STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. MARTIN DELVALLE (15-09-0122, MERCER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2022 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-5586-17
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
MARTIN DELVALLE a/k/a
LOUIS CAMACHO,
WILBERTO R. MARTINEZ,
MARTIN RODRIGUEZ, ERIC
HEDGEPATH, ERIC C.
HEDGEPATH, MARTIN
DELVALLE-RODRIGUEZ,
MARTIN DELVALLI,
MARTIN KALIAS, ROBERTO
MARTINEZ, and MARTIN
RODRIQUEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
Submitted November 15, 2021 – Decided March 3, 2022
Before Judges Messano and Rose.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Mercer County, Indictment No. 15-09-0122.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for
appellant (Ruth E. Hunter, Designated Counsel, on the
brief).
Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney General, attorney for
respondent (Catlin A. Davis, Deputy Attorney General,
of counsel and on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Following a bifurcated jury trial, defendant Martin DelValle was
convicted of weapons and drug offenses for the undercover sales of firearms to
a police informant and the subsequent seizure of oxycodone pills from
defendant's residence. The same jury thereafter convicted defendant of certain
persons not to have weapons and related firearm offenses. After denying the
State's motion for a discretionary extended term, the trial court ordered
appropriate mergers and sentenced defendant to an aggregate prison term of
thirty years with a fifteen-year parole disqualifier.
Defendant now appeals, arguing:
POINT I
DEFENDANT DID NOT VOLUNTARILY WAIVE
HIS MIRANDA[1] RIGHTS BECAUSE THE POLICE
DID NOT INFORM HIM, PRIOR TO READING HIM
HIS RIGHTS, THAT HE WAS ALSO FACING
WEAPONS CHARGES. IN ADDITION, THE TRIAL
COURT'S FAILURE TO GIVE THE "KOCIOLEK
1
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
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CHARGE" ABOUT DEFENDANT'S UNRECORDED
AND INCRIMINATING STATEMENTS DEPRIVED
DEFENDANT OF A FAIR TRIAL. SEE STATE V.
KOCIOLEK, 23 N.J. 400, 421 (1957).
[(Partially raised below).]
POINT II
THE DETECTIVES' TESTIMONY AND THE
PROSECUTOR'S ARGUMENT THAT DEFENDANT
WAS THE "TARGET" OF A POLICE
INVESTIGATION VIOLATED STATE V.
BANKSTON, 63 N.J. 263 (1973), AND THE
DETECTIVES' TESTIMONY CONCERNING WHAT
THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT TOLD THEM
WAS INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY.
[(Partially raised below).]
POINT III
THERE MUST BE A REMAND FOR A
RESENTENCING BECAUSE THE COURT
IMPOSED EXCESSIVE AND DISPROPORTIONATE
MAXIMUM AND CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES
WITH DISCRETIONARY PAROLE
DISQUALIFIERS, AND BECAUSE IT
INAPPROPRIATELY APPLIED THE GRAVES
ACT[2] TO INELIGIBLE OFFENSES.
We are unpersuaded by the arguments raised in points I and II; the State
concedes the court inappropriately applied the Graves Act to certain weapons
2
N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c).
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3
offenses. We therefore affirm defendant's convictions but remand for
resentencing.
I.
The charges against defendant arose from a State Police investigation
commenced after a known cooperating witness, Levi Melvin, approached
Detective Doug Muraglia, a member of the Crime Suppression Central Unit.
Seeking to reduce his exposure on pending charges, Melvin told Muraglia
defendant frequently sold guns from defendant's home in Trenton. Under the
auspices of law enforcement, Melvin purchased four firearms from defendant on
three separate dates between December 14, 2014 and March 21, 2015.
Police executed a search warrant at defendant's home on April 15, 2015.
Around 8:30 p.m., before the search ensued, the State Police SWAT team
secured the residence and removed defendant and the other occupants. Outside
the home, Muraglia advised defendant of his Miranda rights; defendant agreed
to speak with Muraglia. Defendant acknowledged he owned the three-story
residence, lived on the first floor, and rented rooms to various tenants.
