Bonilla v. State
Annotate this CasePursuant to a binding plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder. Two decades after he was sentenced, Defendant filed a motion to correct illegal sentence and motion for credit against time spent in custody, arguing that his sentence on Count I was illegal because it exceeded the sentence agreed upon by the parties under the terms of the plea agreement. The State responded by moving to correct the entire sentence, contending that the sentences on both Count I and Count III were illegal. The circuit court concluded that the sentences on both counts were illegal and ordered a resentencing in accordance with the original plea agreement. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed, agreeing that Defendant’s original sentence on Count III was illegal because it was below the binding plea agreement. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that a sentence below a binding plea agreement constitutes an illegal sentence within the meaning of Maryland Rule 4-345(a).
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