Arapahoe County District Court No. 12CR1535 Honorable
Michelle A. Amico, Judge
Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General, Megan C. Rasband,
Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for
Plaintiff-Appellee
Megan
A. Ring, Colorado State Public Defender, Katherine Brien,
Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for
Defendant-Appellant
OPINION
BERNARD, JUDGE
¶
1 A jury convicted defendant, Wayne Larue Jacobs, of
distribution and conspiracy to distribute a schedule II
controlled substance. The trial court then found that the
prosecution had proved five habitual criminal counts and
sentenced defendant accordingly. He appeals. We affirm the
judgment in part, reverse it in part, and vacate it in part;
we reverse the sentence in part and vacate it in part; and we
remand the case for resentencing.
I.
Background
¶
2 In 2016, a jury convicted defendant of (1) distributing a
controlled substance, namely less than one gram of crack
cocaine; and (2) conspiring to sell or to distribute the same
crack cocaine. The trial court subsequently found that
defendant had been convicted in 2007 of distributing a
controlled substance. Based on this finding, it enhanced the
first conviction - distribution of a controlled substance -
from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony. The court also
found that defendant was a habitual criminal.
¶
3 The court then sentenced defendant to twenty-four years in
prison for the distribution count. Applying the habitual
criminal finding, the court increased the sentence on this
count to ninety-six years in prison.
¶
4 Turning to the conspiracy count, the court sentenced
defendant to twelve years in prison for that class 3 felony.
Again applying the habitual criminal finding, the court
increased the sentence on this count to forty-eight years in
prison, to be served concurrently with the sentence on the
distribution count.
II.
Analysis
¶
5 Defendant raises three contentions:
1. The 2007 conviction did not fit the statutory definition
of a conviction that the trial court could use to enhance the
distribution count from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony.
2. One of the habitual criminal counts, which was based on
the 2007 conviction, suffered from the ...