MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Feb 21 2019, 7:19 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court
APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Aaron E. Isby Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
Westville, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Laura R. Anderson
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Aaron E. Isby, February 21, 2019
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
18A-CR-1659
v. Appeal from the Madison Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Angela Warner
Appellee-Plaintiff. Sims, Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
48C01-9011-CF-139
Mathias, Judge.
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[1] Aaron Isby1 appeals the Madison Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to correct
erroneous sentence. Because addressing Isby’s claims requires consideration of
matters outside the face of the sentencing order, and because Isby’s claims have
already been considered and rejected, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] As this court previously stated in an early appeal involving Isby, “Isby’s record
of convictions, sentences, and pro se petitions makes outlining his status
something of a challenge[.]” Isby v. Lemmon, No. 77A01-1504-PL-132, 2015
WL 7686946 at *1 (Ind. Ct. App. Nov. 25, 2015). The basic facts, however, are
that Isby was sentenced in 1988 to a thirty-year sentence for Class A felony
robbery. Id. He was also sentenced to ninety days for contempt of court. Id.
[3] Before he completed these sentences, however, Isby stabbed two correctional
officers in October 1990 and, as a result was charged with two counts of
attempted murder and Class A misdemeanor battery. Isby was convicted on
these charges in 1992 and sentenced to an additional forty years of
incarceration.2 Id. As Isby was already incarcerated serving another sentence,
the trial court awarded Isby no credit time for his pre-trial confinement. Isby’s
1
Isby has also filed numerous cases under the name of Aaron Israel. See Israel v. Donahue, No. 77A01-0802-
CV-92, 2008 WL 3498037 at *1 n.1 (Ind. Ct. App. Aug. 14, 2008).
2
Specifically, Isby was sentenced to forty years on the first count of attempted murder, a concurrent term of
thirty years on the second count of attempted murder, and a concurrent term of one year on the battery
conviction.
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convictions were affirmed by this court on direct appeal. Isby v. State, No.
48A02-9402-CR-58 (Ind. Ct. App. April 6, 1995).
[4] In 1996, Isby filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. The post-
conviction court granted Isby’s petition in part and denied it in part, reducing
his conviction for Class A misdemeanor battery to a Class B misdemeanor and
reducing his sentence on this count to six months. On appeal, this court
affirmed the post-conviction court’s judgment. Isby v. State, No. 48A02-0203-
PC-216 (Ind. Ct. App. Sept. 6, 2002).
[5] On May 1, 2006, Isby filed a pro se motion to correct erroneous sentence,
claiming he was entitled to credit for time served in prison prior to sentencing in
1992. The trial court summarily denied the motion, and this court affirmed
again. Isby v. State, No. 48A02-0606-PC-463, 2006 WL 3823540 (Ind. Ct. App.
Dec. 29, 2006).
[6] On April 18, 2007, Isby filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The
trial court denied the petition because it was not filed in the court in the county
where Isby was incarcerated. This court again affirmed the trial court. Isby v.
Finnan, No. 02A04-0705-CR-292, 2007 WL 3132614 (Ind. Ct. App. Oct. 29,
2007).
[7] On November 27, 2007, Isby filed another petition for writ of habeas corpus,
claiming that he was entitled to release as of August 16, 2003. The trial court
denied his habeas petition, but Isby did not timely appeal. Instead, he filed a
motion for relief from judgment, which the trial court denied. We again
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affirmed the trial court’s judgment on this matter. Isby v. Finnan, 77A01-0806-
CV-281, 2009 WL 1352016 at *1 (Ind. Ct. App. May 14, 2009).
[8] In 2008, Isby completed serving his thirty-year sentence for robbery and began
to serve his sentence for contempt. This sentence was completed in 2009, at
which time Isby began to serve the concurrent sentences that were imposed in
1992.
[9] In 2010, Isby filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, contending
that he was entitled to immediate release. Specifically, he noted that he had
received a letter from the parole board stating that his projected release date was
2009. Isby claimed that this letter acted to estop the State from arguing that he
had not completed his sentence obligations. The trial court treated this
complaint as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and granted the State’s
motion for summary judgment. This court affirmed yet again on appeal, noting
that “[t]he Parole Board’s letter to Isby was correct, as far as it went. In early
2009, Isby completed the executed portion of his robbery sentence and the
ninety days he owed on the contempt,” but this did not affect Isby’s forty-year
sentence that he had yet to complete. Isby v. Lemmon, No. 77A01-1504-PL-132,
2015 WL 7686946 (Ind. Ct. App. Nov. 25, 2015).
[10] In 2014, Isby filed yet another petition for writ of habeas corpus. In this
petition, Isby again argued that the letter from the parole board estopped the
State from claiming that he could be imprisoned after this date. Isby also argued
that his sentence for attempted murder should have run concurrently with his
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sentence for robbery. The trial court denied the petition, and Isby again
appealed. On appeal, this court determined that Isby’s claims regarding the
letter were barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Isby v. Brown, No. 77A05-
1601-MI-233, 2016 WL 4697975 (Ind. Ct. App. Sept. 7, 2016). We also held
that Isby could not properly present a claim in a petition for writ of habeas
corpus that his sentence for attempted murder should have begun running as
soon as it was imposed. Id. at *3 (citing Sumbry v. Misc. Docket Sheet for Year
2003, 811 N.E.2d 457, 460 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004) (“a person may not petition a
court for writ of habeas corpus to attack his conviction or sentence.”)).
