Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Prior Record Level – Ineligible Convictions

The state’s sentencing worksheet showed defendant as having a prior record level of five with 17 points, yet the trial court sentenced defendant based on 18 points and a prior record level of six.  Convictions used to establish habitual felon status as well as convictions for classes two and three misdemeanors are worth zero points in a prior record calculation. If multiple convictions are entered in the same superior court during one calendar week, only the conviction with the most points is used to calculate prior record level. Had the trial court correctly calculated defendant’s prior record level, it would have sentenced him to less time; therefore, the error was prejudicial to defendant.

We vacate defendant’s sentence and remand for resentencing.

State v. Patterson (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-106-23, 5 pp.) (Julee Flood, J.) Appealed from Carteret County Superior Court (Richard Kent Harrell, J.) Emily Holmes Davis and Glenn Gerding for defendant; Asher Spiller for the state. North Carolina Court of Appeals (unpublished)