Defendant was transported to headquarters while the search was
conducted. Police seized oxycodone pills in unlabeled prescription pill bottles
from defendant's bedroom. Other oxycodone pills in bottles labeled with
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prescriptions in the name of defendant's girlfriend, Janice Pabon, were found in
the living room. Pabon lived with defendant at the time of his arrest. No
firearms were seized from the residence.
Around 10:00 p.m. at the station, Detective Michael Paglione, of the
Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, administered Miranda warnings to
defendant in the presence of Detective Kartik Birudaraju. Defendant
acknowledged his rights and signed a Miranda card.
Later during processing, defendant asked Muraglia why he was arrested
and what evidence was recovered during the search of his home. Muraglia told
defendant police found pills. Defendant immediately volunteered some pills
were Pabon's, and he obtained the remainder illegally for purposes of
distribution. Thereafter, Muraglia disclosed law enforcement had purchased
firearms from defendant and asked him to provide a formal statement concerning
their conversation. Defendant claimed he had chest pains; Muraglia called an
ambulance. Police did not take a formal, recorded statement from defendant.
Over the course of three trial days, the State presented the testimony of
Muraglia, three other law enforcement witnesses, Melvin, and Pabon. The State
also moved into evidence various exhibits, including the four firearms sold to
Melvin, the audio recordings of the police-monitored, consensual telephone
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calls between Melvin and defendant concerning those sales, and the oxycodone
pills seized from defendant's home. Defendant did not testify but called Pabon
and another lay witness in his defense.
After the first trial, the jury convicted defendant of the first eight counts
charged in a Mercer County indictment: 3 fourth-degree unlawful disposition of
a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9(d) (counts one through four); second-degree
possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance
(oxycodone), N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(4) (count five); third-
degree possession with intent to distribute oxycodone within 1,000 feet of school
property, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7 (count six); second-degree possession with intent to
distribute oxycodone within 500 feet of public property, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1
(count seven); and third-degree possession of oxycodone, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-
10(a)(1) (count eight). The jury then convicted defendant of the remaining
counts of the same indictment: second-degree certain persons not to have
weapons, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7(b)(1) (count nine); three counts of first-degree
3
The charges were renumbered after the court granted the State's motion to
dismiss four counts of the indictment, i.e., second-degree unlawful possession
of a handgun, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b)(1) (three counts), and third-degree unlawful
possession of a rifle, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(c) (one count).
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unlawful possession of a handgun by a person previously convicted of a NERA 4
offense, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b) and 2C:39-5(j) (counts ten through twelve); and
first-degree unlawful possession of a rifle by a person previously convicted of a
NERA offense, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(c) and 2C:39-5(j) (count thirteen).
At sentencing, the court merged counts six through eight with count five
and sentenced defendant to a custodial term of ten years with a mandatory
minimum of five years on the remaining second-degree drug offense. The court
also merged count nine with count twelve, and sentenced defendant to a twenty-
year prison term with a ten-year parole disqualifier on the remaining first-degree
unlawful possession of a weapon offense. Defendant was sentenced to
concurrent: twenty-year prison terms with ten-year mandatory minimum terms
on counts ten, eleven, and thirteen; and eighteen-month prison terms with
eighteen-month mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment on counts one
through four. The sentences on counts one through four, ten, eleven, and
thirteen, were imposed concurrently with count twelve; and the sentences on
counts five and twelve were imposed consecutively with each other.
4
No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.
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II.
A.
In his first point, defendant seeks reversal of his drug convictions, arguing
the trial court erroneously admitted his inculpatory statements in evidence. Prior
to trial, the court conducted a Miranda hearing pursuant to N.J.R.E. 104(c). 5
Detectives Muraglia and Paglione testified on behalf of the State. Defendant
did not testify or present any evidence.
