State v. Hankins

319 P.3d 571, 49 Kan. App. 2d 971, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 10
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedFebruary 21, 2014
DocketNo. 109,123
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 319 P.3d 571 (State v. Hankins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hankins, 319 P.3d 571, 49 Kan. App. 2d 971, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 10 (kanctapp 2014).

Opinions

JOHNSON, J.:

Anthony C. Hankins appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. He asserts drat the district court incorrectly included in his criminal history an Oklahoma deferred sentence that was not actually a conviction. We affirm the rulings of the district court.

Factual and Procedural History

On July 2, 2010, Hankins, dressed for combat and wielding a rifle, burst into Saints Bar and Grill. He threatened to do bodily harm to his victims and robbed the business of around $1,500. The police stopped Hankins’ vehicle as he was making his getaway. However, before they could take Hankins into custody, he sped away. Hanldns then crashed his vehicle. The police arrested him and, amidst other evidence of the crime, found around $1,500 in [972]*972cash in his vehicle. Saints had a security system that captured the robbeiy on video. The proprietor of Saints recognized the robber as being similar in appearance to the person he saw on the video security system burglarizing Saints a month before the robbery.

The State charged Hankins with four felonies. He attempted to negotiate a plea bargain that included some concessions for probation. When that failed, Hankins, contrary to the advice of his attorney, decided to plead guilty without benefit of a plea bargain. On March 25, 2011, Hankins pled guilty as charged to one count of aggravated robbeiy and two counts of aggravated assault for the offenses he committed on July 2, 2010, and one count of burglary for the offense of June 4,2010. The presentence investigation (PSI) report listed three prior convictions: (1) possession of a firearm on school property, an adult nonperson felony; (2) giving a worthless check, an adult nonperson misdemeanor; and (3) possession of stolen property, an adult nonperson misdemeanor. The felony conviction was from Oklahoma. The PSI suggested that Hankins’ criminal history score was G.

The district court sentenced Hankins on May 19, 2011. At the outset of the hearing, the district court recited tire possible sentences indicated in the PSI report for each count. For tire primary offense, aggravated robbeiy, a level 3 person felony, using a criminal histoiy score of G, the aggravated sentence was 77 months, the standard sentence was 72 months, and the mitigated sentence was 68 months. For the three additional offenses, each a level 7 felony, applying a criminal history score of I, the applicable grid box provided a sentence range of 13 months, 12 months, or 11 months. The district court pointed out that this was a “presumptive prison” case.

The district court asked if anyone disagreed or had anything to add to the suggested sentencing terms from tíre PSI. Hankins’ attorney stated that he did not disagree and had nothing to add to those findings. Hankins’ attorney next responded that he knew of no reason not to proceed with sentencing. The district court then heard Hankins’ comprehensive arguments for a dispositional departure to probation. Hankins’ attorney argued the following points: Hankins entered his pleas as charged, without litigation, [973]*973and contrary to advice of counsel, in order to reduce the burden on the State and the witnesses; he had obtained a job and was doing well; he was not a disciplinary problem at the residential center; he was remorseful about his criminal conduct and took full responsibility for it; he used a BB gun rather than an actual firearm during tire robbery; and he had a son to support. Hankins’ attorney suggested that, if the court granted probation, it could put “an enormous sentence over his head.” As further evidence of Hankins’ commitment to minimize the State’s burden, his attorney stated:

“There was an issue about that conviction in Oklahoma, whether it had actually been dismissed or if it was part of a diversion or some juvenile issues. He didn’t want to challenge that either, Judge, and decided, I’ve been dealing with this, I want to go forward today. I think if the court takes all of that into consideration, along with everything that is been outlined in tire departure motion, there is enough, there is enough to find grounds for a departure in this case.”

Hankins himself made a lengthy, articulate argument for probation. He emphasized that his job allowed him to use his college education. He read supporting letters from fraternity brothers and others to the court. Hankins did not contradict his attorney’s waiver of a challenge to the Oklahoma item on the PSI.

The district court found that Hankins’ reasons to depart from the presumption of imprisonment were not substantial and compelling. It sentenced Hankins to a term of 68 months in prison, the mitigated sentence, on the aggravated robbery count, and 12 months in prison on each of the other counts, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.

On June 2, 2011, Hankins’ filed his Notice of Appeal of the sentence, all judgments, and all adverse rulings entered by the district court. On October 27, 2011, because of the notice of voluntary dismissal filed by Hankins, this court dismissed that appeal.

On June 25, 2012, Hankins filed a pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence alleging that the Oklahoma conviction should not have been included in his criminal history. He argued that the case there was disposed of through a special Oklahoma process called “deferred sentencing” that did not result in a conviction. Through his attorney, Hankins filed a supplemental motion to correct an illegal sentence on October'16, 2012. The State filed its response [974]*974to the motion on October 30, 2012. The State argued that Hankins waived his right to challenge tire criminal history by stipulating to its accuracy. It contended that the doctrine of invited error precluded the relief Plankins requested. The State also addressed the substance of Hankins’ criminal history argument. The State attached Hankins’ Plea of Guilty and Summary of Facts form and the Sentencing After Previous Plea of Guilty form from the Oklahoma case. It argued that Hankins pled guilty to the offense so, under Kansas law, it constituted a conviction. The parties argued these positions at the motion hearing October 31, 2012. Interestingly, Hankins did not testify. The district court took the matters under advisement.

By written order entered November 26, 2012, the district court denied Hankins’ motion. It found that Hankins had waived his right to challenge his criminal history because he stipulated to it in open court. Thus, he could not now complain about an error he had invited by the stipulation. Further, the district court found that Hankins made a strategic decision not to challenge his criminal history: “It is apparent that during sentencing the Defendant argued for leniency because he did not challenge his criminal history or add additional burdens to the prosecutor.” It also found that, even if the defendant were able to challenge his criminal histoiy score, he had failed to prove that it was incorrect. The district court stated that deferred sentence offenses from other states can be included in a defendant’s criminal history where, as here, the proceeding had established the defendant’s guilt but simply deferred the imposition of punishment. Hankins filed a timely notice of appeal.

Analysis

On appeal the parties offer the same arguments they made to the district court.

The court may correct an illegal sentence at any time. K.S.A.

Related

State v. Thomas
383 P.3d 152 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2016)
State v. Hankins
372 P.3d 1124 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2016)
State v. Ruiz
343 P.3d 544 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2015)
State v. Evans
343 P.3d 122 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2015)
State v. Howard
339 P.3d 809 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
319 P.3d 571, 49 Kan. App. 2d 971, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 10, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hankins-kanctapp-2014.