Roy Chaoran Sun v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: July 12, 2016
• Docket: 79A02-1512-CR-2180
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Jul 12 2016, 9:08 am this Memorandum Decision shall not be CLERK regarded as precedent or cited before any Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals court except for the purpose of establishing and Tax Court

the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Michael B. Troemel Gregory F. Zoeller Lafayette, Indiana Attorney General

Jesse R. Drum Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Roy Chaoran Sun, July 12, 2016 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 79A02-1512-CR-2180 v. Appeal from the Tippecanoe Superior Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Steven P. Meyer, Appellee-Plaintiff. Judge Trial Court Cause No. 79D02-1304-FC-18

Vaidik, Chief Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1512-CR-2180 | July 12, 2016 Page 1 of 4 Case Summary [1] Roy Chaoran Sun appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition to convert his

felony convictions to misdemeanors. Because Sun’s plea agreement provides

that he can only seek conversion after he completes his sentence and he had not

yet completed his sentence when he filed his petition, we affirm the trial court.

Facts and Procedural History [2] While an engineering student at Purdue University, Sun stole his professors’

computer passwords and changed his grades in several courses. Sun’s actions

were discovered after he graduated from Purdue with a bachelor’s degree in

electrical engineering, at which point Purdue rescinded his degree. The State

charged Sun with eighteen felonies in connection with his grade-changing

scheme.

[3] In December 2013, Sun and the State entered into a plea agreement in which

Sun agreed to plead guilty to three counts—Class D felony conspiracy to

commit computer tampering and two counts of Class D felony computer

tampering—and the State agreed to dismiss the remaining fifteen counts.

Appellant’s App. p. 53. Sentencing was left to the discretion of the trial court.

In addition, Sun “reserve[d] the right to petition for misdemeanor treatment

upon successful completion of his sentence, including any terms of probation,

and payment of all costs and fees.” Id.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1512-CR-2180 | July 12, 2016 Page 2 of 4 [4] In February 2014, the trial court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced

Sun to an aggregate term of four years, with ninety days executed in the

Tippecanoe County Jail and the remainder suspended to supervised probation.

A year later, while Sun was still on probation, he filed a “Petition for Sentence

Modification as to Misdemeanor Treatment” in which he asked the trial court

to reduce his felony convictions to misdemeanors. Id. at 67; see also Tr. p. 163.

The State objected because Sun had not yet completed his sentence.

Appellant’s App. p. 68. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Sun’s

petition as follows:

The [Plea] Agreement allows for Misdemeanor treatment upon successful completion of Defendant’s sentence, including any terms of probation and payment of all costs and fees. The Court finds that the conditions for Misdemeanor treatment have not yet been met for the reason that the Defendant has not successfully completed the term of his original sentence, including all terms of probation.

Id. at 71. Sun filed a motion to correct error, which the court also denied.

[5] Sun now appeals.

Discussion and Decision [6] Sun contends that the trial court erred in denying his petition to convert his

felony convictions to misdemeanors. Indiana Code section 35-38-1-1.5 governs

conversion of Class D felonies to Class A misdemeanors. When Sun

committed his crimes, this section provided that a trial court could enter

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1512-CR-2180 | July 12, 2016 Page 3 of 4 judgment of conviction as a Class D felony with the express provision that the

conviction would be converted to a conviction as a Class A misdemeanor if the

person fulfilled certain conditions and the prosecutor consented. Ind. Code

Ann. § 35-38-1-1.5 (West 2012); State v. Brunner, 947 N.E.2d 411, 417 (Ind.

2011), reh’g denied; see also Ind. Code Ann. § 35-50-2-7(b) (West 2012) (providing

that trials courts can reduce Class D felonies to Class A misdemeanors when

delivering the sentence). Sun acknowledges that his plea agreement provides

that he can only seek misdemeanor treatment upon successful completion of his

sentence and that he was still on probation when he filed his petition.

Nevertheless, Sun argues that he did not file his petition pursuant to Section 35-

38-1-1.5; rather, he filed it pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-1-17, which

governs the reduction or suspension of sentences. However, Section 35-38-1-17

only allows a court to reduce or suspend a sentence; it does not allow a court to

convert a conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor. See Fields v. State, 972

N.E.2d 974, 976 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), trans. denied. Because Section 35-38-1-17

does not allow the relief that Sun seeks, he is restricted to converting his felony

convictions to misdemeanors pursuant to Section 35-38-1-1.5 and his plea

agreement. And because the plea agreement provides that Sun cannot seek

such relief until after he successfully completes his sentence, the trial court

properly denied Sun’s petition to convert his felony convictions to

misdemeanors because he was still on probation when he filed it.

[7] Affirmed.

Barnes, J., and Mathias, J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 79A02-1512-CR-2180 | July 12, 2016 Page 4 of 4