Sentence of 4 to 8 Years Found Improper and Reduced to 2 to 4 Years
Mr. Williams pled guilty to third-degree robbery and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. The court sentenced him to consecutive 2 to 4 year prison terms for each count, resulting in a sentence of 4 to 8 years.
On appeal, Mr. Williams challenged the legality of the consecutive sentences, arguing that the robbery and possession of stolen property were not separate acts. Rather, there was a single inseparable act requiring concurrent sentences because the act constituting third-degree robbery — forcibly stealing property — necessarily required possessing stolen property.
The Appellate Division agreed. The Court ruled that the superior court information and the facts adduced at the plea colloquy only established that the robbery and possession of stolen property offenses occurred through the single and inseparable act of seizing the complainant’s property. Accordingly, the judgment was modified so that the consecutive 2 to 4 year sentences run concurrently.
Sankeerth Saradhi represented Mr. Williams