Pursuant to Va. Code Ann. §19.2-303, when a person has been sentenced for a felony to the department of corrections, but has not yet been transferred, the trial court may, at any time before the transfer, suspend or otherwise modify the sentence imposed.

 

The trial court may do so if such action is consistent with the public interest and mitigating circumstances exist. The trial court has the discretion to suspend or otherwise modify a sentence under §19.2-303 even where the defendant was sentenced pursuant to a plea bargain. This discretion exists, however, only until the defendant has been transferred to the Department of Corrections.