State v. Obiero

Court of Appeals of Kansas·Decided April 22, 2022·No. 121341·Unpublished

Opinion

MODIFIED OPINION1

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

No. 121,341

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,

v.

ALFRED N. OBIERO, Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Sedgwick District Court; DAVID L. DAHL, judge. Original opinion filed January 28, 2022. Modified opinion filed April 22, 2022. Sentence affirmed in part and vacated in part, and case remanded with directions.

Alfred N. Obiero, appellant pro se.

Lance J. Gillett, assistant district attorney, Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.

Before WARNER, P.J., MALONE, J., and MICHAEL B. BUSER, Court of Appeals Judge Retired, assigned.

BUSER, J.: This is a pro se sentencing appeal brought by Alfred N. Obiero who was convicted of aggravated battery while driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol.

1 REPORTER'S NOTE: Opinion No. 121,341 was modified by the Court of Appeals on April 22, 2022, in response to appellant's motion for rehearing or modification. 1 Previously, on January 28, 2022, our court considered Obiero's appeal and filed an unpublished opinion holding that the district court did not err in calculating Obiero's criminal history score. We determined, however, that the district court imposed an illegal postrelease supervision term at sentencing. State v. Obiero, No. 121,341, 2022 WL 262195 (Kan. App.) (unpublished opinion), petition for rev. filed February 28, 2022.

After the original opinion was filed, Obiero filed a motion for rehearing asking our court to reconsider the opinion in two respects. Obiero asserted that our court erred in affirming the district court's scoring of his prior DUI convictions as person felonies because the relevant statute, K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6811(c)(3), is ambiguous. Obiero also argued that we had mistakenly determined that the Haysville Municipal Court had jurisdiction to convict him of a prior DUI and, as a result, the criminal history score calculated in this case was accurate. The State opposed Obiero's motion for rehearing and reconsideration.

Upon rehearing, we have reconsidered the two issues raised by Obiero on appeal. Regarding the claim that his prior DUI convictions were erroneously scored because K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6811(c)(3) is ambiguous, we reaffirm the holding and supporting analysis in the original opinion. We do not find any sentencing error in this regard. As to the second issue, we conclude that although the analysis in our opinion about the Haysville Municipal Court's jurisdiction was faulty, the alternative basis establishing jurisdiction proffered by the State was correct. As a result, we reaffirm our conclusion that Obiero's criminal history score was correctly calculated because the Haysville Municipal Court had concurrent jurisdiction to find Obiero guilty of his prior DUI offense.

In summary, we hold the district court did not err in calculating Obiero's criminal history score and affirm that the prison sentence imposed was lawful. As before, we also find the district court imposed an illegal postrelease supervision term at sentencing.

2 Accordingly, we vacate the 36-month postrelease supervision term and remand with directions for the district court to sentence Obiero to a 24-month postrelease supervision term as provided by K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-3717(d)(1)(B). Obiero's sentence is affirmed in all other respects.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In Obiero's motion for rehearing and reconsideration, he states: "The necessary facts have been sufficiently detailed in the opinion." Similarly, the State in opposing Obiero's motion does not object to the statement of facts and procedural background as written in the original opinion. Accordingly, we restate those facts.

In keeping with a plea agreement, Obiero pled guilty to aggravated battery while DUI, in violation of K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-5413(b)(3)(A), (g)(2)(C). In return for the plea, the State dismissed Obiero's remaining charges which included two additional counts of aggravated battery while driving under the influence, driving while suspended, and unlawfully operating a vehicle on the left side of the roadway. The State also agreed to recommend that the district court grant a downward durational departure to 84 months' imprisonment at sentencing.

At the plea hearing, the parties discussed the application of K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21- 6811(c)(3) that governs the classification of prior DUI convictions when an individual is subsequently convicted of aggravated battery while DUI. The statute provides:

"(3) If the current crime of conviction is for violation of K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21- 5413(b)(3) [aggravated battery while DUI] . . . : (A) The first prior adult conviction . . . [for DUI] shall count as one nonperson felony for criminal history purposes . . . ; and

3 (B) each second or subsequent prior adult conviction . . . [for DUI] shall count as one person felony for criminal history purposes." (Emphases added.) K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6811(c)(3).

The parties anticipated that given Obiero's conviction for aggravated battery while DUI, K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6811(c)(3) would apply at sentencing.

A presentence investigation (PSI) report calculated that Obiero's criminal history score was A. The PSI report showed that Obiero had numerous prior convictions, five of which were for DUI. As anticipated, the PSI investigator applied K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21- 6811(c)(3) to Obiero's five prior DUI convictions, resulting in four prior DUI convictions being scored as person felonies. The relevant entries showed:

• Entry 2: Kansas state DUI conviction on February 10, 2005 (Sedgwick County) scored as an adult nonperson felony. • Entry 3: Kansas municipal DUI conviction on April 14, 2005 (Wichita) scored as an adult person felony. • Entry 5: Kansas state DUI conviction on September 10, 2007 (Sedgwick County) scored as an adult person felony. • Entry 10: Oklahoma state DUI conviction on April 3, 2012 (Alfalfa County) scored as an adult person felony. • Entry 18: Kansas municipal DUI conviction on September 26, 2017 (Haysville) scored as an adult person felony.

Before sentencing, Obiero challenged his criminal history score as calculated in the PSI report. Obiero disputed three prior convictions—entries 8, 10, and 11—claiming he had "no recollection of the charges." Additionally, he challenged each prior DUI conviction on multiple grounds. Relevant to this appeal, Obiero challenged whether the predicate convictions for imposing K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6811(c)(3)—the special

4 sentencing rule for classifying prior DUI convictions when subsequently convicted of aggravated battery while DUI—were properly shown.

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