Ivan Lee Sweets, Sr. v. The State of Wyoming
2013 WY 98
| Wyo. | 2013Background
- In 2010 Ivan Sweets obtained crane attachments from Mary Froman after representing he had buyers, financing, a mechanic, and a secure storage location; Froman consented only for storage at 5 Star pending a written contract.
- Sweets directed a truck to load the boom and jib; instead of delivering them to 5 Star, the driver took them to Pacific Steel where they were sold for scrap.
- Froman reported the loss; Sweets was charged with obtaining property by false pretenses (felony) and wrongful disposing of property (felony).
- A jury convicted Sweets on both counts; the district court sentenced him to 6–8 years on each count to run consecutively.
- On appeal Sweets challenged (1) sufficiency of evidence for the false-pretenses conviction and (2) denial of his motion to merge the two convictions for sentencing (double jeopardy/multiple punishment).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for obtaining property by false pretenses | State: evidence (misrepresentations about storage/assistants, immediate sale of parts) supported each element including intent to defraud | Sweets: promises were future acts (commercial dispute); no proof he intended not to perform the purchase agreement | Held: Evidence sufficient — misrepresentations of existing facts and fraudulent intent reasonably inferred from immediate disposal and sale |
| Merger of sentences (double jeopardy — multiple punishments) | Sweets: the obtaining and disposing were one continuous act; under facts-or-evidence test convictions should merge | State: statutes have different elements; legislative intent supports separate punishments; disposal could in theory occur without prior false pretenses | Held: Court overruled Wyoming’s "facts or evidence" merger test and adopted Blockburger same-elements test as sole test; here statutes have different elements, so no merger required (convictions affirmed) |
Key Cases Cited
- Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (same-elements test controls multiple-punishment analysis)
- United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688 (rejected same-conduct/same-facts tests; affirmed Blockburger framework)
- Bilderback v. State, 13 P.3d 249 (Wyo.) (illustrative application of facts-or-evidence test leading to merger)
- Najera v. State, 214 P.3d 990 (Wyo.) (illustrative merger under facts-or-evidence test for overlapping sexual-offense counts)
- James v. State, 271 P.3d 1016 (Wyo.) (discussed prior Wyoming merger practice and double jeopardy principles)