Opinion ID: 2273318
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Propriety of Reese's Twenty-Nine-Year Sentence

Text: [¶ 24] The permissible range for a sentence of imprisonment for Class A crimes is a definite period not to exceed thirty years. 17-A M.R.S. § 1252(2)(A) (2009). Reese requested a sentence of twenty-two years with all but twelve suspended and probation of four years. Reese argues that the court erred at each of the three steps in the sentencing process.
[¶ 25] In evaluating Reese's crime on a scale of seriousness the court found that although it is possible to contemplate worse ways in which the crime could have been committed the method used by Reese involving firing multiple shots at the victim and then leaving her beside the road at night with life-threatening injuries was among the most serious. Based on that determination, the court set Reese's basic sentence at twenty-seven years. [¶ 26] Reese makes several arguments concerning the basic sentence. First, he argues, citing State v. Shortsleeves, 580 A.2d 145 (Me.1990), that a sentence close to the maximum should not be imposed without findings of particular types of aggravating factors. Shortsleeves is distinguishable from this case, however, because Shortsleeves dealt with a life sentence for murder. 580 A.2d at 149-50. In Dwyer, we recently reaffirmed that a maximum and final life sentence for murder should not be imposed unless the court finds at least one of several aggravating factors. 2009 ME 127, ¶ 37, 985 A.2d at 480 (citing Shortsleeves, 580 A.2d at 149). These include premeditation-in-fact, multiple deaths, murder committed by someone previously convicted of the use of deadly force, murder accompanied by extreme cruelty, murder committed in a penal institution by an inmate, and murder of an on-duty law enforcement officer or a hostage. Shortsleeves, 580 A.2d at 149-50. In Shortsleeves, we reasoned that the additional aggravating factors must be demonstrated because of the uniquely serious impact of a life sentence as compared with a sentence of a term of years. 580 A.2d at 149. [¶ 27] We decline to require any showing of particular aggravating factors when the sentence, on a Class A crime, is to a term of thirty years or less. The court need only determine, for a relatively long sentence within that range, that the crime and the manner in which it was committed place it at the most serious end of the spectrum for purposes of a basic sentence.... See Dwyer, 2009 ME 127, ¶ 41, 985 A.2d at 480. Our holding here is consistent with our decision in Alexandre v. State, 2007 ME 106, 927 A.2d 1155, in which we noted that the current version of section 1252(2)(A) creates a single sentencing range of zero to thirty years. Id. ¶ 38, 927 A.2d at 1165-66. In Alexandre we overruled State v. Lewis, 590 A.2d 149 (Me.1991), and rejected the two-tiered sentencing range that we had established in Lewis in interpreting a prior version of section 1252(2)(A). Alexandre, 2007 ME 106, ¶¶ 37-40, 927 A.2d at 1165-66. [¶ 28] Second, Reese argues that the sentence must be vacated because the court did not compare his case with precedent or provide a sufficiently thorough comparison of his actions with other ways in which the crime could have been committed. The court was not required to do either of these. The court has wide discretion in determining the sources and types of information to consider when imposing a sentence. State v. Rosa, 575 A.2d 727, 730 (Me.1990). We do not require the court to make factual comparisons using precedent, see Dwyer, 2009 ME 127, ¶¶ 34-41, 985 A.2d at 479-81, although there may be times when appropriate case comparisons would advance the sentencing principle of eliminating significant unjustified inequalities in sentences. See 17-A M.R.S. § 1151(5). In addition, the sentencing court is not required to elucidate all the possible means by which the defendant's crime may be committed, find which method of commission is worse than the defendant's or which method is the worst possible way of committing the crime.... State v. Schofield, 2006 ME 101, ¶ 11, 904 A.2d 409, 414. Brief comparisons such as those the court made regarding Reese's actions may be sufficient to place the crime at issue along a continuum of seriousness. [¶ 29] Third, Reese argues that the court erred in considering the effect of the crime on the victim. However, in determining the basic sentence, the court may take into account objective facts that indicate the nature or severity of the crime. See Gray, 2006 ME 29, ¶ 13, 893 A.2d at 616; Pfeil, 1998 ME 245, ¶¶ 16-17, 720 A.2d at 577-78. The court noted that the physical and psychological damage to the victim from Reese's crime was substantial. The record of objective facts before the court at sentencing amply supported this finding. Reese shot at the victim nine times, using ammunition that causes particularly severe injuries. Two bullets struck the victim, causing life-threatening injury. He then left her along the road in the middle of the night. It was only by chance that she survived because someone stopped and summoned emergency help. She underwent extensive surgery and required a long hospital stay. [¶ 30] The crime was also committed with cruelty because it occurred within the context of a violent relationship. Reese had previously threatened to kill the victim and on one prior occasion discharged the gun close to her. He had bought a shovel, threatened to bury her with it, and kept the shovel in their rental car. He knew she would be aware of his prior death threat as she tried to escape. The sentencing court did not disregard sentencing factors or abuse its sentencing power in imposing a basic term of imprisonment of twenty-seven years. See 15 M.R.S. § 2154.
