Court Opinion

ID: 9395310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-17 18:03:13.80471+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:07.136326
License: Public Domain

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE                               )
                                                )
         v.                                     )
                                                ) I.D. No. 2109011186
                                                )
LUIS LEVANTE,                                   )
                                                )
                      Defendant.                )

                                           ORDER

                                 Submitted: April 18, 2023
                                  Decided: May 17, 2023

          AND NOW TO WIT, this 17th day of May 2023, upon consideration

    of Luis Levante (“Defendant”)’s Motion for Modification/Reduction of

    Sentence under Rule 35, the sentence imposed upon the Defendant, and the

    record in this case, it appears to the Court that:

          1.     On June 21, 2022, Defendant pled guilty to Possession of a

    Firearm During the Commission of Felony (PFDCF) and Reckless

    Endangering First Degree. 1 On January 20, 2023, Defendant was sentenced

    for PFDCF to 25 years at Level V, suspended after 3 years, for transitioning

    levels of probation. 2 For Reckless Endangering First Degree, he received 5

1
  D.I. 12.
2
  Although the parties originally believed a prior conviction from Puerto Rico would expose
Defendant to a five-year minimum sentence as reflected in the Truth-In-Sentencing paperwork, at
the time the plea agreement was entered, it was agreed that a three-year minimum sentence applied
 years at Level V, suspended for 2 years at Level III. 3

        2.      On     April     14,    2023,       Defendant    filed    a    Motion   for

 Modification/Reduction of Sentence, asking the Court to suspend his Level V

 sentence upon completion of his “intense behavioral modification program,” due

 to improved conduct he attributes to full compliance with that programming. 4

        3.      Under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(b), the Court may reduce a

 sentence of imprisonment on a motion made within 90 days after the sentence is

 imposed. 5 “Rule 35(b) allows for a reduction of sentence without regard to the

 existence of a legal defect.”6 Accordingly, a timely and non-repetitive Rule 35(b)

 motion is “essentially a ‘plea for leniency.’” 7

        4.      Although Defendant’s Motion was filed within 90 days of

 sentencing—and not time-barred—Defendant is still serving the minimum

 mandatory period of his sentence. So, although the Court generally has wide

 discretion to reduce a sentence upon this timely Rule 35(b) application, the Court

 has no authority to reduce or suspend the mandatory portion of any substantive

instead.
3
  D.I. 14.
4
  D.I. 15 (stating that Defendant has mental health and substance abuse issues).
5
  Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 35(b).
6
  State v. Lewis, 797 A.2d 1198, 1201 (Del. 2002).
7
  Id. at 1202 (quoting United States v. Maynard, 485 F.2d 247, 248 (9th Cir. 1973)).
                                                2
    minimum sentence.8

          5.     Furthermore, the Court afforded leniency when it imposed the

    minimum mandatory sentence. Thus, Defendant’s sentence is appropriate for all

    the reasons set forth at sentencing.

          IT IS SO ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Sentence

Modification/Reduction is DENIED.

                                                            /s/Vivian L. Medinilla
                                                            Vivian L. Medinilla
                                                            Judge

oc:      Prothonotary
cc:      Defendant
         Department of Justice
         Investigative Services

8
  State v. Sturgis, 947 A.2d 1087, 1092 (Del. 2008) (“Superior Court Rule of Criminal Procedure
35(b) provides no authority for a reduction or suspension of the mandatory portion of a substantive
statutory minimum sentence.”) (emphasis in original).
                                                3