Case Name: PEOPLE v. KREGER
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Decision Date: 1995-12-15
Citations: 214 Mich. App. 549
Docket Number: Docket No. 176221
Parties: PEOPLE v KREGER
Judges: Before: O’Connell, P.J., and Mackenzie and J. K. Nichols, JJ.
Reporter: Michigan appeals reports; cases decided in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Volume: 214
Pages: 549–559

Head Matter:
PEOPLE v KREGER
Docket No. 176221.
Submitted September 12, 1995, at Lansing.
Decided December 15, 1995, at 9:10 a.m.
Erik G. Kreger pleaded guilty in the Saginaw Circuit Court, Lynda L. Heathscott, J., of unarmed robbery and was sentenced to a prison term of six to fifteen years. The defendant appealed, claiming sentencing errors.
The Court of Appeals held:
1. The trial court properly scored Offense Variable 2 as twenty-five points on the basis that the victim had been subjected to terrorism. Terrorism is defined in the sentencing guidelines as "conduct that is designed to increase substantially the fear and anxiety that the victim suffers during the offense.” The display by a codefendant of several bullets was designed to increase the apprehension of the victims in an attempt to coerce them into relinquishing the baseball cap that was the subject of the robbery. Even if the victims did not feel terrorized by this act, the scoring of ov 2 as twenty-five points is appropriate, because the conduct was designed to substantially increase fear and anxiety. The fact that the Offense Variable 1 was scored on the'basis of the use of an instrument fashioned to appear to be a firearm did not preclude the scoring of ov 2 on the basis of terrorism as the result of the separate act of displaying the bullets.
2. The defendant’s assertion that the trial court erred as a matter of law by imposing a minimum sentence that was triple the guidelines minimum is supported neither in law nor fact. The defendant cites no authority for the proposition that a sentencing court’s discretion is limited to the imposition of a minimum sentence that is less than three times the lowest minimum sentence of the sentencing range calculated under the guidelines. Further, the seventy-two-month minimum sentence that was imposed, while three times the twenty-four-month lower end of the range calculated under the guidelines, is only twenty percent more than the sixty-month upper end of the range calculated under the guidelines.
References
Am Jur 2d, Criminal Law §§ 525, 598, 599.
See ALR Index under Sentence and Punishment.
3. The sentence imposed is not disproportionate to the seriousness of the crime and the defendant.
4. The trial court’s articulation of the reasons for departing from the minimum sentence range calculated under the guidelines was sufficient under the circumstances. Although the trial court did not state specifically that it was departing from the range calculated under the guidelines, it is clear from the transcript of the sentencing hearing that'the court was aware of that range. Accordingly, it would be a • waste of judicial resources to remand the case for articulation by the court of the reasons for the departure.
Affirmed.
O’Connell, P.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, stated that because articulation on the record of the reasons for a departure from the calculated minimum sentence range is mandatory and because it cannot be said unequivocally that the trial court was aware that the minimum sentence imposed was in excess of the minimum sentence range calculated after the adjustments made at the sentencing hearing, the case should be remanded to the trial court for articulation of the rationale for the sentence imposed. Greater than the waste of judicial resources resulting from the remanding of cases for further articulation of reasons for the departure is the waste of judicial resources occasioned by review by the Court of Appeals of' sentencing questions concerning proportionality in the absence of the required articulation by the trial court.
1. Sentences — Sentencing Guidelines — Offense Variable 2 — Terrorism.
Offense Variable 2 may be scored as twenty-five points on the basis of terrorism where the defendant engaged in conduct that is designed to increase substantially the fear and anxiety of the victim during the offense; such scoring is appropriate even where the victim, in fact, is not terrorized by the defendant’s conduct.
2. Sentences — Sentencing Guidelines — Articulation on the Record.
It is a waste of judicial resources for the Court of Appeals to remand a case to the trial court for articulation on the record of the reason for the trial court’s departure from the minimum sentence range calculated under the sentencing guidelines where the sentence imposed is proportionate and the record indicates that the trial court was aware of the calculated minimum sentence range.
Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Thomas L. Casey, Solicitor General, Michael D. Thomas, Prosecuting Attorney, and Catherine Langevin Semel, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for the people;
Denton & Gross (by Hayim I. Gross), for the defendant.
Before: O’Connell, P.J., and Mackenzie and J. K. Nichols, JJ.
Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.

Opinion:
Mackenzie, J.
Defendant pleaded guilty of unarmed robbery, MCL 750.530; MSA 28.798, and was sentenced to six to fifteen, years' imprisonment. He appeals as of right, raising several allegations of error pertaining to his sentencing. We affirm.
On July 17, 1993, the sixteen-year-old defendant and two friends robbed two other youths of a $5 baseball cap. Defendant and his friends approached the victims, identified themselves as members of the "Aces High" gang, and demanded the cap. The victims initially refused to relinquish possession. One of defendant's friends, Richard Matzke, threatened, "Why don't we just shoot [you] and take it from you?" A victim responded, "Well, I don't see a gun." At that point, Matzke pulled several bullets out of his pocket and stated, "I don't carry this [sic] for nothing." The same victim then stated, "I still don't see the gun." Defendant then produced what appeared to be a small handgun, at which time , the victims relinquished the cap. The parties later stipulated that the "handgun" was actually a cigarette lighter fashioned to look like a gun. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty of unarmed robbery.