Muraglia stated he first encountered defendant outside his residence, read
defendant his Miranda rights "off the top of [his] head," and apprised defendant
police were there to conduct a "court-authorized search." Muraglia explained
the detectives do not utilize a written Miranda form in the field "for officer
safety," but do so after a suspect is transported to the station. Defendant
appeared "calm, cool, and collect[ed]," and had no questions about his rights.
He agreed to answer Muraglia's questions.
On cross-examination, Muraglia acknowledged he did not re-issue
Miranda warnings while processing defendant, but was aware defendant had
5
The record on appeal does not contain an order memorializing the court's
decision. As such, it is unclear from the record whether defendant moved
pretrial to suppress the oral statements he made to law enforcement, or the State
moved for a voluntariness determination.
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signed a Miranda card, indicating he waived his rights in the presence of
Paglione and Birudaraju. Muraglia also explained he did not immediately advise
defendant about the weapons offenses, preferring to wait until defendant was
processed and questioned in the interview room, where his statement would be
recorded.
Paglione testified he advised defendant of his Miranda rights at the station.
Utilizing a Miranda card, Paglione read each right and gave defendant the
opportunity to read the card. Defendant acknowledged he understood his right s
verbally and by signing the card. Paglione did not interrogate defendant or
engage in any further conversation.
Defense counsel asserted defendant's inculpatory statements were not
spontaneously made and Muraglia should have readministered his rights for a
third time before advising defendant police recovered pills from his residence.
Following argument, the trial court reserved decision and thereafter issued a
cogent oral decision.
Citing the governing law, the court ruled defendant knowingly,
voluntarily, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights and his brief post-arrest
oral statements to police were made voluntarily. Deeming the unrefuted
testimony of both detectives "highly credible," the court concluded "defendant
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was twice given and waived his Miranda rights . . . in relatively
contemporaneous time periods." The court found Muraglia's field inquiry was
"very limited."
Turning to defendant's statements about the pills during processing, the
court found defendant initiated the inquiry and Muraglia answered his question.
Thus, the exchange "was not done in some method designed to produce an
incriminating response." Noting Muraglia planned to take a formal statement
after processing, the court found defendant "was likely not subjected to
interrogation." Alternatively, the court found the statements were made after
defendant was fully advised of, and waived, his rights.
Before us, defendant asserts a different basis for suppressing the
statements.6 Defendant now contends the waiver of his Miranda rights was not
knowing and voluntary because police failed to advise him, before he confessed
to the drug crimes, that they were charging him with weapons offenses. We are
not persuaded.
6
Because the argument was not raised before the trial court, we could choose
not to address it. See State v. Witt, 223 N.J. 409, 419 (2015) (recognizing "with
few exceptions, 'our appellate courts will decline to consider questions or issues
not properly presented to the trial court when an opportunity for such a
presentation is available'" (quoting State v. Robinson, 200 N.J. 1, 20 (2009))).
However, the record is complete and permits us to fully review the issues as now
framed.
A-5586-17
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Defendant argues such a disclosure was constitutionally required to enable
him to knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently decide whether to waive his
Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as established in State v.
A.G.D., 178 N.J. 56 (2003). He further contends the factual scenario here is
similar to that in State v. Vincenty, 237 N.J. 122 (2019), decided after the trial
court rendered its decision in this matter. After the briefs were filed, defendant
filed a supplemental brief, pursuant to Rule 2:6-11(d), citing the majority's
recent opinion in State v. Sims, 466 N.J. Super. 346 (App. Div.), certif. granted,
246 N.J. 146 (2021), to further support his belated argument. The State filed a
responding supplemental submission, maintaining Muraglia did not interrogate
defendant, who "volunteered his incriminating statement during processing."
Alternatively, the State contends, unlike Sims, the present matter involved "two
distinct sets of crimes."
In A.G.D., the Court held law enforcement's failure to inform the
defendant that a criminal complaint or warrant had been filed against him prior
to the interrogation, rendered the defendant's waiver of his Miranda rights
involuntary. 178 N.J. at 58-59. The Court stated such information was
"critically important" and "indispensable to a knowing and intelligent waiver of
rights." Id. at 68. In Vincenty, the Court extended its holding in A.G.D. by
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additionally requiring interrogating officers to apprise a suspect of the basis for
the complaint or warrant. 237 N.J. at 126.
