State of Kansas v. Sharrone Dontrez Steele-Ponds

Wichita, Kansas criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with aggravated robbery to increase his criminal history score from D to B.



At Steel-Ponds' sentencing hearing, his attorney informed the district court that she had reviewed his amended PSI report and did not object to his criminal history score of B. Steele-Ponds also confirmed to the district court that his prior convictions were correct in the amended PSI report. The district court heard the parties' recommendations for sentencing and Steele-Ponds' motion for a dispositional departure.



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Legal issue Can a prior conviction for aggravated robbery be used to increase a criminal history score for sentencing if it is also an element of a current crime of conviction?



CRIMINAL LAW. SENTENCING GUIDELINES. The case addresses whether the district court erred in calculating the defendant's criminal history score by using a prior aggravated robbery conviction to enhance the sentence for distribution of a controlled substance, when the defendant did not initially object to the score during sentencing.



CRIMINAL LAW. ILLEGAL SENTENCE CLAIMS. The court examines the defendant's burden to establish prejudicial error on appeal, where there was no objection to the criminal history score at sentencing, under the provisions of K.S.A. 21-6814(d) and the statutes governing correction of illegal sentences.



CRIMINAL LAW. MULTIPLE CONVICTIONS SENTENCING. The decision considers the application of criminal history scores in multiple-conviction cases, particularly regarding whether a prior conviction used to determine the primary crime's sentence can influence other nonbase convictions under K.S.A. 21-6810(d)(10) and relevant case law.



Key Phrases Criminal history score. Aggravated robbery conviction. Controlled substance distribution. Criminal possession of a weapon. Illegal sentence.

Affirmed