State v. MoralState v. Moral
Defendant, Donald Joseph Moral, Jr., along with a co-defendant, was charged with armed robbery, a violation of
After thoroughly boykinizing defendant, and satisfying itself that defendant was acting freely, knowingly, and intelligently, the trial court accepted defendant‘s guilty plea to armed robbery with the understanding that defendant‘s maximum sentence would not exceed 25 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. In exchange for this plea, the State nolle prossed the two counts against defendant for attempted first-degree murder. After reviewing defendant‘s pre-sentence investigation report, the sentencing court sentenced defendant to serve 25 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, the same sentence the sentencing court earlier imposed on the co-defendant.
Defendant appeals, contending: (1) the trial court failed to comply with the sentencing guidelines of
FACTS
The charges against defendant stem from a robbery of a convenience store employee. On the night of October 19, 1986, defendant along with Mitchell Matthew Borel, the co-defendant, entered a convenience store located in Lafayette Parish, and began arguing with the store clerk. In the course of the argument, defendant and Borel pulled knives, and according to the store clerk/victim, defendant stabbed him
SENTENCING GUIDELINES
Defendant contends that the sentencing court erred in failing to comply with the sentencing guidelines of
In the case sub judice, defendant argues that he is a first felony offender, that his conduct was not as violent as his co-defendant, and that his age of 19 was a mitigating factor not considered by the trial court.
The record shows that prior to the imposition of sentence, the sentencing court ordered a pre-sentence investigation report. The sentencing colloquy specifically states that the sentencing court reviewed the contents of that report when it made its sentencing choice. The report indicates that defendant was 19 years of age when he committed the present offense, and that he had no prior felony convictions. Nevertheless, the pre-sentence investigation report also shows that there had not been a disposition of 1984 charges against defendant as an accessory to burglary. Further, at the time of the present offense, defendant was on one year unsupervised probation for convictions of criminal trespass, attempted theft and simple criminal damage to property, for which he received six months in the parish jail, suspended, and placed on the aforementioned unsupervised probation. Thus, we find that although the sentencing court did not specify for the record that it considered defendant‘s young age and the absence of a prior felony conviction, the sentencing court‘s reference to the pre-sentence investigation report in the sentencing colloquy indicates that it was apprised of mitigating factors, and its sentencing choice was based in part on that knowledge. State v. Simmons, 466 So.2d 777 (La.App. 4th Cir.1985).
Defendant told the probation officer who conducted the pre-sentence investigation, and again urges in brief, that since he neither stabbed the victim nor stole the store clerk‘s wallet, he should not have received as severe a sentence as his co-defendant. We disagree with the premise of this argument, finding contrary assertions in the record. In a supplemental report to the pre-sentence investigation, the store clerk indicated that the defendant stabbed him twice and took his wallet. The record reflects that although the sentencing court, pursuant to
Accordingly, even if the sentencing court did not specifically state for the record that it considered defendant‘s age and his status as a first felony offender, we find that the record reflects through the reference to the pre-sentence investigative report that it, nonetheless, considered these facts. Therefore, we find that the record supports factual information referred to by the sentencing court which illumines the sentencing choice, and reflects that adequate consideration
EXCESSIVENESS
Defendant contends that the sentencing court erred by imposing an excessive sentence.
The maximum sentence for armed robbery is imprisonment at hard labor for not less than five years and for not more than ninety-nine years, without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant‘s sentence falls within the statutory limits.
It is clear that the sentencing court based its sentencing choice on the facts outlined hereinabove. Moreover, it is proper for a trial court to consider the benefits of a reduced penalty exposure which the defendant obtained as the result of a plea bargain. State v. Lanclos, 419 So.2d 475 (La.1982). In the case sub judice, defendant benefitted from entering into a plea bargain agreement wherein two counts of attempted first-degree murder were nolle prossed. Defendant committed a violent crime and inflicted physical harm on the victims with a dangerous weapon. Under these circumstances, we do not find the sentence so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offense, in the light of harm caused to society, as to shock our sense of justice. State v. Bonanno, supra.
For the foregoing reasons, the sentence of defendant is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.