More recently, this court decided Sims, where the majority construed
A.G.D. and Vincenty to compel suppression of the defendant's Mirandized
statement where he was arrested and interrogated before charges were formally
filed. Sims, 466 N.J. Super. at 367. Although the officers in Sims had not filed
a formal complaint-warrant, they had arrested the defendant for attempted
murder and failed to inform him why he was under arrest before questioning
him. Id. at 357.
Initially, we note "the decision of one appellate panel [is not] binding upon
another panel of the Appellate Division." Brundage v. Estate of Carambio, 195
N.J. 575, 593 (2008).7 Nonetheless, the facts in Sims are distinguishable from
those presented here. Unlike the defendant in Sims, police were not
interrogating defendant when he made the inculpatory statements concerning the
pills, as the court initially determined. Instead, defendant initiated the inquiry
and volunteered information concerning ownership of the oxycodone recovered
from his home.
7
After granting certification in Sims, the Court issued an order staying our
decision pending appeal. No. 085369 (Mar. 16, 2021).
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Moreover, even if defendant's incriminating statements were erroneously
admitted in evidence under Sims, the unchallenged error was not "clearly
capable of producing an unjust result." R. 2:10-2; see also State v. Ross, 229
N.J. 389, 407 (2017). Defendant's guilt concerning the drug offenses did not
rise and fall on his statements. In addition to the officers' testimony about their
observations during execution of the search warrant, Pabon testified that the
oxycodone pills belonged to defendant. The State also presented the testimony
of an expert in pharmaceutical narcotics distribution, who explained, among
other things, persons involved in distribution of prescription pills are likely to
possess drugs in unlabeled or improperly labeled bottles. We therefore discern
no basis to disturb the trial court's decision, admitting in evidence defendant's
statements to law enforcement.
B.
Defendant also challenges the trial court's failure to issue a Kociolek
charge to the jury to assess the credibility of his oral statements made to
Muraglia. Because defendant did not challenge the omission of the instruction
at trial, we review for plain error. State v. Wakefield, 190 N.J. 397, 473 (2007)
(holding that under Rules 1:7-2 and 2:10-2, "the failure to object to a jury
instruction requires review under the plain error standard").
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A Kociolek charge pertains to the reliability of an inculpatory statement
made by a defendant to any witness. 23 N.J. at 421-23. A Kociolek charge need
not be provided to the jury where "an alleged oral inculpatory statement was not
made in response to police questioning, and there is no genuine issue regarding
its contents, . . . because the only question the jury must determine is whether
the defendant actually made the alleged inculpatory statement." State v.
Baldwin, 296 N.J. Super. 391, 401-02 (App. Div. 1997).
The failure to give a Kociolek charge is not plain error per se. State v.
Jordan, 147 N.J. 409, 428 (1997) (noting it would be "a rare case where failure
to give a Kociolek charge alone is sufficient to constitute reversible error"). We
have held "[w]here such a charge has not been given, its absence must be viewed
within the factual context of the case and the charge as a whole to determine
whether its omission was capable of producing an unjust result." State v. Crumb,
307 N.J. Super. 204, 251 (App. Div. 1997).
Here, the trial court's final instructions to the jury on defendant's oral
statements to Muraglia largely tracked the applicable model instruction,
commonly known as a Hampton[8]/Kociolek charge. See Model Jury Charges
8
State v. Hampton, 61 N.J. 250 (1972). In Hampton, the Court held that when
a defendant's confession to police is admitted in evidence at trial, the judge shall
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(Criminal), "Statements of Defendant" (rev. June 14, 2010). However, the court
omitted the "Kociolek portion" of the charge:
In considering whether or not an oral statement
was actually made by the defendant, and, if made,
whether it is credible, you should receive, weigh and
consider this evidence with caution based on the
generally recognized risk of misunderstanding by the
hearer, or the ability of the hearer to recall accurately
the words used by the defendant. The specific words
used and the ability to remember them are important to
the correct understanding of any oral communication
because the presence, or absence, or change of a single
word may substantially change the true meaning of
even the shortest sentence.
