Mosley v. Commonwealth
| Decision Date | 28 April 2023 |
| Docket Number | 2022-CA-0617-MR |
| Parties | DAVID W. MOSLEY APPELLANT v. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY[1] APPELLEE |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL FROM BELL CIRCUIT COURT HONORABLE ROBERT V. COSTANZO, JUDGE ACTION NOS. 16-CR-00191, 16-CR-00314, 16-CR-00361 17-CR-00074, 18-CR-00447, AND 18-CR-00570
BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT: David W. Mosley, pro se Wheelwright, Kentucky.
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Daniel Cameron Attorney General of Kentucky Christopher Henry Assistant Attorney General Frankfort Kentucky.
BEFORE: CALDWELL, DIXON, AND ECKERLE, JUDGES.
David W. Mosley committed over a dozen crimes, including assault, escape, and trafficking in controlled substances, on at least six separate days during a two-year period. For these crimes, he received six separate indictments with more than a dozen total charges, and, pursuant to negotiated deals, he ultimately pleaded guilty to charges in each indictment, receiving an agreed, total, 23-year prison sentence. He now claims his counsel's assistance was ineffective because he believes his sentence should have been capped at 20 years. Because the 23-year sentence does not deviate from the statutory guidelines, and because Mosley did not prove he would have otherwise rejected the plea offers and proceeded to trial, we affirm the Trial Court's Order denying Mosley's postconviction motions.
Mosley was first sentenced to consecutive sentences totaling eight years from four of the indictments. Almost six months later, he was sentenced to consecutive sentences totaling 15 years of imprisonment under the remaining two indictments. The sentences from each indictment were run consecutively to each other for a total imprisonment sentence of 23 years. The indictments, their charges, and resulting sentences are detailed below.
On August 20, 2018, Mosley was sentenced on charges arising from four indictments covering crimes that were committed on four separate days during 2016 and 2017. In the four separate sentences, Mosley received consecutive sentences totaling eight years of imprisonment.
In 16-CR-00191, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for a crime occurring on or about February 18, 2016. Mosley pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to one count of possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense (KRS[2] 218A.1415). On August 20, 2018, Mosley was sentenced on this charge to imprisonment for one year, such sentence to run consecutively to sentences imposed in indictment numbers 17-CR-00074, 16-CR-00361, 16-CR-00314, 06-CR-00032, and 99-CR-00090.
In 16-CR-00314, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for three crimes occurring on or about April 17, 2016. Mosley pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to one count of possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense (KRS 218A.1415), one count of possession of marijuana (KRS 218A.1422), and one count of drug paraphernalia - buy/possess (KRS 218A.500). On August 20, 2018, Mosley was sentenced on these charges to a total, concurrent sentence of imprisonment for one year, said sentence to be served consecutively to sentences imposed in 17-CR-00074, 16-CR-00361, 16-CR-00191, 06-CR-00032, and 99-CR-00090.
In 16-CR-00361, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for two crimes occurring on or about October 26, 2015. Mosley pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, first degree, second or greater offense (KRS 218A.1412). On August 20, 2018, Mosley was sentenced on these charges to a total, concurrent sentence of imprisonment for five years, said sentence to be served consecutively to sentences imposed in 17-CR-00074, 16-CR-00314, 16-CR-00191, 06-CR-00032, and 99-CR-00090.
In 17-CR-00074, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for two crimes occurring on or about November 25, 2016. Mosley pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to one count of possession of a controlled substance, first degree, first offense (KRS 218A.1415), and one count of drug paraphernalia -buy/possess (KRS 218A.500). On August 20, 2018, Mosley was sentenced on these charges to a combined, concurrent sentence of imprisonment for one year, said sentence to be served consecutively to sentences imposed in 16-CR-00361, 16-CR-00314, 16-CR-00191, 06-CR-00032, and 99-CR-00090.
On February 28, 2019, Mosley was sentenced on charges arising from two indictments covering crimes that were committed on two, separate days during 2018. In the two separate sentences, Mosley received consecutive sentences totaling 15 years of imprisonment, ten of which were due to an escape charge. They are detailed below.
