Opinion ID: 1663690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: failure to prove the dates of the commission of prior offenses

Text: Specifically, the appellants claim the trial court erred in failing to sustain their motion for directed verdict of acquittal on the charge of being persistent felony offenders, and overruling their objection as to the competency of the evidence adduced to prove one of the essential elements, viz., the dates of commission of prior offenses. The Commonwealth relied on the testimony of KSP's records office supervisor, testifying from the Bureau of Corrections' resident record cards, to prove the dates of the commission of the prior offenses underlying the persistent felony offender charges against the appellants. In Hon v. Commonwealth, Ky., 670 S.W.2d 851 (1984), we reversed a persistent felony offender conviction on failure to prove the appellant was at least 18 years old at the time he committed the previous offenses underlying the persistent felony offender charge, stating there must be strict compliance with proof requirements [b]ecause the persistent felony statute is so clear in its requirements, and so strictly penal in nature,. . . . Id. at 853. [Emphasis original.] In Hayes v. Commonwealth, Ky., 698 S.W.2d 827 (1985), we noted that testimony from the indictments would be a proper method for proving the dates of the commission of prior offenses, and in Garner v. Commonwealth, Ky., 645 S.W.2d 705, 707 (1983), we held that the records from the Bureau of Corrections were competent in a persistent felony offender proceedings only as proof of age and parole status alone. This is because the Bureau of Corrections has no direct or official responsibility in recording or compiling data regarding the underlying conviction, and there is no circumstantial guarantee of trustworthiness accompanying the transmittal and recording of such information at the Bureau of Corrections. On the contrary, the court clerk's file is the official repository of such data. While we agree the trial court erred in permitting proof of the essential facts regarding the date of commission of prior offenses through the records of the Bureau of Corrections, because there was evidence, albeit incompetent, regarding this element of the charge, the presenting situation is not one which requires us to rule, strictly speaking, on the basis of insufficient evidence, and, accordingly, to dismiss the charges. We reverse and remand on this point, requiring only that upon retrial the Commonwealth must sustain the persistent felony offender charges by competent evidence.