Court Opinion

ID: 9545812
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:19:57.577547+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:15:34.589579
License: Public Domain

SINGLETON, Judge,
dissenting.
Donald L. Bumpus was convicted of two burglary offenses. It appears that he was part of a ring that committed over fifty separate burglaries. Certainly, someone convicted of participation in multiple burglaries should receive a more severe sentence than someone convicted of a single burglary. I would agree with the majority, however, that if Bumpus were a first felony offender, a composite sentence of ten years or less would be sufficient no matter how many individual burglaries Bumpus committed. Bumpus is not a first felony offender, however. He has three prior felony convictions.1
*339In my view, the instant record supports Judge Ripley’s implicit finding that Bum-pus must be isolated for the full twenty-three-year period in order to protect the public. It is particularly significant that Bumpus became involved in a substantial burglary ring a very short time after being released on parole from his most recent conviction. He has been on probation and under parole supervision on a number of occasions without apparent effect on his behavior. Efforts to address his drug dependency have been unavailing. Under the circumstances, the trial court could well find that Bumpus will present a continuing risk to the public unless he is incarcerated. Judge Ripley’s implicit finding that Bum-pus cannot be rehabilitated and will not be deterred by short sentences does not appear clearly mistaken. Given the legislative preference for consecutive sentences and the legislature’s evident desire to give community protection paramount consideration in sentencing recidivists, I would approve the sentence imposed in this case.

. In its sentencing memorandum, the state concedes error in considering the 1978 felony offense in connection with an aggravator; namely, the defendant has three or more prior felony convictions. AS 12.55.155(c)(15). The state notes that the 1978 felony convictions for receiving and concealing stolen property should not have been used to trigger this aggravating *339factor because the value element of the 1978 offense is not substantially similar to the value element of theft in the second degree under the new criminal code. We must independently review the state’s concession of error. See Marks v. State, 496 P.2d 66, 67-68 (Alaska 1972). The state’s concession would have been correct under former AS 12.55.145(a)(2). That statute required comparison of the elements of prior felony offenses with current law, whether the felonies occurred in Alaska or elsewhere. See Wasson v. State, 652 P.2d 117 (Alaska App. 1982). However, in 1982, AS 12.55.145 was amended to provide that prior felony convictions should be compared with Alaska law as it existed at the time the felony was committed in determining whether a prior felony should be counted as such under current law. It appears that receiving or concealing stolen property was a felony under Alaska law in 1978 without regard to the value of the property. See former AS 11.20.350. Consequently, Bumpus’ 1978 Alaska conviction was properly considered in connection with an aggravator in this case.