Meadows v. State
Meadows v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Shawn Meadows, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, a violation of §
The appellant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. According to the appellant, his guilty pleas were involuntary because, he says, the trial court failed to adequately explain the effects of the enhancement provisions, thereby misinforming him about the maximum and minimum possible sentences he was facing. In his motion, the appellant stated that he understood his plea agreement and the district attorney's recommended sentences would result in base sentences of three years and one five-year enhancement on each case, "i.e., [he understands that] the State was waiving double enhancement."
The trial court failed to explain the effect of the enhancement provisions, and the sentences failed to satisfy the enhancement statutes. In Fletcher v. State,
"The legislative intent is that the five-year penalties shall not run concurrently with each other or any other sentence imposed. The enhancement terms provided for by these statutes must be `added to' any other penalty pronounced by the court."
Fletcher had been convicted of two counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and had been sentenced to 10 years and 1 day on each count with 5-year enhancements under §
In the instant case, the appellant pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and was given two separate sentences, each sentence containing enhancements pursuant to both §
Moreover, the appellant failed to preserve for review the issue whether the trial court failed to inform him of the effects of the sentencing enhancements. In his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, the appellant argued that he misunderstood his plea agreement and the district attorney's recommended sentence, thinking that it called for one five-year enhancement on each count, rather than two five-year enhancements on each count. Nowhere in that motion did he allege that the trial court failed to inform him of the proper minimum and maximum possible sentences he was facing, including the effects of the enhancement provisions. In order to preserve an issue for our review, a party must first specifically raise the issue before the trial court. Acree v. State,
REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.*
LONG, P.J., and COBB, BASCHAB, and FRY, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Shawn Meadows, Alias v. State.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published