Case Title: Kelley v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 266, 2019

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2019-11-14T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
IVORIE KELLEY, 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 266, 2019 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  Cr. ID No. 1705016229 (N)  
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: September 6, 2019 
 
 
 
 
Decided: 
November 14, 2019 
 
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and TRAYNOR, Justices. 
 
 
 
ORDER 
 
Upon consideration of the appellant’s opening brief, the appellee’s motion to 
affirm, and the record below, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
The appellant, Ivorie Kelley, filed this appeal from the Superior Court’s 
denial of his motion for sentence reduction.  The State of Delaware has filed a motion 
to affirm the judgment below on the ground that it is manifest on the face of Kelley’s 
opening brief that his appeal is without merit.  We agree and affirm. 
(2) 
In July 2017, a grand jury indicted Kelley for multiple weapon charges.  
On November 7, 2017, Kelley pleaded guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Person 
Prohibited (“PFBPP”) in exchange for dismissal of the remaining charges.  The plea 
agreement reflected that the parties agreed to immediate sentencing and that the State 
2 
 
would recommend a sentence of fifteen years of Level V incarceration suspended 
after the five-year minimum/mandatory.  Under 16 Del. C. § 1448(e)(1)(b), a person 
who is convicted of PFBPP and has a violent felony conviction within the previous 
ten years must be sentenced to a minimum of five years at Level V.  The Superior 
Court sentenced Kelley to fifteen years of Level V incarceration, suspended after 
five years for one year of Level III probation. 
(3) 
On February 9, 2018, Kelley filed a motion for sentence modification.  
He sought to reduce the non-suspended Level V portion of his sentence from five 
years to two years.  The Superior Court denied the motion because it could not 
reduce or suspend the mandatory portion of a substantive minimum sentence.  Kelley 
did not appeal.   
(4) 
On November 30, 2018, Kelley filed a motion for correction of illegal 
sentence under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(a).  He argued that § 1448(e)(1)(b) 
did not apply to his PFBPP sentence because his 2013 conviction for drug dealing 
was a Class D felony under 16 Del. C. § 4754(3) and was not defined as a violent 
felony under 16 Del. C. § 4201(c).  After reviewing Kelley’s criminal history, the 
Superior Court found that Kelley was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, drug 
dealing under 16 Del. C. § 4753(2), a Class C felony and a violent felony under 11 
Del. C. § 4201(c).  Kelley was therefore subject to a five-year minimum mandatory 
sentence for PFBPP under § 1448(e)(1)(b).  Kelley did not appeal. 
3 
 
(5) 
On February 28, 2019, Kelley filed a motion for reduction of sentence.  
He again challenged his drug dealing conviction and argued that § 1448(e)(1)(b) 
should not have applied to his PFBPP sentence.  The Superior Court denied the 
motion, finding that it raised issues more appropriate to a direct appeal and was 
untimely and repetitive.  This appeal followed.   
(6) 
On appeal, Kelley continues to argue that § 1448(e)(1)(b) did not apply 
to his PFBPP sentence.  We review the denial of a motion for reduction of sentence 
for abuse of discretion.1  To the extent a claim involves a question of law, we review 
the claim de novo.2   
(7) 
Kelley’s PFBPP sentence is not illegal.  He was subject to a five-year 
minimum sentence under § 1448(e)(1)(b) because he was convicted of a violent 
felony—drug dealing under 16 Del. C. § 4753(2)—within ten years of his PFBPP 
conviction.  In arguing that the drug dealing plea paperwork showed a sentencing 
range for a Class D rather than Class C felony, Kelley ignores that the paperwork 
identified the charge he was pleading guilty to as “Drug Dealing—Marijuana—No 
Tier Weight—1 Aggravating Factor (in vehicle) (Felony C) (16 Del. C. 4753(2)).”3 
The sentencing transcript provided by Kelley also reflects that he admitted he was 
                                                 
1 State v. Culp, 152 A.3d 141, 144 (Del. 201). 
2 Id. 
3 Exhibit J to Motion to Affirm.   
4 
 
guilty of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in a car, the 
elements of drug dealing under § 4753(2).   
(8) 
Kelley’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims are outside the scope 
of a Rule 35(a) motion.4  To the extent Kelley seeks reduction of his PFBPP sentence 
under Rule 35(b), the Superior Court cannot reduce the mandatory portion of 
Kelley’s sentence.5  Kelley’s motion was also repetitive and untimely.       
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Affirm is 
GRANTED and the judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Gary F. Traynor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
 
 
                                                 
4 Tatem v. State, 787 A.2d 80, 82 (Del. 2001). 
5 State v. Sturgis, 947 A.2d 1087, 1092–93 (Del. 2008).