J-S17005-16 

_____________________________ 

*Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. 

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37 

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

PENNSYLVANIA 

 Appellee 

v. 

DEAN PLETZ 

 Appellant No. 2058 WDA 2014 

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence July 16, 2014 

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County 

Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0000387-2013 

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., SHOGAN, J., and FITZGERALD, J.* 

JUDGMENT ORDER BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED FEBRUARY 17, 2016 

 Appellant, Dean Pletz, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered 

in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, following his guilty plea to 

eight (8) counts of robbery, two (2) counts of receiving stolen property, and 

one (1) count each of burglary, theft by unlawful taking, unauthorized use of 

automobiles, firearms not to be carried without a license, and persons not to 

possess firearms.1 Appellant entered his guilty plea on April 7, 2014. On 

July 16, 2014, the court sentenced Appellant to concurrent terms of (10) to 

twenty (20) years’ imprisonment for seven of Appellant’s robbery 

convictions, pursuant to the mandatory minimum statute at 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 

____________________________________________ 

1

 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3701(a)(1)(ii), 3701(a)(1)(iv), 3925, 3502, 3921(a), 

3928(a), 6106(a)(1), 6105(a)(1), respectively. 
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9714(a)(1). The court imposed no further penalty for the remaining 

offenses. Appellant timely filed a post-sentence motion on July 21, 2014, 

which the court denied on November 19, 2014. On December 19, 2014, 

Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal. The court ordered Appellant to file 

a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement, and Appellant timely complied. 

 For sentences on second or subsequent offenses, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9714 

sets forth a mandatory minimum sentence of ten (10) years’ imprisonment 

where a defendant has previously been convicted of a crime of violence. 

See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9714(a)(1). Section 9714(d) states that the statute’s 

provisions shall not be an element of the crime, and that the accuracy of the 

defendant’s prior record, if contested, shall be determined by the court at 

sentencing by a preponderance of the evidence. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 

9714(d). 

 In Alleyne v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 186 

L.Ed.2d 314 (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court expressly held that any fact 

that increases the mandatory minimum sentence for a crime is considered 

an element of the crime to be submitted to the fact-finder and found beyond 

a reasonable doubt. Id. The Alleyne Court, however, carved out a narrow 

exception where a defendant’s prior conviction is the “fact” triggering 

application of a mandatory minimum sentence. Id. at ___ n.1, 133 S.Ct. at 

2160 n.1, 186 L.Ed.2d at ___ n.1. See also Commonwealth v. Reid, 117 

A.3d 777 (Pa.Super. 2015) (explaining Alleyne did not overturn existing 
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precedent that prior convictions are sentencing factors and not elements of 

offenses; Section 9714 enumerates mandatory minimum sentences based 

on prior convictions, and is constitutional under Alleyne; court’s imposition 

of mandatory minimum sentence under Section 9714 was lawful); 

Commonwealth v. Miller, 102 A.3d 988, 995 n.5 (Pa.Super. 2014) 

(explaining fact of prior conviction does not need to be submitted to factfinder and found beyond reasonable doubt; Alleyne allows mandatory 

minimum sentence based on fact of prior conviction). 

 Instantly, the court imposed concurrent ten-year mandatory minimum 

sentences for seven of Appellant’s robbery convictions. Appellant does not 

dispute, and the record shows, that he has a prior conviction for a crime of 

violence in 1993. Based on Appellant’s prior conviction for a crime of 

violence, the court’s imposition of the mandatory minimum sentences per 

Section 9714 was lawful under Alleyne and its progeny. See Alleyne, 

supra; Reid, supra; Miller, supra. Accordingly, we affirm. 

 Judgment of sentence affirmed. 

Judgment Entered. 

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. 

Prothonotary 

Date: 2/17/2016 
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