State of Iowa v. Wyatt K. Slinker
State of Iowa v. Wyatt K. Slinker
Opinion
A man claimed Wyatt Slinker owed him money. Slinker told the man to get out of his face, swung at him, and hit him. The man fell to the ground and eventually died.
The State charged Slinker with involuntary manslaughter and assault causing serious injury.
See
On appeal, Slinker contends (1) the district court considered improper sentencing factors, (2) his attorney was ineffective in failing to object to victim impact statements from the victim's uncles, and (3) the district court improperly assessed costs against him on the dismissed charge.
I
. "It is a well-established rule that a sentencing court may not rely upon additional, unproven, and unprosecuted charges unless the defendant admits to the charges or there are facts presented to show the defendant committed the offenses."
State v. Formaro
,
Slinker argues the district court considered several unproven charges: (a) "multiple Disorderly Conduct convictions, when in reality the PSI established multiple Disorderly Conduct arrests but only one Disorderly Conduct conviction ," (b) "a 2016 sentencing for two 'assaults' against 'two separate individuals,' when in reality the PSI revealed a 2016 arrest for two assaults against two separate individuals but listed only one of those assault arrests as resulting in a conviction ," and (c) his placement "on probation ... a 'third time' prior to the commission of the instant offense when, in reality, the PSI established that [he] had been placed on probation only two times prior to the instant offense."
The PSI report contained two listings for disorderly conduct: (1) "2/7/2012, PD, Marshalltown, IA Disorderly Conduct-Abusive Epithets/Threat Gesture, SMCRO79915 3/13/2012, fine" and (2) "1/17/2015, SO, Tama County, IA Disorderly Conduct-Loud or Raucous Noise, SMSM011774." The district court referred to "a couple of disorderly conduct convictions," notwithstanding the absence of a disposition line next to the second listing. However, at the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor stated Slinker had "a disorderly conduct conviction in 2012 and in 2015." Slinker failed to object to or correct this assertion. Under these circumstances, the court could have reasonably relied on the prosecutor's representation.
Context was also key. The court referred to the disorderly conduct convictions during a general discussion of Slinker's lengthy criminal history. The reference was analogous to the court's mention of "additional crimes" in
Jose
.
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The same holds true for the assault convictions and probation sentences. The record establishes Slinker was convicted of two separate assault counts stemming from a single arrest, and he was sentenced to three prior periods of probation. The court did not rely on unproven offenses in sentencing Slinker.
II.
Iowa Code section 915.21 allows crime victims to present victim impact statements at or before sentencing. The term "victim" includes "the immediate family members of a victim who died or was rendered incompetent as a result of the offense."
Slinker contends his attorney was ineffective in failing to object to the victim impact statements presented by two of the victim's uncles.
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Strickland v. Washington
,
One or more of the victim's immediate family members stated (1) the fight was over a twenty-dollar bill, (2) Slinker showed no remorse, (3) the victim, like Slinker, had disabilities, (4) the victim's father was killed by a drunk driver, (5) the victim's father suffered some of the same injuries and died under similar circumstances as the victim, and (6) the victim's mother lost her sole source of help. The uncles stated (1) the fight was over a twenty-dollar bill, (2) Slinker showed no remorse, (3) the victim had a learning disability, (4) the victim's father was killed by a drunk driver, (5) the victim's father suffered some of the same injuries and died under similar circumstances as the victim, and (6) the victim's mother lost her helper. The uncles' statements did not tell "the court anything that it did not already know."
See
Tesch
,
III.
"[O]nly such fees and costs attributable to the charge on which a criminal defendant is convicted should be recoverable under a restitution plan," unless the plea agreement provides otherwise.
State v. Petrie
,
Slinker contends the district court improperly taxed him with costs on the dismissed assault charge. The State concedes, "[T]he district court's written judgment purported to tax costs for the dismissed charge" but argues Slinker failed to establish he was over-assessed.
We agree Slinker was assessed costs on the dismissed charge. Our conclusion is bolstered by the court's separate assessment of costs on the manslaughter charge. Although the State cogently argues the costs listed in the record are all attributable to the manslaughter charge, our precedent requires us to vacate that portion of the sentence and remand for a corrected sentencing order.
See
State v. Brown
,
SENTENCE AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART AND REMANDED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.