Title: Benson v. State
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 216, 2018
State: Delaware
Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court
Date: December 5, 2018

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
JOSHUA D. BENSON 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§   
§  No. 216, 2018 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  ID. No. 1611007969 (K) 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted:  September 25, 2018 
 
 
 
 
  Decided:  December 5, 2018 
 
Before VALIHURA, VAUGHN, and SEITZ, Justices. 
 
 
 
O R D E R 
 
 
After careful consideration of the appellant’s opening brief, the appellee’s 
motion to affirm, and the record on appeal, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
The appellant, Joshua D. Benson, filed this appeal from the Superior 
Court’s denial of his motion for correction of an illegal sentence.  The State of 
Delaware has filed a motion to affirm the Superior Court’s judgment on the ground 
that it is clear on the face of Benson’s opening brief that his appeal is without merit.  
We agree and affirm. 
(2) 
On August 1, 2017, Benson pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a 
Person Prohibited (“PFBPP”) and Resisting Arrest.  As part of his plea agreement, 
the parties agreed that Benson was a habitual offender and to be sentenced under 11 
2 
 
Del. C. §4214(d) due to his convictions for Assault in the Second Degree in 2003, 
Reckless Endangering in the First Degree in 2005, and Carrying a Concealed Deadly 
Weapon (Firearm) in 2012.  They also agreed to recommend a fifteen-year Level V 
sentence for the PFBPP offense and one year of suspended Level V time for the 
Resisting Arrest offense.  On August 1, 2017, the Superior Court accepted Benson’s 
guilty plea, declared him a habitual offender, and sentenced him as the parties 
recommended in the plea agreement.  Benson did not appeal the Superior Court’s 
judgment.   
(3) 
On October 4, 2017, Benson filed a motion for correction of illegal 
sentence under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(a).  He argued that his sentence 
under § 4214(d) was illegal because a first conviction for Carrying a Concealed 
Deadly Weapon is a non-violent felony.  The State opposed the motion.  On April 
17, 2018, the Superior Court denied Benson’s motion because the sentence was 
imposed pursuant to a plea agreement, the motion was time-barred, the sentence 
imposed was mandatory and could not be reduced, and the sentence was appropriate 
for all of the reasons stated at sentencing.  This appeal followed.  The Superior Court 
denied Benson’s motion for transcripts at State expense. 
(4) 
In his opening brief, Benson argues that: (i) the Superior Court erred in 
denying his motion for transcripts at State expense; (ii) the Superior Court erred in 
finding his motion time-barred; and (iii) he could not be sentenced as a habitual 
3 
 
offender under § 4214(d) because Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon is not a 
violent felony under 11 Del. C. § 4201(c).  As to the denial of Benson’s motion for 
transcripts at State expense, the transcript of Benson’s guilty plea and sentencing is 
attached to the State’s motion to affirm and does not support Benson’s claims.     
(5) 
As to Benson’s other claims, we review the Superior Court’s denial of 
a motion for correction of sentence for abuse of discretion.1  Questions of law are 
reviewed de novo.2  Even though Benson’s motion for correction of illegal sentence 
was not time-barred,3 the motion was without merit.  Benson agreed in his plea 
agreement that he was subject to habitual offender sentencing under § 4214(d) due 
to his convictions for Assault in the Second Degree in 2003, Reckless Endangering 
in the First Degree in 2005 and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon (Firearm) in 
2012.   
(6) 
Under § 4214(d), a person who has been convicted of two or more Title 
11 violent felonies as defined in § 4201(d) and who is convicted of a third or 
subsequent Title 11 violent felony must receive a minimum sentence of the statutory 
maximum penalty for his latest Title 11 violent felony.  Benson does not dispute that 
Assault in the Second Degree and Reckless Endangering in the First Degree are 
                                                 
1 Weber v. State, 2015 WL 2329160, at *1 (Del. May 12, 2015). 
2 Id. 
3 A motion for correction of illegal sentence may be filed at any time.  Super. Ct. Crim. R. 35(a).  
A motion to correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner or for reduction of sentence must be 
filed within 90 days of sentencing.  Super. Ct. Crim. 35(b).  Benson filed his motion on October 
4, 2017, which was within 90 days of his sentencing on August 1, 2017.   
4 
 
violent felonies.  Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon (Firearm) is also, contrary 
to Benson’s contention, designated as a violent felony under § 4201(c).  The 
statutory maximum penalty for PFBPP, which is a Class C felony for someone like 
Benson who is eligible for sentencing under § 1448(e) due to a previous violent 
felony conviction, is fifteen years.4  To the extent Benson claims he could not be 
sentenced to more than ten years of Level V incarceration under § 1448(e)(1)(c), he 
ignores that this section defines the minimum sentence for PFBPP, not the maximum 
sentence.5   
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/  James T. Vaughn, Jr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                                 
4 11 Del. C. 1448(c) (providing that PFBPP is a Class C felony if the person is eligible for 
sentencing under § 1448(e)); 11 Del. C. § 4205(b)(3) (maximum penalty for Class C felony) is 
fifteen years of Level V incarceration). 
5 Carpenter v. State, 2015 WL 3454595, at *1 (Del. May 28, 2015) (holding ten-year sentence 
imposed under § 4214 was not illegal for violating § 1448(e)(1)(c), which then provided for a five-
year sentence, because § 1448(e)(1)(c) “set the minimum sentence that the Superior Court was 
required to impose” and that the Superior Court could impose up to life imprisonment under § 
4214).