Attorney for Appellant J.J. Paul, III Indianapolis, IN


Attorneys for Appellee Steve Carter Attorney General of Indiana Scott A. Kreider Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, IN



      IN THE
      INDIANA SUPREME COURT


SALVATORE DESANTIS,
      Appellant (Defendant below),

      v. STATE OF INDIANA,
      Appellee (Plaintiff below).



) )     Supreme Court No. )     30S01-0210-CR-532 )
) )
) )
)



      APPEAL FROM THE HANCOCK SUPERIOR COURT
      The Honorable Richard D. Culver, Judge
      Cause No. 30D02-9911-DF-1263



                           ON PETITION TO TRANSFER




                              October 29, 2002


SULLIVAN, Justice.



      Salvatore Desantis appeals from  a  criminal  conviction  for  driving after being suspended under the habitual  traffic  violator  statutes.   For more background, see our companion decision, Groce  v.  State,  No.   49S02- 0203-CR-202 (Ind. October 29, 2002), also decided today.


      On October  7,  1994,  the  Bureau  of  Motor  Vehicles  (“BMV”)  sent Desantis a letter informing him that he  was  a  habitual  traffic  violator (“HTV”) and that his license  would  be  suspended  effective  November  17, 1994.  On November 30, 1995, the BMV sent Desantis a  letter  outlining  his right to judicial review of his license suspension.  On November  19,  1999, Desantis was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated (“OWI”)  and operating a motor vehicle  after  being  adjudged  an  HTV.   Desantis  pled guilty to the OWI on November 20, 2000, and was tried by the  court  on  the HTV charge.  On January 5, 2001,  the  trial  court  convicted  Desantis  of operating  a  motor  vehicle  after  being  adjudged  an  HTV,  and  he  was subsequently sentenced to one and one-half years in the Hancock County  jail and suspension of his driver’s license for life.

      The Court of Appeals correctly affirmed  the  judgment  of  the  trial court.  See Desantis v. State, 760 N.E.2d 641 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

      As outlined in our companion case, Desantis claims his HTV  suspension is void ab  initio  given  the  BMV’s  failure  to  provide  information  of judicial  review  opportunities   in   the   original   suspension   notice. Consequently, Desantis requests his subsequent conviction for driving  while suspended as an HTV be reversed.  Because we  hold  in  the  companion  case decided today that the underlying HTV suspension is valid and  not  void  ab initio, there are no grounds to reverse the present conviction.


                                 Conclusion



      We grant transfer pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 58(A), adopt  the opinion of the Court of Appeals,  and  affirm  the  judgment  of  the  trial court.


SHEPARD, C.J., and DICKSON, BOEHM, and RUCKER, JJ., concur.