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Strickland v. State1/5/2005
NOTICE Memorandum decisions of this court do not create legal precedent. See Alaska Appellate Rule 214(d) and Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines for Publication of Court of Appeals Decisions (Court of Appeals Order No. 3). Accordingly, this memorandum decision may not be cited as binding precedent for any proposition of law.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT
No. 4958
Nathan L. Strickland pled no contest to two counts of assault in the second degree, a Class B felony. Superior Court Judge Beverly W. Cutler imposed a composite sentence of 11 years with 2 years suspended. Judge Cutler revoked Strickland's driver's license for a period of 10 years and placed him on probation for a period of 5 years following his release from confinement. Strickland appeals, arguing that his sentence is excessive. He also argues that Judge Cutler erred in not giving him credit for time served for the period of release on bail. We affirm Judge Cutler's rulings.
Factual Background
On April 28, 1999, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Strickland was driving on Knik Goose Bay Road. He attempted to pass two cars. While he was passing, Strickland caused a high-speed head-on collision with a car driven by Michael Caldwell. Caldwell died from injuries which he received in the collision. Travis Carpenter, a passenger in Caldwell's car, suffered serious physical injury. There were two passengers in Strickland's car: Tammy Sloan and her son, Zach Berton, age 14. Sloan, Burton, and Strickland were also seriously injured in the accident. A blood sample taken at the hospital indicated that Strickland had a blood alcohol level of .056 percent.
The State charged Strickland with one count of murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the first degree, one count of assault in the second degree, and one count of reckless driving. Strickland entered into a plea bargain with the State and pled no contest to two counts of assault in the second degree.
Assault in the second degree is a class B felony. Strickland had a prior felony conviction for theft in the second degree, therefore he was subject to sentencing as a second felony offender. A second felony offender is subject to a presumptive sentence of 4 years of imprisonment on a class B felony.
The State presented evidence that Strickland was passing at night, on a hill, and in a no-passing zone at a speed over 90 miles per hour. Strickland contended that he was driving the speed limit and pulled out to pass two cars. The second car sped up, preventing him from passing. Judge Cutler did not completely resolve this conflict. But she did conclude that Strickland "was probably going pretty fast." She concluded that Strickland had made an "extremely reckless pass." She found that the evidence did not support the conclusion that Strickland was drunk, but that he had engaged in extremely reckless conduct, whether drunk or sober. She pointed out that Strickland had "very recently got out of jail" and had previously failed on probation. She found that, given Strickland's record, it was reasonable to conclude that he needed to be deterred by a substantial sentence.
We conclude that Judge Cutler's findings support the sentence of 9 years to serve. Strickland was a second felony offender and engaged in extremely reckless behavior which resulted in the death of Michael Caldwell and serious injury to three other people not including Strickland himself. It seems reasonable for Judge Cutler to impose a sentence analogous to the term of imprisonment Strickland might have received for a single count of manslaughter. (As a second felony offender Strickland would have faced a presumptive term of 10 years
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