State v. Williams

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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

Nos. 118,149
118,150

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS,
Appellee,

v.

MARCUS A. WILLIAMS,
Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Crawford District Court; KURTIS I. LOY, judge. Opinion filed March 9, 2018.
Appeal dismissed.

Submitted by the parties for summary disposition pursuant to K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(g) and
(h).

Before MALONE, P.J., LEBEN and POWELL, JJ.

PER CURIAM: Marcus A. Williams appeals his presumptive prison sentence after
pleading no contest to three felonies in two different cases while on probation in another
felony case. We granted Williams' motion for summary disposition pursuant to Supreme
Court Rule 7.041A (2018 Kan. S. Ct. R. 47), which the State in its response did not
contest. After review, we dismiss Williams' appeal.

On March 21, 2017, Williams pled no contest to two counts of possession of
methamphetamine, a severity level 5 drug felony, and interference with law enforcement,
a severity level 9 nonperson felony, in two separate cases. The district court accepted his
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pleas, found him guilty, and set the cases for sentencing on May 16, 2017. The
presentence investigation (PSI) reports for both cases found, in relevant part, that
Williams had a criminal history score of C which, given the severity of his crimes, placed
him in the border box of the sentencing grid. However, the PSIs also noted that he was
subject to a special sentencing rule because he committed his crimes while on felony
probation. At his sentencing, Williams argued strongly for probation and even presented
evidence of his extensive drug use and amenability to treatment. Nevertheless, the district
court rejected Williams' request for probation and, relying on the special rule, sentenced
him to presumptive prison terms of 30 months for each case.

On appeal, Williams argues the district court erred in refusing to grant probation
because he demonstrated the need for drug treatment. However, under K.S.A. 2017 Supp.
21-6604(f)(1), when a defendant is sentenced to imprisonment for a felony committed
while such defendant is on felony probation, the imposition of such a prison sentence
does not constitute a departure. Because Williams' sentences are presumptive sentences
and because we lack the jurisdiction to review presumptive sentences, we must dismiss
Williams' challenges. See K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(c)(1); see also State v. Huerta, 291
Kan. 831, 836-37, 247 P.3d 1043 (2011) (reaffirming that K.S.A. 21-4721(c)(1) [now
K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 21-6820(c)(1)] eliminates appeals of presumptive sentences); State v.
Whitlock, 36 Kan. App. 2d 556, 559, 142 P.3d 334 (imposition of prison sentence for
border box defendant not appealable), rev. denied 282 Kan. 796 (2006); State v. Perry,
No. 108,744, 2013 WL 4404254, at *2 (Kan. App. 2013) (unpublished opinion)
(imposition of presumptive prison sentence for crime committed while on felony
probation unreviewable).

Appeal dismissed.