Roy Chaoran Sun v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.) ( 2016 )

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.
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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electrical engineering, at which point Purdue rescinded his degree.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.
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[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
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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.
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