Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Alfonson Lua, Jr.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Adams County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney's Office.



On March 14, 2024, Appellant entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned criminal offenses, which the trial court accepted. N.T., 3/14/24, at 5. This was Appellant's third DUI conviction. That same day, the trial court sentenced Appellant to one to seven years' incarceration in a state correctional institution on Count 1 and ordered Appellant to pay a mandatory fine in the amount of $1,000.00 on Count 5.[2] Sentencing Order, 3/18/24; see also N.T., 3/14/24, at 8-9. As required by Section 3804(c.2) of the Vehicle Code,[3] Appellant's sentence of incarceration was set to run consecutively to the sentence Appellant was currently serving on his second DUI conviction, which was a probationary sentence imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of York County at trial court docket CP-674704-CR-2021.[4] Sentencing Order, 3/18/24; see also N.T., 3/14/24, at 6. Appellant did not file a post-sentence motion.



* * *



Legal issue Is it lawful for a trial court to mandate that a sentence for a third DUI conviction run consecutively to a probationary sentence without a definitive start date under Pennsylvania law?



Key Phrases Driving under the influence. Consecutive sentence requirement. Rule of Criminal Procedure 705. Repeat DUI offenders. Mandatory consecutive sentences.

Afirmed