Deadly Weapon

J 2010-0788

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In OCCA case No. J-2010-0788, the appellant appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery With A Deadly Weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the order that imposed an adult sentence and remand the case for sentencing as a Youthful Offender if the appellant is convicted. One judge dissented. The appellant, who was born on March 12, 1994, faced charges in the District Court of Muskogee County where he was labeled a Youthful Offender. A motion was filed by the State for an adult sentence, while the appellant sought to be treated as a juvenile. The court held a hearing, and the judge denied the appellant's request to be treated as a juvenile. The same judge also granted the State's request for an adult sentence. The appellant raised three main arguments on appeal. First, he claimed the written order for the adult sentence did not match what the judge said during the hearing. Second, he argued that the trial court did not show clear and convincing evidence to justify an adult sentence. Third, he said it was wrong for the court to deny his request to be treated as a juvenile. According to the law, to punish someone as an adult, the court must find strong evidence that the individual could not adequately be rehabilitated or that the public would be at risk. The court found that the trial judge did not make the necessary findings to support an adult sentence and actually believed the appellant could complete rehabilitation and that public safety would not be compromised. Therefore, the court agreed with the appellant that the decision to treat him as an adult was wrong, thus reversing that part of the judgment. However, regarding the second argument about treating him as a juvenile, the court disagreed. The judges felt the trial judge had enough reasons to treat the appellant as a Youthful Offender instead of a juvenile. In conclusion, while the order for an adult sentence was reversed, the court confirmed that the decision to treat the appellant as a Youthful Offender was appropriate. The case was sent back to the lower court to proceed with sentencing as a Youthful Offender if he is found guilty.

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C-2003-1334

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In OCCA case No. C-2003-1334, the petitioner appealed his conviction for multiple crimes, including unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to grant the petition for a writ of certiorari in part and deny it in part. One judge dissented. Rodney Taylor Glenn faced charges in three different cases in the District Court of Washington County. He made a plea agreement, which led to some charges being dropped in return for him waiving a preliminary hearing and pleading no contest. The judge accepted his plea and sentenced him to several years in prison for each of his charges. Later, Glenn wanted to withdraw his plea because he believed there were issues with how it was handled. He argued that the court did not check if he was mentally capable of understanding his plea, that there was not enough evidence for some of the charges, and that he was misinformed about the possible punishments. Glenn also claimed that he did not get the benefit of his agreement and that he did not have effective help from his lawyer. The court reviewed Glenn's arguments. It concluded that Glenn was competent to enter his plea and that there was enough evidence for most of the charges. However, the court agreed that there was not sufficient evidence to support one of the assault charges, which meant Glenn could withdraw his plea for that specific charge. Additionally, Glenn was correctly advised about some of the punishments but misinformed about others, which led to the decision to let him withdraw his plea on those counts as well. The court ultimately decided to keep some of the sentences but allowed Glenn to withdraw his plea for the assault charges and the possession of a firearm while committing a felony based on the errors found. In conclusion, the judgment and sentence were affirmed in part and reversed in part. Thus, Glenn was allowed to change his plea on certain counts, while other parts of his case remained unchanged.

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C-2003-1334

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In OCCA case No. C-2003-1334, Rodney Taylor Glenn appealed his conviction for various crimes. In a published decision, the court decided to allow Glenn to withdraw his plea for some charges but affirmed his conviction for others. One judge dissented. Rodney Taylor Glenn was charged with several crimes in Washington County. He made a deal with the State where some charges were dropped in exchange for him accepting a plea of nolo contendere, which means he didn't admit guilt but accepted the punishment. The judge sentenced him to a total of 35 years for some crimes and 20 years for others, with some sentences running consecutively and others concurrently. Glenn later wanted to change his plea, saying he wasn't fully advised of the possible punishments for his actions. He claimed that the court didn't check whether he was mentally fit to plead, and that he received wrong information about the sentencing ranges for some of his charges. He argued that he should be allowed to withdraw his plea since there was no solid factual basis for one of the charges—assault and battery with a deadly weapon. The court looked at Glenn's arguments carefully. They agreed that the trial court had checked enough to see that Glenn was able to plead. However, they found that they could not support the charge of assault and battery with a deadly weapon based on the facts presented. The court also agreed that Glenn had been given wrong information about the possible punishments for his actions. Because of these issues, the court ruled that Glenn could withdraw his plea for the assault and battery with a deadly weapon and a charge related to a firearm, but they upheld the convictions for the other charges. The final decision meant Glenn was allowed to change his plea for some charges, but the original convictions on others were kept. One judge did not agree with the decision to let Glenn withdraw his plea, arguing that Glenn had made a bargain and should not benefit from mistakes made during the process. This dissent highlighted the complexity of plea agreements and the expectation that all parties would honor the deal made.