Defendant brings four allegations of sentencing error. First, he contends that Offense Variable 2, physical attack or injury, was scored incorrectly. The sentencing court scored ov 2 as twenty-five points, finding that the victim had been "subjected to terrorism." "Terrorism" is defined in the guidelines to be "conduct that is designed to increase substantially the fear and anxiety that the victim suffers during the offense." Michigan Sentencing Guidelines (2d ed), p 99. This Court has held that scoring done pursuant to the sentencing guidelines for which there is any supporting evidence will be upheld on appeal. People v Watkins, 209 Mich App 1, 5; 530 NW2d 111 (1995).
In the instant case, we believe that Matzke's display of the bullets, which action is properly imputed to defendant as a participant in the crime, was designed to increase the apprehension of the victims in an attempt to coerce them into relinquishing the cap. Therefore, because evidence supports the sentencing court's scoring, we uphold it. Id. While defendant argues that the victims were not "terrorized," ov 2 is properly scored as twenty-five where conduct designed to substantially increase fear and anxiety exists. It does not appear necessary that the victim actually be terror-stricken. Further, we reject defendant's argument that the apparent use of a firearm, which was reflected in the scoring of Offense Variable 1, aggravated use of an instrument fashioned to appear to be a firearm, somehow encompasses the display of the bullets. Defendants and his friends first threatened the victim with bullets, and then increased the threat by brandishing the cigarette lighter fashioned in the shape of a gun. These distinct actions were properly reflected in the scor ing of the distinct offense variables of ov 1 and ov 2.
Defendant argues that the trial court erred as a matter of law in "tripling the guidelines minimum." Defendant is incorrect. First, the putative authority advanced by defendant in support of his assertion does not stand for this proposition, and we are aware of no rule of law limiting a sentencing court's discretion to the imposition of a minimum sentence that is no more than three times the minimum sentence calculated pursuant to the sentencing guidelines. Rather, as recently stated by our Supreme Court, a sentence may depart from or adhere to the recommended guidelines range as long as it "reflects the seriousness of the matter." People v Houston, 448 Mich 312, 320; 532 NW2d 508 (1995). Additionally, and contrary to defendant's implication, the guidelines recommended a minimum sentence within the range of twenty-four to sixty months' imprisonment, meaning that the seventy-two-month minimum sentence imposed exceeded the range calculated under the guidelines by only twenty percent. Therefore, even were sentencing courts forbidden to impose a minimum sentence that is three times as severe as the highest sentence recommended under the guidelines, the sentencing court in the present case did not impose such a sentence.
Defendant also challenges the proportionality of the sentence imposed. A sentence must be proportionate to both the seriousness of the crime and the defendant who committed it. People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 635-636; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). In the present case, the minor defendant admitted to the daily illegal use of marijuana and the daily consumption of between 80 and 120 ounces of malt liquor. See People v Fleming, 428 Mich 408, 417-418; 410 NW2d 266 (1987). Defendant had a fairly significant juvenile record. See People v Smith, 437 Mich 293, 304; 470 NW2d 70 (1991). Further, he had armed robbery and felony-firearm charges pending in another county, see People v Coulter (After Remand), 205 Mich App 453, 456; 517 NW2d 827 (1994), and the sentencing court ascertained that the pending charges involved the alleged use of a real firearm. Therefore, considering the objectives of imposing sentence, see People v Snow, 386 Mich 586, 592; 194 NW2d 314 (1972), we. do not find the sentence imposed to be disproportionate and, accordingly, find no abuse of discretion.
Defendant next argues that he should be resentenced because the trial court failed to state reasons for departing from the sentencing guidelines' recommended range. We disagree. The trial court's articulation of the reasons for departing from the guidelines was sufficient under the circumstances.
In Fleming, supra, our Supreme Court directed that trial courts must place their reasons for departure from the sentencing guidelines on the record at the time of sentencing. Our review of the sentencing transcript convinces us that the court was aware of the sentencing guidelines' range. The failure to specifically say the magic words "I am departing from the sentencing guidelines' recommendation" constitutes harmless error. It is worthwhile to note that the Supreme Court in Fleming stated that the reason for this articulation requirement was to evaluate the effectiveness of the guidelines in rectifying the problems associated with excessively severe or lenient sentences and disparate sentences for similar defendants who have committed similar crimes. The articulation requirement was not put in place to protect a defendant's rights, but to aid the courts in fine-tuning the sentencing guidelines. Fleming, supra, p 428. Where the Court of Appeals panel holds that defendant's sentence is proportionate pursuant to People v Milbourn, supra, and People v Houston, supra, and where the record indicates the trial court was aware of the guidelines at sentencing, it would be a waste of judicial resources to remand the case to the circuit court for articulation of the reasons for departure.
Affirmed.
J. K. Nichols, J., concurred.