MEMORANDUM DECISION
FILED
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), Apr 30 2018, 7:54 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.
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Ruth Johnson Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Marion County Public Defender Attorney General of Indiana
Agency, Appellate Division
Jesse R. Drum
Indianapolis, Indiana Deputy Attorney General
Timothy J. O’Connor Indianapolis, Indiana
O’Connor & Auersch
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Jasper E. Williams, Jr., April 30, 2018
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A04-1710-CR-2275
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Virginia A.
Appellee-Plaintiff. Caudill, Judge Pro Tempore
Trial Court Cause No.
49G09-1704-F6-12417
Mathias, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A04-1710-CR-2275 | April 30, 2018 Page 1 of 5
[1] Jasper E. Williams, Jr. (“Williams”) appeals his sentence for Level 6 felony
harmful performance before a minor and Level 6 felony public indecency.
Specifically, Williams argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it
sentenced him to the Department of Correction (“DOC”).
[2] We reverse and remand.
Facts and Procedure
[3] On April 2, 2017, Williams exposed and fondled himself in front of two minor
girls. He was arrested two days later and charged with four Level 6 felonies. On
September 13, Williams pleaded guilty to Level 6 felony harmful performance
before a minor and Level 6 felony public indecency. The parties agreed to a
sentence of 910 days as part of the plea agreement, but it left where Williams
would serve the sentence up to the discretion of the trial court. The plea
agreement also called for concurrent sentences, and the State agreed not to file a
habitual offender sentencing enhancement. The trial court accepted Williams’s
plea, determined he had credit for time served, and stated, “So the remainder of
the time[,] five hundred and eighty-two (582) days is what’s left; is going to be
spent in the Department of Correction.” Tr. p. 17
[4] Williams now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[5] Williams argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered him to
serve the remainder of his sentence in the DOC. Sentencing decisions are
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A04-1710-CR-2275 | April 30, 2018 Page 2 of 5
generally left to the sound discretion of the trial court. Anglemyer v. State, 868
N.E.2d 482, 490 (Ind. 2007). However, a trial court may be found to have abused its
discretion in sentencing for: (1) failing to enter a sentencing statement; (2) entering
a sentencing statement that explains reasons for imposing a sentence where the
record does not support the reasons provided; (3) entering a sentencing statement
that omits reasons that are both clearly supported by the record and advanced for
consideration; or (4) entering a sentencing statement in which the reasons provided
are improper as a matter of law. Id. at 490–91. The reasons or omissions of reasons
given by the trial court for a particular sentence are reviewed for an abuse of
discretion. Id. at 491.
[6] Williams argues that his sentence violates Indiana Code section 35-38-3-3(d)
which provides:
After December 31, 2015, a court may not commit a person
convicted of a Level 6 felony to the department of correction
unless:
(1) the commitment is due to the revocation of the
person’s sentence for violating probation, parole, or
community corrections and the revocation of the
person’s sentence is due to a new criminal offense;
or
(2) the person:
(A) is convicted of a Level 6 felony and the
sentence for that felony is ordered to be
served consecutively to the sentence for
another felony;
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(B) is convicted of a Level 6 felony that is
enhanced by an additional fixed term under
IC 35-50-2-8 through IC 35-50-2-16; or
(C) has received an enhanced sentence under IC
9-30-15.5-2;
and the person’s earliest possible release date is more than
three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the date of
sentencing.
A person who may not be committed to the department of
correction may be placed on probation, committed to the county
jail, or placed in community corrections for assignment to an
appropriate community corrections program.
[7] Here, because Williams’s offenses occurred on April 2, 2017, the statute
applies. The exception found in subsection (1) does not apply to Williams
because he was not sentenced to revocation of probation, parole, or community
corrections. Subsection (2)(a) does not apply because by the terms of William’s
plea agreement, his sentences were to run concurrently. Tr. p. 8; Appellant’s
App. p. 78. Neither Subsection 2(B) nor 2(C) applies because his sentence was
not enhanced under any of the specified provisions, and the State explicitly
agreed not to file a habitual offender enhancement as part of Williams’s plea
agreement. Tr. pp. 9, 16; Appellant’s App. p. 75. Therefore, because none of the
exceptions found in Indiana Code section 35-38-3-3(d) apply to Williams, the
trial court erred by ordering him to serve his sentence in the DOC. See Prater v.
State, 59 N.E.3d 314, 317–318 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).
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Conclusion
[8] Because Williams’s sentence here was prohibited by Indiana Code section 35-
38-3-3(d), we reverse the trial court’s order that he serve his sentence in DOC,
and we remand for the trial court to sentence Williams in compliance with the
statute.1
[9] Reversed and remanded.
Riley, J., and May, J., concur.
1
We acknowledge that under Section 35-38-3-3(d) “[a] person who may not be committed to the department
of correction may be . . . committed to the county jail.” And the State has noted that Williams is “currently
serving his sentence in the Marion County Jail.” Appellee’s Br. at 5. On remand if the trial court chooses to
impose a sentence in the Marion County Jail, it has the authority to do so. But it must rectify Williams’s
erroneous sentence in compliance with Section 35-38-3-3(d).
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