Croll v. State ( 2017 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
PATRICK F. CROLL, §
§ No. 583, 2016
Defendant Below- §
Appellant, §
§
v. § Court Below—Superior Court
§ of the State of Delaware
STATE OF DELAWARE, §
§ Cr. ID Nos. 0801001836 and
Plaintiff Below- § 0803007023
Appellee. §
Submitted: January 23, 2017
Decided: February 28, 2017
Before HOLLAND, VALIHURA, and VAUGHN, Justices.
ORDER
This 28th day of February 2017, upon consideration of the appellant’s
opening brief, the State’s motion to affirm, and the record below, it appears
to the Court that:
(1) The appellant, Patrick Croll, filed this appeal from the Superior
Court’s denial of his motion for correction of sentence. The State has filed a
motion to affirm the judgment below on the ground that it is manifest on the
face of Croll’s opening brief that his appeal is without merit. We agree and
affirm.
(2) In June 2008, Croll pled guilty to one count each of Aggravated
Menacing, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a
Felony (PDWDCF), Assault in the Second Degree,1 Unlawful Sexual
Contact in the Second Degree, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The
Superior Court sentenced Croll to a total period of thirty-three years at Level
V incarceration, to be suspended after serving nineteen years in prison
followed by decreasing levels of supervision. Croll’s direct appeal was
dismissed as untimely.2 Since that time, Croll has filed several unsuccessful
petitions seeking postconviction relief.3
(3) In September 2016, Croll filed a motion for correction of illegal
sentence under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(a), alleging that his
separate sentences for Aggravated Menacing and PDWDCF violate double
jeopardy principles and should be merged. The Superior Court denied his
motion. This appeal followed.
(4) On appeal, Croll reiterates his claim that his separate sentences
are illegal because they violate double jeopardy principles. Croll is
incorrect. As the Superior Court held, Delaware law is clear that a defendant
may be sentenced for both Aggravated Menacing and a related weapon
offense like PDWDCF because the General Assembly intended to punish the
1
Before sentencing, the State dismissed the charge of Assault in the Second Degree.
2
Croll v. State, 2009 WL 486615 (Del. Apr. 17, 2009).
3
See, e.g., Croll v. State, 2010 WL 2891502 (Del. June 21, 2010).
2
two offenses separately.4 Accordingly, Croll’s separate sentences for
PDWCF and Aggravated Menacing do not violate double jeopardy.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the
Superior Court is AFFIRMED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Karen L. Valihura
Justice
4
DeShields v. State, 2015 WL 115487 (Del. Jan. 7, 2015).
3