You should, therefore, receive, weigh and
consider such evidence with caution.
But the court gave appropriate guidance on the jury's evaluation of
defendant's statements to Muraglia by giving the detailed instructions on
assessing the general credibility of witnesses set forth in Model Jury Charges
(Criminal), "Criminal Final Charge" (rev. May 12, 2014). Although the trial
court should have issued a Kociolek charge in this case, the failure to do so was
not "clearly capable of producing an unjust result." R. 2:10-2. In view of the
instruct the jurors "that they should decide whether . . . the defendant's
confession is true," and if they conclude "that it is not true, then they must . . .
disregard it for purposes of discharging their function as fact finders." Id. at
272.
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court's clear instructions to the jury on the task of considering the credibility of
all witnesses, we are unable to conclude the absence of a Kociolek charge
constituted plain error in the context of this matter. Indeed, as previously stated,
defendant's guilt was not based solely on Muraglia's testimony regarding the
statements made by defendant.
III.
In his second point, defendant raises three overlapping arguments,
contending their cumulative effect warrants reversal of all his convictions.
Defendant argues: the detectives' testimony violated the principles enunciated
in Bankston, by referring to defendant as the "target" of the investigation; the
prosecutor's closing remarks "improperly identified defendant as a criminal";
and the State elicited inadmissible hearsay from Muraglia concerning specific
information he received from "a confidential informant" that defendant was a
known arms dealer. We are unpersuaded.
Bankston limits an officer's explanations for initiating an investigation to
neutral language that does not imply the officer has inculpatory information
about a defendant, which is not otherwise shared with the jury. Id. at 268.
"When the logical implication to be drawn from the testimony leads the jury to
believe that a non-testifying witness has given the police evidence of the
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accused's guilt, the testimony should be disallowed as hearsay." Id. at 271(emphasis added). Although in Bankston "the police officers never specifically
repeated what the informer had told them, the inescapable inference from [one
officer's] testimony was that . . . an unidentified informer, who was not present
in court and not subjected to cross-examination, had told the officers that
defendant was committing a crime." Ibid. (emphasis added). The Court
excluded the testimony as "clearly hearsay." Ibid.; see also State v. Medina, 242
N.J. 397, 415 (2020) (reiterating the principle that law enforcement witnesses
"may not disclose incriminating information obtained from a non-testifying
witness").
Here, defendant points to the officers' references to him as a target as
violating Bankston because they at least suggested police had "inside"
information. The reference was first made after Muraglia generally described
his background in firearms and narcotics investigation, and specifically
referenced the present investigation "between December of 2014 and April of
2015." Muraglia then explained he commenced the investigation after he was
contacted by Melvin, and subsequently oversaw Melvin's controlled purchases
of four firearms from defendant during that time frame. Notably, Melvin
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testified at trial to his involvement in the investigation and was "subjected to
cross-examination." Bankston, 63 N.J. at 271.
Because defendant did not object at trial, we review the issue for plain
error. R. 2:10-2. The term, "target" as used in this case does not imply police
received information from an out-of-court declarant. Conversely, Muraglia
expressly informed the jury that police received information about defendant's
firearms trafficking from Melvin, who, in turn, testified to the same information
at trial. While the term, "target" may conjure a negative connotation, there was
no Bankston violation here. As such, we do not view the use of the term "target"
in this case to be "clearly capable of producing an unjust result." Ibid.For similar reasons, we reject defendant's contentions that Muraglia's
testimony about his conversations with Melvin violated the hearsay rule.
Contrary to defendant's assertion, Melvin was not a "confidential informant."
Again, Melvin was a witness at trial and available for cross-examination. See
Bankston, 63 N.J. at 271. Thus, Melvin was not "a faceless accuser." State v.
