Opinion ID: 1657407
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Adjudication and Sentencing

Text: The jury found Blanche guilty on all four counts  first-degree murder, second-degree murder (drive-by shooting), conspiracy to commit murder, and crime committed for the benefit of a gang. The jury found Bernard guilty of two counts  conspiracy to commit murder and crime committed for the benefit of a gang. [1] The district court sentenced Blanche to the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for premeditated first-degree murder, the presumptive sentence of 180 months for the conspiracy against Scott to commit first-degree murder, and added the mandatory minimum of 12 months and 1 day to his life sentence for a crime committed for the benefit of a gang. The court, making an upward sentencing departure, ordered these sentences to run consecutively to each other and consecutively to a federal sentence that Blanche was serving until April 11, 2000, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court stated that it chose in its discretion to make the sentences consecutive and specifically listed several factors: the existence of multiple victims, both intended and unintended; Phillips' vulnerability and complete innocence; the violation of Phillips' zone of privacy; the emotional and psychological devastation to the community of repeated random shootings in residential areas in an attempt to assassinate Corey Scott; the harm to the community resulting from the senseless and brutal killing of an innocent child; and Blanche's apparent lack of remorse and responsibility. Blanche did not file a direct appeal and his conviction became final on July 12, 1999.