In 18-CR-00447, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for seven crimes occurring on or about May 22, 2018. Mosley pleaded guilty on February 22, 2019, to the following charges: being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm (KRS 527.040); receiving stolen property (KRS 514.110); trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree, first offense, greater than 2 grams, methamphetamine (KRS 218A.1412); trafficking in a controlled substance in the second degree, first offense (KRS 218A.1413); trafficking in a controlled substance in the third degree, first offense (KRS 218A.1414); trafficking in marijuana, less than 8 ounces, first offense (KRS 218A.1421); and being a second-degree persistent felony offender ("PFO") (KRS 532.080). He was sentenced on these charges on February 28, 2019, to a total, concurrent sentence of imprisonment for five years, with all sentences to run consecutively to sentences imposed in indictment numbers 18-CR-00570, 17-CR-00074, 16-CR-00361, 16-CR-00314, 16-CR-00191, and 99-CR-00090.
In 18-CR-00570, Mosley was indicted by the Bell County Grand Jury for three crimes occurring on or about August 21, 2018. Mosley pleaded guilty on February 22, 2019, to one count of third-degree assault (KRS 508.025), one count of escape in the first degree (KRS 520.020), and one count of being a second-degree PFO (KRS 532.080). On February 28, 2019, Mosley was sentenced on these charges to a total, concurrent sentence of imprisonment for ten years, said sentence to be served consecutively to sentences imposed in 18-CR-00447, 17-CR-00074, 16-CR-00361, 16-CR-00314, 16-CR-00191, 06-CR-00032, and 99-CR-00090.
Mosley subsequently filed a motion and memorandum pursuant to RCr[3] 11.42 in each of the six aforementioned indictments, claiming his counsel rendered ineffective assistance when recommending Mosley enter guilty pleas in all six indictments. Mosley claimed the statutory cap on his sentences should have been 20 years total. Thus, he asserted his counsel's performance was deficient in recommending Mosley accept plea deals resulting in a 23-year sentence of imprisonment.
On April 20, 2022, the Trial Court entered a consolidated order in all six indictments denying Mosley's request for relief pursuant to RCr 11.42. The Trial Court's order found and held that "regardless of any potential deficiency on counsel's part, [Mosley] has not demonstrated prejudice sufficient to void the plea or require an evidentiary hearing." The Trial Court reviewed the guilty plea colloquy, the guilty plea documents, and the sentencing and found that nothing "g[ave] rise to doubt regarding the voluntariness of the plea." Mosley, pro se, appealed this decision.
Specifically Mosley claims that because his crimes were Class C and D felonies, his total sentence should not have exceeded 20 years pursuant to KRS 532.080(6)(b) and KRS 532.110(1). His prayer for relief on appeal is that we "correct the aggregated sentence to twenty (20) years[.]"
The Commonwealth responds with alternative arguments to affirm the Trial Court's order. First, the Commonwealth asserts that no ineffective assistance of counsel occurred because a 23-year sentence is permissible where the sentences arise from different indictments. Second, the Commonwealth argues that the aggregate sentence is permissible because some of the crimes, i.e., the actions occurring while Mosley was awaiting trial and the escape charge, are statutorily required to run consecutively, and thus no ineffective assistance of counsel occurred.
As Mosley's claim is an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel in the context of a guilty plea, we evaluate under the standards iterated in Strickland v. Washington 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), and Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985). Commonwealth v. Thompson, 548 S.W.3d 881, 887 (Ky. 2018). Invalidating a guilty plea based on allegedly deficient performance of defense counsel requires a movant to prove both prongs of a two-part test: "(1) defense counsel's performance fell outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance; and that (2) a reasonable probability exists that, but for the deficient performance of counsel, the movant would not have pled guilty, but would have insisted on going to trial." Commonwealth v. Rank, 494 S.W.3d 476, 481 (Ky. 2016). Courts evaluating these two prongs must "indulge the strong presumption that counsel's conduct fell within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance." Id. (citing Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065). Additionally, the Trial Court must consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding the guilty plea, evaluating whether errors by trial counsel significantly influenced the defendant's decision to plead guilty such that the Trial Court should have a reason to doubt the voluntariness and validity of the plea. Rank, ...
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