State v. Hinton
Decision Date | 05 May 2009 |
Docket Number | No. COA08-758.,COA08-758. |
Citation | 675 S.E.2d 672 |
Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Charles Everette HINTON, Defendant. |
Lisa Skinner Lefler, Wilmington, for defendant-appellant.
A sentencing worksheet coupled with statements by counsel may constitute a stipulation to the existence of the prior convictions listed therein.1 In this case, Defendant argues that the trial court's calculation of his prior record level was not supported by sufficient evidence to show that his out-of-state convictions were "substantially similar" to North Carolina offenses. Because Defendant's assertions at trial and failure to object to the sentencing worksheet constituted a stipulation to the existence of his prior convictions, we affirm his sentence.
On 4 February 2008, Defendant Charles E. Hinton pled guilty to felony larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. The trial court sentenced him to twelve to fifteen months' imprisonment. His sentence was based in part on the determination that he had a prior record level of V, supported by sixteen prior record points.
On appeal, Defendant argues the trial court erred in assigning two points to each of his three New York convictions because the State failed to carry its burden of demonstrating that the out-of-state convictions were "substantially similar" to North Carolina offenses. Thus, he contends that he should have been sentenced under prior record level IV rather than V. We disagree.
A defendant's prior record level is determined under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-1340.14(a) (2007) by calculating the sum of the points assigned to each prior conviction. Defendants with at least nine but not more than fourteen points receive a level IV classification, while defendants with at least fifteen but not more than eighteen points receive a level V classification. N.C. Gen. Stat § 15A-1340.14(c)(4)-(5). Here, Defendant's sentencing worksheet shows that, based on his prior convictions, he was assigned sixteen prior record points, resulting in a level V classification.
Section 15A-1340.14(f) of the North Carolina General Statutes provides that a defendant's prior convictions may be proved by stipulation of the parties, a record of prior convictions, or by any other method the court finds to be reliable. "The State bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a prior conviction exists and that the offender before the court is the same person as the offender named in the prior conviction." N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-1340.14(f). While a sentencing worksheet alone is insufficient to satisfy this burden, a sentencing worksheet coupled with statements by counsel may constitute a stipulation by the parties to the prior convictions listed therein. Hanton, 140 N.C.App. at 690, 540 S.E.2d at 383 ( ).
The facts of this case are similar to those of State v. Morgan, 164 N.C.App. at 307, 595 S.E.2d at 811, in which this Court concluded that statements by defense counsel "constituted a stipulation to the existence of the prior convictions" despite the parties' disagreement over the number of points to be assigned to defendant's prior homicide conviction. In Morgan, the following exchange took place:
Morgan, 164 N.C.App. at 306-07, 595 S.E.2d at 810-811.
In Morgan, this Court concluded that "[d]efense counsel conceded the existence of the convictions [listed on the worksheet submitted by the State] by arguing that Defendant should be sentenced at a level III on the basis of her prior record." Id. at 307, 595 S.E.2d at 811. Further, this Court noted that defense counsel's only objection to the worksheet was to the number of points assigned to the homicide conviction, and that, on appeal, the defendant did not contend that any of the convictions listed therein did not, in fact, exist. Id. at 307, 595 S.E.2d at 811 ( ). Similarly, the following exchange occurred in this case:
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