The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned a $5,000 restitution order imposed on Jordan Andrade, 26, who is serving a 60-year sentence for the October 29, 2023, stabbing death of Valparaiso University student Varun Raj Pucha at a Valparaiso Planet Fitness.
Andrade pleaded guilty but mentally ill and was sentenced on October 10, 2024, by Porter Superior Judge Jeffrey Clymer. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors did not raise the issue of restitution. The following day, however, prosecutors filed a motion requesting Andrade be ordered to pay $5,000 to the state.
On October 14, Clymer issued a revised sentencing order adding the restitution—without holding a new hearing or seeking input from Andrade’s attorneys.
Represented by Valparaiso attorney Jim Harper, Andrade appealed the change, arguing that once a final sentencing judgment is issued, the trial court lacks the authority to modify it except as permitted by statute or rule. Harper maintained that the restitution order was an unlawful post-judgment modification.
In a unanimous decision authored by Chief Judge Robert Altice, the Court of Appeals agreed, stating, “A trial court does not have inherent power to modify a sentence.” The panel noted that the omission of restitution at the original sentencing made the order final, and the state could not later correct that oversight through a motion.
The court ordered Judge Clymer to remove the restitution provision, leaving Andrade’s 60-year term unchanged. With good behavior, Andrade’s earliest possible release date remains October 17, 2068.
Attorney General Todd Rokita may still petition the Indiana Supreme Court to reinstate the restitution requirement.
This ruling underscores the importance of following proper procedure in criminal sentencing—a point successfully argued by Harper on behalf of his client.