Branch, 182 N.J. 338, 348 (2005) (cautioning that "the hearsay rule and the right
of confrontation protect a defendant from the incriminating statements of a
faceless accuser who remains in the shadows and avoids the light of court").
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Nor are we persuaded that the prosecutor's comments on summation
warrant reversal. Again, defendant raised no objection at trial. We thus review
the remarks for plain error, noting "[f]ailure to make a timely objection indicates
that defense counsel did not believe the remarks were prejudicial at the time
they were made," and "deprives the court of the opportunity to take curative
action." State v. Timmendequas, 161 N.J. 515, 576 (1999).
Defendant now finds fault with the following snippets of the prosecutor's
summation, emphasizing:
[Melvin] was a criminal and who better than a criminal
to know what other criminals are out there selling guns
on our streets. . . . And the State Police were willing
to use [Melvin] because they want to find the bigger
fish, as Detective Doug Muraglia said, not the persons
who just have guns, but the ones who sell guns. . . .
But who but criminals know who are the other criminals
selling weapons? If he wasn't a criminal himself, how
would he have known about the criminal activity of
others?
Omitted from defendant's citations are the prosecutor's references to those
portions of defense counsel's summation that skillfully attempted to discredit
Melvin, based on his criminal history. In that context, the prosecutor's remarks
were made in response to defense counsel's argument, State v. Nelson, 173 N.J.
417, 473 (2002); not "derogatory name-calling" that has repeatedly been
disapproved by our courts, see e.g., State v. Sheika, 337 N.J. Super. 228, 250
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(App. Div. 2001). Even if the prosecutor's remarks could be construed as
improper, they did not "substantially prejudice[] defendant's fundamental right
to have a jury fairly evaluate the merits of his defense." Timmendequas, 161
N.J. at 575; see also Nelson, 173 N.J. at 460.
In sum, defendant has failed to demonstrate any error or pattern of errors,
rising to the level, either singly or cumulatively, that denied him a fair trial. "A
defendant is entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one." State v. R.B., 183 N.J.
308, 334 (2005).
IV.
Lastly, defendant argues his aggregate sentence is "patently unfair,
excessive and disproportionate." He asserts the trial court erroneously imposed
two consecutive maximum sentences, including discretionary parole
ineligibility terms, and wrongly applied the Graves Act to certain offenses. For
the reasons that follow, we remand for resentencing.
Our analysis of these arguments is framed by well-settled principles.
Ordinarily, we defer to the sentencing court's determination, State v. Fuentes,
217 N.J. 57, 70 (2014), and do not substitute our assessment of the aggravating
and mitigating factors for that of the trial judge, State v. Miller, 205 N.J. 109,
127 (2011); see also State v. Case, 220 N.J. 49, 65 (2014). We will not disturb
A-5586-17
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a sentence that is not manifestly excessive or unduly punitive, does not
constitute an abuse of discretion, and does not shock the judicial conscience.
See State v. O'Donnell, 117 N.J. 210, 215-16 (1989). However, our deference
"applies only if the trial judge follows the Code and the basic precepts that
channel sentencing discretion." Case, 220 N.J. at 65.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a), when the court imposes multiple
sentences of imprisonment for more than one offense, they "shall run
concurrently or consecutively as the court determines at the time of sentence."
"There shall be no overall outer limit on the cumulation of consecutive sentences
for multiple offenses." Ibid.
In State v. Yarbough, our Supreme Court set forth the following "criteria
as general sentencing guidelines for concurrent or consecutive sentencing
decisions":
(1) there can be no free crimes in a system for
which the punishment shall fit the crime;
(2) the reasons for imposing either a consecutive
or concurrent sentence should be separately stated in
the sentencing decision;
(3) some reasons to be considered by the
sentencing court should include facts relating to the
crimes, including whether or not:
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(a) the crimes and their objectives were
predominantly independent of each other;
(b) the crimes involved separate acts of
violence or threats of violence;
(c) the crimes were committed at different
times or separate places, rather than being
committed so closely in time and place as to
indicate a single period of aberrant behavior;
(d) any of the crimes involved multiple
victims;
(e) the convictions for which the sentences
are to be imposed are numerous;
(4) there should be no double counting of
aggravating factors; [and]
(5) successive terms for the same offense should
not ordinarily be equal to the punishment for the first
offense[.]
