State of West Virginia v. John Steven Prince

Weston, West Virginia, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, obstructing an officer, attempted malicious assault, two counts of domestic battery, and three counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm.

In July 2022, the petitioner was indicted for battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, obstructing an officer, attempted malicious assault, two counts of domestic battery, and three counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm. In December 2022, the petitioner entered into a written plea agreement with the State in which he agreed to plead guilty pursuant to Kennedy v. Frazier[2] to one count each of wanton endangerment[3] and battery on a law enforcement officer[4] in exchange for the dismissal of the remaining charges and the State's agreement that it would "stand silent at sentencing." The petitioner pled guilty in January 2023, and the circuit court conducted a sentencing hearing on March 16, 2023. At the sentencing hearing, the State presented an argument regarding the details of the incident and requested that the court impose five years of imprisonment for wanton endangerment and six months of imprisonment for battery on a law enforcement officer, to be served consecutively. The petitioner did not object to the State's argument or sentence recommendation. The court imposed the sentence requested by the State and memorialized its sentence in an order dated April 27, 2023.

Motion for sentence reduction denied.

Affirmed.