SANDERS v. STATE

2015 OK CR 11, 358 P.3d 280, 2015 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 11, 2015 WL 5771821
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided October 1, 2015·No. F-2014-678·Published·Cited by 67 cases

Opinion

OPINION

LUMPKIN, Vice Presiding Judge.

T1 Appellant Michael Lee Sanders was tried by jury and convicted of Possession of a Firearm After Former Conviction of a Felony (Count I) (21 0.8.8upp.2012, § 1283) and Knowingly Concealing Stolen Property After Former Conviction of a Felony (Count I1) (21 00.98.2011, § 1718), Case No. CF-2013-604, in the District Court of Payne County. The jury recommended as punishment imprisonment for ten (10) years in Count I and two (2) years in Count II. The trial court sentenced accordingly, ordering the sentences be served concurrently.

¶ 2 Appellant raises the following propositions of error in support of his appeal:

*283 I. The State violated the prohibition against double jeopardy by carving two crimes from one presence of a gun.
II. The trial court erred in failing to hold a three stage trial.
III, Appellant's sentences were improperly enhanced by prior felonies that arose out of the same transaction.
IV. The trial judge erred by not properly© instructing the jury as -to sentencing.
V. The State failed to meet its burden of proof regarding enhancement.
VI. The trial judge erred by failing to find that an unlawful search took place in this case.
VIL The evidence was insufficient to support the charge of felon in possession of a weapon.
VIII. The evidence was insufficient to support the charge of concealing - stolen property.
IX. Prosecutorial misconduct deprived Appellant of a fair trial and due process of law.
X. Because the trial judge erred by flue-tuating between the terms "not guilty" and "innocence", Appellant was deprived of a fair trial and due process of law.
"XI. Evidence which was more' prejudicial than probative denied Appellant a fair trial,
XII. Ineffective assistance of counsel deprived Appellant of a fair trial.
XIII. Cumulative error deprived Appellant of a fair trial.

13 After thorough consideration of these propositions and the entire record before us on appeal including the original record, tran-seripts, and briefs of the parties, we have determined that under the law and the evidence the conviction and sentence in Count II for Knowingly Concealing Stolen Property shall be reversed with instructions to dismiss.

14 In Proposition I, we review the trial court's decision to deny Appellant's motion to dismiss Count II on multiple punishment grounds for an abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion is any unreasonable or arbitrary action taken without proper consideration of the facts and law pertaining to the matter at issue or a clearly erroneous conclusion and judgment, one that is clearly against the logic and effect .of the facts presented. State v. Delso, 2018 OK CR 5, 15, 298 P.3d 1192, 1194.

15 Title 21 0.8.2011, § 11(A) governs multiple punishments for a single criminal act. Section 11 provides in relevant part that:

[Aln act or omission which is made punishable in different ways by different provisions of this title may be pumshed under any of such provisions, ... but in no case can a criminal act or omission be punished under more than one section of law; and an acquittal or conviction and sentence under one section of law, bars the prosecution for the same act or omission under any other section of law.

16 The proper analysis of a Section 11 claim focuses on the relationship between the crimes. Barnard v. State, 2012 OK CR 15, 127, 290 P.8d 759, 767; Davis v. State, 1999 OK CR 48, 113, 993 P.2d 124, 126. If the crimes truly arise out of one act, Section 11 prohibits prosecution for more than one . crime, absent express legislative intent. Barnard, 2012 OK CR 15, 127, 290 P.3d at 767. If the offenses at issue are separate and distinct, requiring dissimilar proof, Oklahoma's statutory ban on "double punishment" is not violated. Littlejohn v. State, 2008 OK CR 12, 116, 181 P.3d 736, 742. Thus, it is first necessary to examine the relationship between the two crimes to determine whether they constitute a single act. Barnard, 2012 OK CR 15, T 27, 290 P.8d at 767.

T7 This Court has considered multiple punishment claims involving convictions for Felon in Possession in several unpublished cases. Generally, this Court has found no Section 11 violation for felon in possession and other crimes in which the weapon was used to commit a crime at a later time. This line of cases generally state that felon in possession is a status crime and the defendant becomes guilty of the offense of felon in possession the moment he comes into possession of the weapon,. Later use of the gun to commit another crime has been found to be a *284 separate act from the preceding unlawful possession. 1

T8 Many of these unpublished cases lack a full factual analysis and we realize the confusion this creates in trying to discern the appropriate Section 11 analysis. Based upon our published case law the factors to consider in a Section 11 analysis are: 1) the particular facts of each case; 2) whether those facts set out separate and distinct crimes; and 3) the intent of the Legislature, While the crime of felon in possession is complete upon a convicted felon being in possession, either personally or constructively, of a weapon, see Hancock v. State, 2007 OK CR 9, T115, 155 P.3d 796, 828, the individual's further actions dictate whether additional criminal charges may arise from those acts. We use the terms "separate and distinct" in a Section 11 analysis in an attempt to give guidance to trial judges and attorneys. However, ultimately the trial judge must analyze the issue based on the particular facts presented, just as this Court must do on appeal.

T9 In the present case, Payne County Sheriff's deputies served an arrest warrant on Appellant at a house owned by his girlfriend, Dakota Gottfried. Deputies had previously encountered Appellant at the house and had even been told by Appellant that he lived at the house. Appellant was known to the deputies to be a convicted felon. Deputy Myers approached the front door of the house and knocked several times. When the door opened, the deputy felt as though someone was behind the door. Deputy Myers called for Deputy Nack who was at the back door and together they entered the house with guns drawn. Appellant was observed crouching behind the front door with his hands up. Appellant obeyed directions to get on the floor and he was subsequently handcuffed. -

€ 10 In a protective sweep of the house, a Glock 17C 2 was observed on the kitchen table, While the kitchen area appeared to be a separate room, it was open and visible from the front door. The weapon could be seen from the front door. Deputies checked the weapon and found it was magazine loaded but not chamber loaded. By running the serial number, the deputies learned the gun was stolen.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

SANDERS v. STATE, 2015 OK CR 11, 358 P.3d 280, 2015 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 11, 2015 WL 5771821 (Okla. Ct. App. 2015).

2015 OK CR 11 (SANDERS v. STATE) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

SORRELL v. STATE
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2026
JACKSON v. STATE
2024 OK CR 11 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2024)
Hammick v. Quick
N.D. Oklahoma, 2023
Smith v. Rankins
E.D. Oklahoma, 2023
SHEPARD v. STATE
2023 OK CR 15 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2023)
ARCE v. STATE
2023 OK CR 9 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2023)
BUCK v. STATE
2023 OK CR 2 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2023)
COFFMAN v. STATE
2022 OK CR 23 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2022)
OLIVER v. STATE
2022 OK CR 15 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2022)
Cortez-Lazcano v. Martin
N.D. Oklahoma, 2022
Rios v. Martin
N.D. Oklahoma, 2022
GILLIOMS v. STATE
2022 OK CR 3 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2022)
BRINK v. STATE
2021 OK CR 1 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2021)
FRANCIS v. STATE
2020 OK CR 17 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2020)
BEVER v. STATE
2020 OK CR 13 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2020)
WALL v. STATE
2020 OK CR 9 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2020)
Jones v. El Habti
E.D. Oklahoma, 2020
FRAZIER v. STATE
2020 OK CR 7 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2020)
HAMMICK v. STATE
2019 OK CR 21 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2019)
ALEXANDER v. STATE
2019 OK CR 19 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2019)