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F 2004-1127

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In OCCA case No. F 2004-1127, Charles Clarence Tiger appealed his conviction for multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony and several burglaries. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse and dismiss some of the charges while affirming others. One judge dissented on the reversal of the conspiracy conviction. Tiger faced a jury trial where he was found guilty of numerous crimes, including conspiracy to commit burglary, and was sentenced to serve a long time in prison. He later appealed, arguing several points, including that he didn't get a fair and speedy trial, that his lawyer didn't help him properly, and that he was punished too harshly for his crimes. The court reviewed these claims carefully. They agreed that Tiger's right to a speedy trial was not violated and that his lawyer did provide effective legal help. However, they found that two of the charges against him conflicted with each other. They decided that being punished for both burglary and robbery from the same incident was not right, so they reversed the burglary charge related to that. Additionally, the court felt there wasn't enough evidence to support Tiger's conspiracy charge, so that one was also reversed. While some of Tiger's arguments were accepted, others were rejected. The judges agreed that the remaining charges that stayed upheld were fair and within legal limits, meaning he would still have to serve his time for them. In summary, the court decided to dismiss two of the charges and keep the others, showing that while some of Tiger's claims were valid, many were not. One judge disagreed with the court's choice to dismiss the conspiracy charge, believing there was enough proof to uphold it.

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F-2002-108

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In OCCA case No. F-2002-108, Ricky Dion Bruner appealed his conviction for multiple crimes. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse two of his kidnapping convictions but affirmed the rest of his sentences. One judge dissented. Ricky Dion Bruner was found guilty of serious crimes, including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and rape. A jury decided his punishment, giving him life in prison for several charges and various other sentences for the remaining counts. However, when Bruner appealed, he argued that some of these convictions shouldn't have happened because they violated rules against being tried for the same crime twice and that the evidence didn’t support some of the charges. The court examined these arguments. They agreed that Bruner shouldn’t have been convicted of both kidnapping and robbery in two cases because they happened during the same event and were too closely related. Therefore, they reversed those two kidnapping charges. However, they found enough evidence to support his other convictions, deciding that the jury could have reasonably reached those conclusions. Regarding his sentences, though they were harsh, the court determined they were not so extreme as to be unfair or against the law. So, they upheld most of his sentences but made sure that the two kidnapping convictions were dismissed and sent the matter back to the lower court for further actions.

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J 2002-0247

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In OCCA case No. J 2002-0247, A.B.H. appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery With A Deadly Weapon With Intent To Kill. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the order that allowed the State to sentence him as an adult. One judge dissented. A.B.H. was charged as a Youthful Offender and the State wanted him to be tried and sentenced as an adult. There was a hearing to discuss this, and the judge decided to allow the State's request. A.B.H. argued that this was not fair because the judge did not properly consider if he could be rehabilitated as a youthful offender. The court looked at the evidence, including studies that showed A.B.H. could complete a plan for rehabilitation and that the public would be safe if he was treated as a youthful offender. Because the State did not provide strong evidence to support trying him as an adult, the court decided to reverse that decision and send the case back for further action.

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F-1999-1084

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In OCCA case No. F-1999-1084, Jesse Stanard appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill and two counts of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse his conviction for the first count and remand it for a new trial, but affirmed the convictions for the other two counts. One judge dissented.

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