 and 3664, is authorized

only for the loss caused by the specific conduct which forms the basis for the

offense of conviction.” 3 Id. at 757. The Hughey Court held that “the language

3 The Polen Court noted:

18 U.S.C. § 3663 provides for orders of restitution and states in pertinent part:

(a)(1) The court, when sentencing a defendant convicted of an offense under this title [Crimes and Criminal Procedure] or under subsection (h), (i), (j), or (n) of section 902 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1472), may order, in

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 8 of 11 and structure of the Act make plain Congress’ intent to authorize an award of

restitution only for the loss caused by the specific conduct that is the basis of the

offense of conviction.” Id. (quoting Hughey, 110 S. Ct. at 1981).

[15] The Polen Court observed that the plea agreement provided: “That there is no

agreement as to the issue of restitution, other than it is agreed that each side

shall be allowed to present evidence regarding said issue for the Court to

decide.” Id. It held, “Following the reasoning in Hughey, it is clear the trial

court erred by ordering restitution in an amount greater than the sums involved

in those crimes to which she actually pled guilty.” Id. at 758.

[16] In light of the dismissal of the charge of criminal mischief and the record, we

conclude that the trial court here abused its discretion in ordering that Turpen

pay restitution. See Polen, 578 N.E.2d at 758; see also N.R.H. v. State, 25 N.E.3d

1280, 1283 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (holding that “[a]bsent an agreement to pay

addition to or in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law, that the defendant make restitution to any victim of such offense.

For comparison, IC 35-38-2-2(a)(5) provides in pertinent part:

As a condition of probation, the court may require a person to . . .

******

Make restitution or reparation to the victim of his crime for the damages or injury that was sustained . . .

(This provision has since been amended to read, “Make restitution or reparation to the victim of the crime for damage or injury that was sustained by the victim.”)

578 N.E.2d at 757 n.1.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 9 of 11 restitution, a defendant may not be ordered to pay restitution for an act that did

not result in a conviction” and concluding that the trial court abused its

discretion when it awarded restitution that included losses from allegations of

theft unrelated to the defendant’s convictions); Green v. State, 811 N.E.2d 874,

879-880 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004) (observing that the State dismissed the criminal

deviate conduct charge in exchange for defendant’s guilty plea and the forensic

sexual assault examination related to the criminal deviate conduct charge

because that was the only charge that alleged contact of a sexual nature;

holding that the State chose not to pursue the criminal deviate conduct charge

and “it may not order restitution for that charge, which did not result in a

conviction”; and concluding that the trial court’s order that defendant pay

restitution to the Adams County Prosecuting Attorney’s deferral fund as

restitution was improper); Utley v. State, 699 N.E.2d 723, 729 (Ind. Ct. App.

1998) (observing that the jury did not convict defendant of reckless homicide

and had convicted him of failing to stop at the scene of an accident, it was

“apparent in this case that the deceased was an accident victim and not a victim

of a crime,” and “[c]onsequently, no funeral, burial, or cremation costs were

incurred by the victim’s estate because of [defendant’s] failure to stop at the

scene of the accident”; and reversing the decision of the trial court), trans.

denied, abrogated on other grounds by Snow v. State, 77 N.E.3d 173 (Ind. 2017).

[17] For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the trial court’s order of restitution.

[18] Reversed.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 10 of 11 Altice, J., and DeBoer, J., concur.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Nicholas J. Moll Lawrence County Public Defender Agency Bedford, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Theodore E. Rokita Attorney General of Indiana Rebekah D. Bennett Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CR-3024 | April 30, 2026 Page 11 of 11