Court Opinion

ID: 4925392
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2021-09-23 21:54:07.439308+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:58:27.370434
License: Public Domain

Petition granted, sentence vacated, and caseremanded for resentencing by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Gary Sawyer filed this personal restraint petition challenging his sentence following his conviction by guilty plea of three counts of forgery. The King County Prosecutor has conceded that Sawyer is entitled to resentencing because the standard range recited on the face of Sawyer's judgment and sentence, 22 to 29 months, is incorrect in light of the offender score of 8 as was handwritten onto the sentence, which should properly result in a sentence range of 17 to 22 months.
We accept the concession because, as the State further concedes, it is not clear that the sentencing court would have imposed the sentence it did, 22 months, based on a correct understanding of the applicable range. See State v.Parker, 132 Wn.2d 182, 189, 937 P.2d 575 (1997) (error in standard range requires resentencing unless the record clearly indicates the sentencing court would have imposed the same sentence anyway).
Notwithstanding its concession, the State asks us to reject Sawyer's specific claims regarding his offender score on the merits relating to the inclusion of two out-of-state convictions in his criminal history and offender score. But doing so could result in Sawyer being forced to delay receiving the benefits of the State's concession to advance his claims, which could conceivably deprive him of the benefit of the concession as he nears the end of his sentence. Given the unusual circumstances here, it is more appropriate to allow Sawyer to raise any additional claims, if he still wishes to present them, at the time of his resentencing before the trial court.
Accordingly, Sawyer's sentence is vacated and the case is remanded for resentencing.