Nevertheless, we concluded that, pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-50-1-
2(e),3 “Isby was properly ordered to serve his attempted murder sentence
consecutive to his prior sentences. As such, Isby did not begin serving his forty-
year attempted murder sentence until 2009.” Id. Accordingly, we affirmed the
trial court’s denial of Isby’s habeas petition.
[11] The present case represents Isby’s most recent attempt to be released from
prison. In this case, he filed another motion to correct erroneous sentence on
3
The relevant portion of this statute provides:
If, after being arrested for one (1) crime, a person commits another crime:
(1) before the date the person is discharged from probation, parole, or a term of
imprisonment imposed for the first crime; or
(2) while the person is released:
(A) upon the person’s own recognizance; or
(B) on bond;
the terms of imprisonment for the crimes shall be served consecutively, regardless of the
order in which the crimes are tried and sentences are imposed.
Ind. Code § 35-50-1-2(e). At the time Isby committed his crimes, this provision was codified in subsection
2(b). See Ind. Code § 35-50-1-2 (1990).
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January 23, 2018. In his motion, Isby again argued that he was entitled to credit
for time he served from the date of his arrest in the attempted murder case on
November 20, 1990, through his release on his prior sentences, and for time
served up to December 18, 2017. Isby claimed that he was entitled to this credit
because he was “detained” from the date of his arrest and because the trial
court, erroneously according to Isby, ordered his sentence in this case to be
served consecutively to his prior sentences. Isby claimed that his sentence in the
present case actually began to run in 1992 when this sentence was imposed, not
after his prior sentence was completed in 2008. The trial court denied Isby’s
motion, and Isby now appeals.
Standard of Review and Applicable Law
[12] Isby appeals from the denial of his motion to correct erroneous sentence.
Pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-1-15:
If the convicted person is erroneously sentenced, the mistake
does not render the sentence void. The sentence shall be
corrected after written notice is given to the convicted person.
The convicted person and his counsel must be present when the
corrected sentence is ordered. A motion to correct sentence must
be in writing and supported by a memorandum of law
specifically pointing out the defect in the original sentence.
[13] Our supreme court has explained that the purpose of this statute “is to provide
prompt, direct access to an uncomplicated legal process for correcting the
occasional erroneous or illegal sentence.” Robinson v. State, 805 N.E.2d 783, 785
(Ind. 2004) (citation omitted). A motion to correct erroneous sentence is
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appropriate only when the sentencing error is “clear from the face of the
judgment imposing the sentence in light of the statutory authority.” Id. at 787.
Claims that require consideration of the proceedings before, during, or after
trial may not be presented by way of a motion to correct erroneous sentence.
Davis v. State, 937 N.E.2d 8, 11 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010), trans. denied. Such claims
should instead be addressed on direct appeal or through post-conviction relief.
Robinson, 805 N.E.2d at 787. A motion to correct erroneous sentence is a
narrow remedy, and a reviewing court will strictly apply the requirement of a
facially erroneous sentence. Id.
[14] On appeal, we review a trial court’s denial of a motion to correct erroneous
sentence for an abuse of discretion, which occurs when the trial court’s decision
is against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Davis v.
State, 978 N.E.2d 470, 472 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).
Discussion and Decision
[15] Isby argues on appeal that he is entitled to credit for the time he served from the
date of his arrest in the attempted murder case in 1990, through his release on
his prior sentences, and for time served since then. Isby argues that he was
detained from the date of his arrest in 1990 and that his forty-year consecutive
sentence began to be served in 1992, not when he completed serving his prior
sentences in 2009.
[16] To review Isby’s claims would obviously require us, and the trial court, to
consider matters outside the face of the judgment. This is precisely why he
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attached to his motion twelve exhibits in support of his claims. As explained
above, claims, such as Isby’s, that require consideration of the proceedings
before, during, or after trial may not be presented by way of a motion to correct
erroneous sentence. Davis, 937 N.E.2d at 11. Isby was convicted of two Class A
felonies and one Class A misdemeanor, which was later reduced to a Class B
misdemeanor. For this, he received an aggregate sentence of forty years. We
discern nothing facially erroneous about this sentence. We therefore conclude
that the trial court properly denied Isby’s motion to correct erroneous sentence.
[17] Moreover, as noted by the State, Isby presented this same argument in his
second habeas petition in 2014, which the trial court denied and we affirmed.
Thus, his claims are also res judicata.
[18] For these reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Vaidik, C.J., and Crone, J., concur.
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