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State v. Schminkey7/8/1999
On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Van D. Zimmer, Judge.
Defendant appeals his conviction of theft of a motor vehicle and his consecutive sentences for this crime and the offense of homicide by vehicle. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; SENTENCE ON THEFT CHARGE VACATED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.
Considered en banc.
The defendant, William Schminkey, entered Alford pleas to the offenses of homicide by vehicle, see Iowa Code § 707.6A(1) (1997), and theft of a motor vehicle, see id. §§ 714.1, .2(2). See generally North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37, 91 S. Ct. 160, 167, 27 L. Ed. 2d 162, 171 (1970) (holding that an accused may consent to the imposition of a prison sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit his participation in the acts constituting the crime). The court sentenced him to consecutive ten-year and five-year terms of imprisonment, respectively. Schminkey now claims that the record lacks a sufficient factual basis for a finding that he was guilty of the theft offense. He also claims his counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to object to the prosecutor's breach of the plea agreement with respect to the State's sentencing recommendations.
We agree that the record does not show a factual basis for Schminkey's conviction of the crime of theft of a motor vehicle. This Conclusion makes it unnecessary to consider Schminkey's claim that the State breached the plea agreement. Accordingly, we vacate the sentence on the theft conviction and remand for further proceedings.
I. Factual and Procedural Background.
The underlying facts of the tragic episode culminating in Schminkey's convictions are undisputed. Because the ultimate focus in this case is on the record before the district court at the time of the guilty plea proceedings, we recite the facts as they appeared to the court during that phase of the case.
Schminkey spent the evening of May 17, 1997 drinking, first at a party and then at a bar. Although Schminkey has no recollection of leaving the bar or of what happened after he left, witnesses established that he departed the bar and then drove a pickup owned by Dale Kimm, a man Schminkey did not know. Schminkey did not have Kimm's permission to drive the pickup. Several witnesses observed the pickup being driven erratically and in excess of the speed limit. They saw the vehicle heading north, approaching a controlled intersection in the town of Van Horne at an excessive rate of speed. The pickup went through the intersection without slowing down and struck two vehicles, facing south, that were stopped at the intersection stop sign. The driver and only occupant of the first vehicle, nineteen-year-old Jason Kray, died en route to the hospital.
Notwithstanding the collision, the driver of the pickup appeared to be fleeing the scene, accelerating the engine and proceeding down the road for another block or so before crashing into a fence. Witnesses who assisted in extricating Schminkey from the pickup said he smelled strongly of alcohol. A later urine test showed his blood alcohol level to be .189, significantly over the legal limit of .10. See Iowa Code § 321J.2(1).
Schminkey was charged with homicide by vehicle in violation of Iowa Code section 707.6A(1), involuntary manslaughter in violation of Iowa Code section 707.5(1), and theft of a motor vehicle in violation of Iowa Code sections 714.1 and 714.2(2). Claiming he was unable to recall the events of the evening due to his intoxication, Schminkey entered into a plea agreement with the State, whereby, in exchange for his Alfor
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