Stacy B. Matheny v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Jan 24 2019, 10:22 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Darren D. Bedwell Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Evan M. Comer
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Stacy B. Matheny, January 24, 2019
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A-CR-1138
v. Appeal from the Perry Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable M. Lucy Goffinet,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
62C01-1603-MR-152
May, Judge.
[1] Stacy B. Matheny appeals the trial court’s determination of his credit time. The
State agrees the trial court erred in calculating credit time but arrives at a
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-CR-1138 | January 24, 2019 Page 1 of 4
different number of days to which Matheny is entitled. We reverse and remand
for entry of a corrected sentencing order.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] On March 14, 2016, Matheny shot and killed Phillip Chase. Matheny fled to
Kentucky but was apprehended later that day. Matheny was transferred to
Perry County Jail on March 24, 2016. The State charged Matheny with
murder. 1
[3] On February 8, 2017, based on two psychiatric evaluations, the trial court
found Matheny not competent to stand trial. The court committed Matheny to
the Division of Mental Health and Addiction (“DMHA”) to restore
competency. On August 14, 2017, doctors submitted a “Comprehension to
Stand Trial Report” to the court. (App. Vol. II at 116.) Therein, Dr. Robert
McDaniel stated Matheny now had the “[a]bility to [a]ssist [c]ounsel in the
[p]reparation of a [d]efense[.]” (Id. at 122.) On August 15, 2017, the trial court
ordered Matheny transported back to jail to stand trial. Matheny was returned
to Perry County on August 17, 2017. On March 15, 2018, a jury found
Matheny guilty of murder.
[4] On April 6, 2018, the trial court found the aggravators outweighed the
mitigators and sentenced Matheny to sixty-four years. No discussion was had
1
Ind. Code § 35-42-1-1 (2014).
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at the sentencing hearing regarding Matheny’s credit time. In the sentencing
order, the trial court calculated Matheny’s credit time beginning on August 17,
2017, and ending on April 6, 2018, which is 233 days. The trial court gave no
reason why it excluded the time Matheny spent at DMHA or in jail prior to his
time at DMHA.
Discussion and Decision
[5] A person earns one day of credit time for each day imprisoned for a crime or
confined awaiting trial or sentencing. Ind. Code § 35-50-6-3.1(b). Pre-sentence
credit time is a statutory right and trial courts do not have discretion to grant or
deny such credit. Williams v. State, 759 N.E.2d 661, 664 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).
Determination of pretrial credit time “is dependent upon 1) pretrial
confinement, and 2) the pretrial confinement being a result of the criminal
charge for which sentence is being imposed.” Bischoff v. State, 704 N.E.2d 129,
130 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied. Credit time also accrues during time
“spen[t] in a mental health facility as part of the criminal proceedings.” State v.
Davis, 898 N.E.2d 281, 289 (Ind. 2008).
[6] Matheny argues, and the State agrees, that the trial court miscalculated the
credit time to which Matheny is entitled. The trial court, in the sentencing
order, ordered Matheny to receive credit time from August 17, 2017, to April 6,
2018. However, Matheny was arrested on March 14, 2016, committed to
DMHA on February 8, 2017, and then returned to jail on August 17, 2017. As
the State has not asserted Matheny’s confinement from March 14, 2016, to
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August 17, 2017, was the result of a different criminal charge, Matheny was
entitled to credit for those days as well.
[7] Matheny calculates his confinement time as 812 days from March 14, 2016,
until April 6, 2018. The State asserts this calculation is in error and contends
instead Matheny was confined only 754 days between his arrest and his
sentencing. By our calculation, Matheny was confined 754 days between
March 14, 2016, until April 6, 2018. Therefore, Matheny is entitled to 754 days
credit time. See Wilson v. State, 679 N.E.2d 1333, 1336 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)
(“‘confinement’ within the context of the credit-time statute is not limited to
actual imprisonment”). Accordingly, we reverse and remand for entry of a
sentencing order indicating Matheny was to receive credit for 754 actual days as
of the date of sentencing.
[8] Reversed and remanded.
Baker, J., and Tavitas, J., concur.
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