State v. Acuapa

• Court: Superior Court of Delaware
• Decided: July 24, 2025
• Docket: 2406008689
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE, ) ) ) I.D.: 2406008689 v. ) ) ERICKSON URIBE ACUAPA ) ) Defendant. )

Submitted: July 1, 2025 Decided: July 24, 2025

ORDER On Defendant’s Motion for Modification/Reduction of Sentence

DENIED

This 24th day of July, 2025, upon consideration of the instant Motion for

Correction of an Illegal Sentence, under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(b)1

brought by Defendant Erickson Uribe Acuapa (“Uribe Acuapa”), it appears to the

Court that:

1. On April 15, 2025, Uribe Acuapa pled guilty to Assault First Degree and

Reckless Endangering First Degree.2 He was subsequently sentenced on May

5, 2025 to ten (10) years at Level V, suspended after two (2) years for eighteen

(18) months at Level III for Assault First Degree and to five (5) years at Level

1 Docket Item (“D.I.”) 20. 2 D.I. 16. V suspended for eighteen (18) months at Level III for Reckless Endangering

First Degree.3

2. In the instant Motion, Uribe Acuapa moves this Court for a review of his

sentence under Rule 35(b) which allows the Court to “reduce a sentence of

imprisonment on a motion made within 90 days after the sentence is

imposed.”4 The Court will not consider repetitive requests for sentence

reductions.5 The Court has “broad discretion” to determine whether a

reduction of sentence is appropriate.6

3. The instant Motion is Uribe Acuapa’s first request for a sentence reduction

and was timely filed.7 He asks the Court to reduce his Assault First Degree

sentence to one (1) year at Level V, followed by two (2) years at Level III. 8

The Motion notes several factors as the basis for the sentence reduction

sought, including this being his first offense, his good behavior since

incarceration, and his established employment plans when he completes

incarceration.9

3 D.I. 19. 4 Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 35(b). 5 Id. 6 Hewlett v. State, 2014 WL 5020251, at *1 (Del. 2014). 7 Uribe Acuapa’s sentence was imposed on May 5, 2025, and his Motion was filed on July 1, 2025. See D.I. 19 and 20. 8 D.I. 20 ¶ 3. 9 Id. ¶¶ 4-7. 4. Assault First Degree has a minimum mandatory time of two (2) years.10

Therefore, when imposing Uribe Acuapa’s sentence, the Court was following

the statutorily enforced requirement. The Court has no authority to reduce a

sentence below a minimum-mandatory period. Additionally, Uribe Acuapa

signed his Plea Agreement forms which indicate that his Assault First Degree

charge comes with a minimum-mandatory sentence of two years. By signing

these forms, Uribe Acuapa represented to the Court that he understood the

minimum-mandatory sentence requirement.

5. For the above reason, the Court DENIES this Motion.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ Francis J. Jones, Jr. Francis J. Jones, Jr., Judge

cc: Original to the Prothonotary Brett Fallon, Deputy Attorney General Erickson Uribe Acuapa, JTVCC, SBI No. 01041795

10 See 11 Del. Code §§ 613, 4205(2).