402 P.3d 980
Wyo.2017Background
- Curtis Drakeford pled no contest to strangulation of a household member and to domestic battery (third or subsequent) after consolidated felony informations; three child-endangerment counts were dismissed.
- Affidavits described the victim with a bloody face and two separate assaults: Appellant placed hands around her neck in the bathroom (impeding breathing) and later struck her on the head with a beer bottle in the main room.
- Officers observed finger marks on the victim’s neck and lumps on her head consistent with the two described injuries; Appellant was arrested and charged with both offenses.
- District court accepted the pleas and imposed concurrent sentences of 2–4 years on each count; Drakeford appealed raising a double jeopardy claim.
- Drakeford argued domestic battery is a lesser included offense of strangulation and convicting/sentencing on both violates double jeopardy; the State conceded domestic battery is a lesser included offense but argued the convictions arose from separate acts.
- The court reviewed the unpreserved double jeopardy claim for plain error and analyzed whether the two offenses were based on distinct conduct.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether convicting and sentencing Drakeford for both strangulation and domestic battery violated double jeopardy | Drakeford: Domestic battery is a lesser included offense of strangulation; punishing both violates double jeopardy | State: Although domestic battery is a lesser included offense, convictions rest on separate acts (strangulation in bathroom; battery with beer bottle in main room) so no double jeopardy | No plain-error double jeopardy violation — convictions affirmed because offenses were based on separate, distinct acts |
Key Cases Cited
- Ball v. United States, 470 U.S. 856 (double jeopardy prohibits multiple punishments for same offense)
- Nickels v. State, 351 P.3d 288 (Wyo. 2015) (battery is a lesser-included offense of household-member strangulation)
- Granzer v. State, 239 P.3d 640 (Wyo. 2010) (Blockburger statutory-elements test governs lesser-included analysis)
- Redding v. State, 371 P.3d 136 (Wyo. 2016) (distinct acts, even seconds apart, are not lesser-included offences of each other)
- Sam v. State, 401 P.3d 834 (Wyo. 2017) (separate and distinct conduct precludes double jeopardy claim)
- Baum v. State, 745 P.2d 877 (Wyo. 1987) (same principle that distinct acts are not included offenses)
- Bowlsby v. State, 302 P.3d 913 (Wyo. 2013) (a second conviction is impermissible punishment under double jeopardy)