State v. Branch
State v. Branch
Opinion of the Court
On direct appeal from a final judgment of conviction, appellant argues that the district court erred in imposing a sentence for second-degree assault because it arose out of the same behavioral incident as his conviction of drive-by shooting, and no "exception" to
*457FACTS
In April 2017, appellant Deveon Marquise Branch met C.R.G. at a location in Minneapolis to drop off their son. After appellant gave the child to C.R.G., another individual named J.L.T., the child, and C.R.G. entered C.R.G.'s vehicle. A fifth individual, C.L.G., stood outside, next to the vehicle. Appellant and C.L.G. started arguing. Appellant pulled out a handgun and attempted to fire a shot in C.L.G.'s direction, but the bullet struck the vehicle with C.R.G., J.L.T., and the child inside.
The state charged appellant with one count of drive-by shooting in violation of
Appellant pleaded guilty to all three counts with no agreement on sentencing. The district court sentenced appellant to 48 months in prison for the drive-by-shooting offense (count one) and 36 months for the second-degree-assault offense (count two). The district court did not impose a sentence on the offense of reckless discharge of a firearm. This appeal follows.
ISSUE
Did the district court err by imposing multiple sentences for drive-by-shooting and second-degree-assault offenses when both convictions arose out of a single behavioral incident and when the multiple-victim rule of
ANALYSIS
Appellant contends that the district court must vacate his sentence for second-degree assault because, first, both of his convictions "arose out of a single behavioral incident, motivated by a single criminal objective," and, second, because no "exception" to the one-sentence-per-victim component of
Whether offenses arising from a single behavioral incident are subject to multiple sentences under
Appellant acknowledges the existence of the multiple-victim rule of section 609.035, subdivision 1. See Munt v. State ,
In State v. Ferguson , the supreme court relied on this rule to uphold the imposition of multiple sentences for eight counts of aiding and abetting second-degree assault and one count of drive-by shooting, after the defendant had committed a drive-by shooting of a building with eight occupants.
As to appellant's first argument, the Ferguson court "express[ed] no opinion about who could be victims of a drive-by shooting at a person or an occupied vehicle" because that issue was not before the court.
The supreme court in Ferguson based its decision on a close reading of the language of the drive-by-shooting statute, which provides that:
(a) [w]hoever, while in or having just exited from a motor vehicle, recklessly discharges a firearm at or toward another motor vehicle or a building is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years or to payment of a fine of not more than $ 6,000, or both.
(b) Any person who violates this subdivision by firing at or toward a person, or an occupied building or motor vehicle , may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $ 20,000, or both.
The same reasoning applies here. The statutory elements are identical for both a drive-by shooting at an occupied building and a drive-by shooting at an occupied motor vehicle.
Applying Ferguson to the facts here, we hold that the offense of drive-by shooting at an occupied motor vehicle does not constitute an offense against each of the vehicle's occupants.
We need not address appellant's remaining two reasons for why Ferguson does not apply because our holding resolves the question of whether the logic of Ferguson applies to occupied motor vehicles. Additionally, following Ferguson precludes the need to address appellant's first argument as to why the district court must vacate his sentence for second-degree assault.
DECISION
Consistent with Ferguson , we hold that a single count of drive-by shooting at an occupied motor vehicle does not constitute an offense against each of the vehicle's occupants. Accordingly, the district court did not err by imposing sentences for drive-by shooting and second-degree assault, even if both convictions arose out of a single behavioral incident involving the same victim.
Affirmed.
Appellant's brief identifies C.L.G. as the only victim. However, the complaint names C.R.G. as the second-degree-assault victim, and C.R.G. was an occupant of the vehicle implicated in the drive-by-shooting offense.
This court addressed this very issue in an unpublished opinion, State v. Neal-Hill , No. A09-2307,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Minnesota v. Deveon Marquise BRANCH
- Status
- Published