[100 N.J. 627, 643-44 (1985).]
A sixth factor, imposing an overall outer limit on consecutive sentences, was
superseded by statute. See State v. Eisenman, 153 N.J. 462, 478 (1998) (citing
N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a)).
Like the statutory aggravating and mitigating factors, "[t]he Yarbough
factors are qualitative, not quantitative," and "applying them involves more than
merely counting the factors favoring each alternative outcome." State v. Cuff,
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239 N.J. 321, 348 (2019). Instead, the sentencing court must consider all the
Yarbough guidelines, with emphasis on the five subparts of the third guideline.
State v. Rogers, 124 N.J. 113, 121 (1991).
Concurrent or consecutive sentences are at the discretion of the sentencing
judge. See State v. Carey, 168 N.J. 413, 422 (2001) (citing N.J.S.A. 2C:44-
5(a)). "[I]n determining whether sentences for separate offenses should be
served concurrently or consecutively, a sentencing court should focus on the
fairness of the overall sentence." State v. Miller, 108 N.J. 112, 122 (1987); see
also State v. Torres, 246 N.J. 246, 267-68 (2021) (reiterating that Yarbough
requires the trial court to place on the record a statement of reasons for imposing
consecutive sentences, which should address the overall fairness of the
sentence).
At sentencing in the present matter, the trial court heavily weighed
defendant's extensive criminal history, which spanned thirty years and included
convictions for sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and drugs.
The court found aggravating factors three, six, and nine, see N.J.S.A. 2C:44-
1(a)(3) (the risk of re-offense); (a)(6) (the extent of defendant's criminal
history); and (a)(9) (the need to deter defendant and others), substantially
outweighed the absence of mitigating factors, see N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(1) to
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(b)(14). With those aggravating factors in view, the court denied the State's
motion for a discretionary extended term 9 on defendant's first-degree unlawful
possession of a handgun by a convicted felon conviction (count ten), finding
instead "the need to protect the public can be adequately addressed by ordinary
terms."
In imposing consecutive sentences on the drug and weapons convictions,
the court assessed the relevant Yarbough factors, finding "the objectives were
predominantly independent of each other. They involved separate risks,
separate harms, separate criminal acts with separate dangers from which society
has to be protected." Based on our review of the record, we find no abuse of
discretion in the court's imposition of consecutive sentences consistent with the
applicable Yarbough guidelines. However, the trial court did not address the
overall fairness of the maximum, consecutive sentences imposed on defendant.
Pursuant to the Court's advisement in Torres, we vacate the sentence imposed
and remand for the court to provide "[a]n explicit statement, explaining the
overall fairness" of the sentences imposed. 246 N.J. at 268.
9
Prior to sentencing, the State waived its right to seek a mandatory extended
term on defendant's second-degree possession with intent to distribute
oxycodone conviction (count five). See State v. Robinson, 217 N.J. 594, 610
(2014) (barring the imposition of mandatory and discretionary extended terms
in the same sentencing proceeding).
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Further, the court improperly imposed the mandatory parole disqualifier
of eighteen months' imprisonment under the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c),
on the fourth-degree sales of weapons convictions (counts one through four).
However, disposition of a weapon under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-9(d) is not a Graves
Act offense. Accordingly, on remand, the court shall resentence defendant on
these convictions, without application of a mandatory term of imprisonment.
We express no position on the appropriate aggregate sentence. In all other
respects, we affirm defendant's convictions. Any remaining contentions not
addressed lack sufficient merit to warrant discussion in a written opinion. R.
2:11-3(e)(2).
Affirmed, and remanded for resentencing. We do not retain jurisdiction.
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