Larry (Marcus) v. State ( 2014 )

 voluntarily entered, Rubio v. State, 124 Nev. 1032, 1039, 194 P.3d 1224,
1228 (2008). "A guilty plea is knowing and voluntary if the defendant has
a full understanding of both the nature of the charges and the direct
consequences arising from a plea of guilty." Rubio, 124 Nev. at 1038, 194
P.3d at 1228 (internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted).
In this case, appellant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit
murder and attempted murder. In the guilty plea agreement, the parties
stipulated to a 4-10 year sentence for the attempt count but retained the
right to argue on the conspiracy count. The agreement explained that the
penalty range for conspiracy to commit murder was 1-10 years, and the
district court confirmed that range during the plea canvass. Thus,
appellant was informed that the minimum term of incarceration he might
receive at sentencing was 4 years if the counts were run concurrently, or 5
years if the counts were run consecutively. Before sentencing, the parties
learned that the actual penalty range for conspiracy to commit murder
was 2-10 years. See NRS 199.480(1)(b). Although appellant acknowledged
that he had been misinformed regarding the statutory minimum term on
that count, he did not move to withdraw his plea. Instead, he argued that
the district court should disregard the statute and sentence him to 1-3
years. The State pointed out that 1-3 years for conspiracy to commit
murder was an illegal sentence, but to ensure that appellant would not be
prejudiced, the State agreed to reduce its stipulation on the attempted
murder count to 3-10 years if necessary to achieve the district court's
sentencing goals. Thus, the minimum term of incarceration that appellant
was exposed to at sentencing was 4 years if the counts were run
concurrently, or 5 years if the counts were run consecutively.
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
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:
The district court denied appellant's motion on the grounds
that the incorrect information was of no consequence because it had
sentenced appellant to the same 7-year term that his codefendant
received. The district court correctly denied appellant's motion, albeit for
the wrong reason. See Wyatt v. State, 86 Nev. 294, 298, 468 P.2d 338, 341
(1970). Due to the State's concession, appellant faced the same minimum
aggregate term of incarceration contemplated by the guilty plea
agreement and was therefore correctly informed before he pleaded guilty.
Appellant was also correctly informed regarding the maximum term, and
he acknowledged that sentencing, including the imposition of consecutive
sentences, was within the district court's discretion. We conclude that the
district court did not abuse its discretion by declining appellant's request
to withdraw his plea. See Hubbard v. State, 110 Nev. 671, 675, 877 P.2d
519, 521 (1994) ("Absent an abuse of discretion, the district court's
decision regarding the validity of a guilty plea will not be reversed on
appeal."), and we
ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.
J.
Hardesty
Ck
Douglas Cherry
cc: Hon. James M. Bixler, District Judge
Kirk T. Kennedy
Attorney General/Carson City
Clark County District Attorney
Eighth District Court Clerk
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
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(0) I947A