Man denied request by state court to recalculate time served

Jun. 1—HARRISBURG, Pa. — A man sentenced in Cambria County court on drug charges in three separate cases had his case dismissed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Damon Shawn Wheeler, 49, petitioned the state Superior Court with claims that the Department of Corrections did not accurately calculate his time served and that he had paid all of the costs associated with his cases.

In an opinion issued Wednesday, the superior court dismissed Wheeler's petition, which was filed last June, with prejudice.

Wheeler's petition said that he was first arrested on May 11, 2019, and that he remained incarcerated continuously after that date. A sentence was then imposed on June 22, 2020, on one of his cases and on two additional cases, but at the time of sentencing his credit for time served began on July 19, 2019.

Documents provided to the court by the department indicated that the trial court granted Wheeler 340 days of credit for time served corresponding to the period from July 19, 2019, until Wheeler's first sentencing on June 22, 2020.

"While an inmate may file a petition for review requesting that the department correct a mistake in computing a sentence, the department has no power to modify a sentence at the inmate's request," the opinion said. "Even accepting for the sake of argument that the trial court's sentencing orders are ambiguous as to credit for time served, (Wheeler) should have sought clarification from the trial court."

The opinion also states that records show that Wheeler has a "variety of costs" with the outstanding balance of all financial penalties totaling more than $1,300 and was "simply mistaken in his belief that the trial court ordered him to pay a total of only $600.50."