DEBORAH UPCHURCH VS. CITY OF ORANGE TOWNSHIP Â (L-1145-15, ESSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2017 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE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-4291-14T2
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
GREGORY BYRD,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Submitted February 7, 2017 – Decided May 8, 2017
Before Judges Espinosa and Suter.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey,
Law Division, Atlantic County, Indictment No.
87-10-2132.
Gregory Byrd, appellant pro se.
Diane Ruberton, Acting Atlantic County
Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Mario C.
Formica, Special Deputy Attorney General/
Acting Chief Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel
and on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant appeals from the denial of his motion to correct
an illegal sentence pursuant to Rule 3:21-10(b)(5). We affirm.
A jury convicted defendant of first-degree murder, N.J.S.A.
2C:11-2(a)(2) (count one), attempted murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-
3(a)(2) (count two), and other offenses arising from a robbery in
which he shot two victims in the head.
In 1992, defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a
thirty-year parole disqualifier on the murder charge. The sentence
challenged in this appeal is the sentence imposed on the attempted
murder charge. The State filed a motion to have defendant
sentenced as a persistent offender pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7(a)
and N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3(a). The trial court granted the State's
motion and sentenced defendant to an extended term of life
imprisonment with a twenty-five year parole disqualifier, to run
consecutive to the sentence imposed on the murder charge. The
rest of the counts either merged or resulted in concurrent
sentences.
We affirmed defendant's convictions and sentence on direct
appeal, State v. Byrd, Docket No. A-2982-88 (App. Div. July 9),
certif. denied, 122 N.J. 363 (1990). Thereafter, defendant filed
two petitions for post-conviction relief, the denials of which
were affirmed on appeal, State v. Byrd, Docket No. A-6002-91 (App.
Div. Feb. 25), certif. denied, 137 N.J. 164 (1994); State v. Byrd,
Docket No. A-0597-10 (App. Div. Mar. 13), certif. denied, 211 N.J.
608 (2012).
Defendant first challenged his sentence in his direct appeal,
2 A-4291-14T2
arguing it was manifestly excessive. We noted the trial court's
findings "were amply supported by the record [and] clearly
justified and warranted the imposition of the parole ineligibility
terms, the imposition of the extended term and the imposition of
consecutive terms." State v. Byrd, supra, Docket No. A-2982-88,
slip op. at 13.
In April 2015, defendant moved to have the extended term
sentence imposed on his attempted murder conviction corrected as
illegal. R. 3:21-10(b)(5). Noting we affirmed defendant's
sentence in his direct appeal, the trial court denied the motion.
Defendant presents the following arguments:
POINT I
THIS COURT SHOULD REMAND THIS MATTER
TO THE TRIAL COURT FOR PROPER
SENTENCING SINCE APPELLANT WAS
UNCONSTITUTIONALLY SENTENCED AS A
"PERSISTENT OFFENDER" AND SINCE HE
RECEIVED AN UNREASONABLE SENTENCE
THAT WAS MANIFESTLY UNJUST.
POINT II
THE SENTENCING COURT ABUSED ITS
DISCRETION IN IMPOSING A
DISCRETIONARY EXTENDED TERM UPON
APPELLANT AS A PER[]SISTENT
OFFENDER.
Defendant argues the lower court erred in denying his motion
to correct his sentence on the ground that it had already been
addressed in our decision on his direct appeal because he did not
3 A-4291-14T2
raise the issue of whether his treatment as a persistent offender
at sentencing led to an illegal sentence. He also argues his
sentence was illegal because the out-of-state convictions used by
the State to prove he was a persistent offender under N.J.S.A.
2C:44-3(a) were insufficient. We disagree.
"[A]ppeals are taken from orders and judgments and not from
opinions, oral decisions, informal written decisions, or reasons
given for the ultimate conclusion." Do-Wop Corp. v. City of
Rahway, 168 N.J. 191, 199 (2001). Because defendant was properly
sentenced as a persistent offender, we need not review the trial
court's reasoning for concluding that sentence should not be
vacated as illegal. Moreover, whether a sentence "violates
sentencing guidelines and legislative policies . . . is a question
of law which is reviewed de novo." State v. Robinson, 217 N.J.
594, 604 (2014).
N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3(a) permits a court to impose an extended
term of imprisonment if a "defendant has been convicted of a crime
of the first, second or third degree and is a persistent offender."
A persistent offender is defined as
a person who at the time of the commission of
the crime is 21 years of age or over, who has
been previously convicted on at least two
separate occasions of two crimes, committed
at different times, when he was at least 18
years of age, if the latest in time of these
crimes or the date of the defendant’s last
4 A-4291-14T2
release from confinement, whichever is later,
is within 10 years of the date of the crime
for which the defendant is being sentenced.
[Ibid.]
A prior conviction includes "[a] conviction in another
jurisdiction . . . if a sentence of imprisonment in excess of 6
months was authorized under the law of the other jurisdiction."
N.J.S.A. 2C:44-4(c).
Defendant's convictions in Maryland resulted from crimes
committed on March 1, 1983, May 2, 1986, and December 23, 1986
while defendant was twenty-one, twenty-four, and twenty-five years
old, respectively. All three crimes were committed within ten
years of January 8, 1987, the date of the attempted murder for
which defendant was sentenced, and resulted in sentences greater
than six months of imprisonment. Therefore, defendant's criminal
record provided a proper basis for him to be a persistent offender.
N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3(a). As a result, the trial judge had the
authority, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7(a)(2), to sentence
defendant to an extended term on his first-degree attempted murder
conviction.
Affirmed.
5 A-4291-14T2