[¶ 31] The court set the maximum sentence at twenty-nine years. The mitigating factors that Reese had advanced included family and community support, academic performance, employment, childhood trauma in witnessing a murder, and his relatively youthful age of twenty-seven. The court rejected the assertion that Reese's age was a mitigating factor and found that the remaining mitigating factors did not outweigh the significant aggravating factors. The aggravating factors that the court found included using the victim to obtain a firearm for Reese's use when he knew that was illegal; leaving the victim along the road at night after shooting her and causing life-threatening injuries; demonstrating a lack of any genuine remorse either at the time of the crime or later; and having a substantial and serious criminal history that included convictions for felony robbery and unlawful carrying of a firearm. The court did not disregard sentencing factors and did not abuse its discretion in setting the maximum period of imprisonment at twenty-nine years. See Dwyer, 2009 ME 127, ¶ 41, 985 A.2d at 480-81; 17-A M.R.S. § 2154.
[¶ 32] The court did not order any portion of the sentence suspended because it found that Reese had not been able to avail himself of opportunities for rehabilitation in the past. The court noted essentially that when it imposes a long sentence there may be a gap of decades between the historical events on which the sentence is based and some distant future date when probation, if any is imposed as part of a sentence, would actually begin. Such is the nature of our sentencing statute which requires that all parts of the sentence be determined at the same time. See 17-A M.R.S. § 1252-C. Given this statutory sentencing framework, the court appropriately considered Reese's prior criminal history, along with the other facts presented at sentencing, to evaluate, in light of the sentencing factors set forth in 17-A M.R.S. § 1151, whether any portion of the sentence should be suspended. [¶ 33] Based on Reese's prior criminal history, the court found that attempts at deterrence had been ineffective. These findings were amply supported in the record at sentencing. Reese has a criminal record that extends back to 1999. His past convictions include theft, felony forgery of a financial instrument, robbery, and a variety of other misdemeanor offenses, one of which was for unlawful carrying of a weapon. The robbery, which took place in 2001, involved shooting a BB gun toward the victim of the robbery, although the pellet did not strike the victim. Reese committed the robbery during a period when his sentence on the felony forgery had been deferred to give him an opportunity to demonstrate that he had earned a reduced sentence for that crime. While Reese was in custody during the investigation of the robbery, he was caught trying to destroy a police videotape showing him in a lineup. Regarding the crime of elevated aggravated assault at issue here, Reese did not accept responsibility for the crime and expressed no genuine remorse. [¶ 34] Reese argues that the court failed to discuss several factors that relate to his ability to be rehabilitated, including his upbringing, education, school achievement, job training and skills, and job experience. The court is not required to discuss every argument or factor that the defendant raises, as long as it does not disregard significant and relevant sentencing factors. See Downs, 2009 ME 3, ¶¶ 25-27, 962 A.2d at 956-57. The court did not disregard sentencing factors or abuse its discretion in setting the final sentence at twenty-nine years. See id. ; 15 M.R.S. § 2154.
[¶ 35] Reese's final argument is that the sentence is excessive. We review a court's determination of the overall sentence for abuse of discretion. Downs, 2009 ME 3, ¶ 29, 962 A.2d at 957. For the reasons stated above, we find that the court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a twenty-nine-year sentence. The entry is: Judgment and sentence affirmed.