Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), 

this Memorandum Decision shall not be 

regarded as precedent or cited before 

any court except for the purpose of 

establishing the defense of res judicata, 

collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:

MARK SMALL GREGORY F. ZOELLER

Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

RYAN D. JOHANNINGSMEIER

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

CHANSE T. STARR, )

)

Appellant-Defendant, )

)

vs. ) No. 90A02-1306-CR-499

)

STATE OF INDIANA, )

)

Appellee-Plaintiff. )

APPEAL FROM THE WELLS CIRCUIT COURT

The Honorable Kenton W. Kiracofe, Judge

Cause No. 90C01-1204-FC-12

August 11, 2014

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

PYLE, Judge
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STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Chanse T. Starr (“Starr”) appeals his sentence for Class C felony burglary.1 After 

pleading guilty, the trial court sentenced Starr to eight (8) years in the Department of 

Correction and ordered that he serve the sentence consecutively to a previous Allen 

County conviction for Class C felony corrupt business influence. On appeal, Starr argues 

that the above-mentioned convictions were a single episode of criminal conduct, and his 

sentence exceeded the limit imposed by INDIANA CODE § 35-50-1-2(c). He also argues 

that the convictions violate Indiana’s Double Jeopardy Clause. Finding that Starr’s 

convictions are not a single episode of criminal conduct, and that he waived his double 

jeopardy argument by pleading guilty, we affirm Starr’s sentence.

We affirm.

ISSUES

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Starr.

2. Whether Starr’s burglary conviction and corrupt business influence conviction 

violate Indiana’s Double Jeopardy Clause.

FACTS

On October 17, 2011, Starr and three other people broke into Ugalde’s restaurant 

in Wells County to steal a safe containing a substantial amount of cash. After taking the 

safe from Ugalde’s, Starr helped load the safe into a vehicle and later helped open the 

safe. On April 10, 2012, the State charged Starr with Class C felony burglary and later 

filed a notice of intent to allege that Starr was an habitual offender. 

 

1

INDIANA CODE § 35-43-2-1.
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On May 2, 2013, Starr and the State filed a motion to enter a written plea of guilty. 

Starr agreed to plead guilty to the burglary charge, and the State agreed to dismiss the 

habitual offender enhancement. Starr’s sentence was to be decided by the court after 

argument from the parties. The trial court held a sentencing hearing on May 29, 2013 

and sentenced Starr to eight (8) years in the Department of Correction. The trial court 

ordered that Starr’s sentence run consecutive to a previous Allen County conviction for 

corrupt business influence. Starr now appeals.

DECISION

Starr argues that the trial court abused its discretion in determining his sentence. 

Specifically, he contends that his burglary conviction and a prior conviction for corrupt 

business influence in Allen County were a single “episode of criminal conduct” and his 

sentence between the two exceeds the limits of INDIANA CODE § 35-50-1-2(c). He also 

claims that the burglary conviction and corrupt business influence conviction violate 

Indiana’s Double Jeopardy Clause. We address Starr’s arguments in turn.

1. Abuse of Discretion

Starr claims that the sentence on his burglary conviction from Wells County and 

his corrupt business influence conviction out of Allen County were a single episode of 

criminal conduct, and that under INDIANA CODE § 35-50-1-2(c), the longest consecutive 

sentence he could serve between the two was ten (10) years. 

When a court orders a defendant to serve consecutive sentences for multiple 

felony convictions, a trial court must comply with Indiana Code § 35-50-1-2(c), which 

provides the following:
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Except for crimes of violence, the total of the consecutive terms of 

imprisonment . . . to which the defendant is sentenced for felony 

convictions arising out of an episode of criminal conduct shall not exceed 

the advisory sentence for a felony which is one (1) class higher than the 

most serious of the felonies for which the person has been convicted.

Indiana Code § 35-50-1-2(b) defines “episode of criminal conduct” as “a connected series 

of offenses that are closely related in time, place, and circumstance.” In Tedlock v. State, 

656 N.E.2d 273, 276 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), this Court adopted the following language as 

illustrative of what the term “episode of criminal conduct” encompassed: “the singleness 

of a criminal episode should be based on whether the alleged conduct was so closely 

related in time, place and circumstances that a complete account of one charge cannot be 

related without referring to details of the other charge.” However, our Indiana Supreme 

Court clarified that:

[A]lthough the ability to recount each charge without referring to the other 

can provide additional guidance on the question of whether a defendant’s 

conduct constitutes an episode of criminal conduct, it is not a critical 

ingredient in resolving the question. Rather, the statute speaks in less 

absolute terms: “A connected series of offenses that are closely related in 

time, place, and circumstance.”

Reed v. State, 856 N.E.2d, 1189, 1200 (Ind. 2006) (quoting I.C. § 35-50-1-2(b)).

Here, Starr was previously convicted in Allen County of racketeering activities, 

specifically theft from vehicles parked in public places, which took place from September 

29, 2011 to October 20, 2011. Though one of the thefts that comprised the racketeering 

activity may have taken place close in time to the Wells County burglary, it was not 

closely related in place and circumstance. Further, we are not persuaded by Starr’s 

assertion that committing one crime to finance another constitutes one episode of 
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criminal conduct. See, e.g. Tedlock, 656 N.E.2d at 276 (Defendant selling the same type 

of security to each of his victims in order to finance his scheme did not make all 

transactions one criminal episode). Therefore, Starr’s convictions were not a single 

episode of criminal conduct, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion.

2. Double Jeopardy

Starr argues that his Wells County conviction for burglary and his prior Allen 

County conviction for corrupt business influence violate Indiana’s Double Jeopardy 

clause. However, Starr pled guilty, and therefore waived his ability to challenge his 

conviction on double jeopardy grounds. Mapp v. State, 770 N.E.2d 332, 334 (Ind. 2002). 

“[A] defendant with adequate counsel who enters a plea agreement to achieve an 

advantageous position must keep the bargain.” Games v. State, 743 N.E.2d 1132, 1135 

(Ind. 2001). Allowing a defendant to challenge a conviction on appeal after pleading 

guilty and receiving a benefit discourages the practice of plea bargaining to expedite the 

trial process. Mapp, 770 N.E.2d at 334, n. 3. The appropriate means of challenging a 

conviction after pleading is a petition for post-conviction relief. Kling v. State, 837 

N.E.2d 502, 504 (Ind. 2005). Accordingly, we will not review Starr’s double jeopardy 

claim.

Affirmed.

FRIEDLANDER, J., and MATHIAS, J., concur.