Title: Collins v. State

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
JASON J. COLLINS, 
 
Defendant Below- 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below- 
Appellee. 
§ 
§    No. 17, 2019 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§    Court Below—Superior Court 
§    of the State of Delaware 
§   
§    Cr. ID Nos. 1708012957 (K) 
§                        1708015150 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: February 27, 2019 
 
 
 
 
  Decided:  March 15, 2019 
 
Before STRINE, Chief Justice; VAUGHN and SEITZ, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
Upon consideration of the appellant’s opening brief, the State’s 
motion to affirm, and the record below, it appears to the Court that: 
 
(1) 
The defendant-appellant, Jason Collins, filed this appeal from 
the Superior Court’s order denying his motion for review of sentence.1  The 
State has moved to affirm the Superior Court’s judgment on the ground that 
it is manifest on the face of Collins’ opening brief that his appeal is without 
merit.  We agree and affirm. 
(2) 
The record reflects that Collins pleaded guilty on July 25, 2018, 
to one count of drug dealing and one count of issuing a bad check in excess 
                                                 
1  On March 8, 2019, Collins filed a motion for expedited procedure under Supreme 
Court Rule 25(e). The issuance of this decision renders the Rule 25(e) motion moot. 
 
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of $1,500.  On the drug dealing charge, the Superior Court sentenced Collins 
to ten years of Level V incarceration, suspended for twelve months of Level 
IV home confinement, followed by one year on Level III probation.  On the 
bad check charge, the Superior Court sentenced him to two years of Level V 
incarceration, suspended for one year on Level III probation.  
(3) 
Collins later absconded from probation.  An administrative 
warrant was obtained and the Superior Court held a violation of probation 
(“VOP”) hearing on October 15, 2018.  The Superior Court found Collins 
violated his probation for his drug dealing and bad check convictions.  
Contemporaneously, the Superior Court also found Collins had violated his 
probation for two earlier felony convictions: a 2009 conviction for second 
degree forgery and a 2014 conviction for identity theft.  For his 2009 second 
degree forgery conviction, Collins was serving a sentence of two years of 
Level V incarceration, suspended for six months on Level II probation, to be 
followed by one year on Level I probation for restitution purposes only. 
Collins was also serving a sentence of two years of Level V of incarceration, 
suspended for six months on Level II probation, to be followed by one year 
on Level I probation for restitution purposes only for his 2014 identity theft 
conviction. At the VOP hearing, the Superior Court resentenced Collins as 
follows: (i) on the VOP for the drug dealing conviction, ten years of Level V 
incarceration with credit for nine days previously served, suspended after six 
 
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months of Level V incarceration, followed by six months of Level IV work 
release, followed by one year on Level III probation; (ii) on the VOP for the 
forgery conviction, one year of Level V incarceration, suspended for one 
year on Level III probation; (iii) on the VOP for the identity theft conviction, 
one year and six months of Level V incarceration, suspended for one year on 
Level III probation; and (iv) for the VOP on the bad check conviction, two 
years of Level V incarceration, suspended for one year on Level III 
probation.   
(4) 
Collins filed a motion for review of sentence with the Superior 
Court on December 7, 2018, seeking six months of Level V credit time and 
requesting that the Level IV work release portion of his sentence be 
modified to Level III probation.  The Superior Court denied Collins’ motion, 
concluding that Level IV work release was an appropriate placement for 
Collins in light of his criminal history.  Further, after reviewing a report 
prepared by the Investigative Services Office, the Superior Court found 
Collins had, in fact, received credit for the time he had previously served at 
Level V.  This appeal followed. 
 
(5) 
The Court has reviewed the parties’ contentions and the record 
carefully.  The Court finds no factual or legal basis to Collins’ contentions.  
Collins correctly asserts that he is entitled to Level V credit for Level V time 
 
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served.2  However, Collins argues the Superior Court improperly credited 
his Level V time to a “non Level V sentence.”  This allegation is false.  At 
the time of the October 15, 2018 VOP hearing, Collins was serving a 
sentence for two years of Level V incarceration, suspended for six months 
on Level IV probation, to be followed by one year on Level I probation for 
restitution purposes for his 2014 conviction for identity theft. In its VOP 
sentence, the Superior Court deducted six months of Level V time from the 
two years of backup time Collins faced on this conviction.  Collins continues 
to face a suspended Level V sentence for one year and six months for his 
conviction of identity theft.  Stated differently, the six months of pretrial 
Level V time Collins served prior to posting bond on his drug dealing charge 
has been credited to the balance of Level V time Collins faces.  Accordingly, 
we find no error in the Superior Court’s denial of Collins’ motion to review 
his sentence. 
 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the 
Superior Court is AFFIRMED. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/  James T. Vaughn, Jr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                                 
2  Gamble v. State, 728 A.2d 1171, 1172 (Del. 1999).