PEOPLE OF MI V RICHARD LAWRENCE WENZEL

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED April 24, 1998 Plaintiff-Appellee, v No. 200284 Macomb Circuit Court LC No. 93-002639 FC RICHARD LAWRENCE WENZEL, Defendant-Appellant. Before: Neff, P.J., and White and D. A. Teeple*, JJ. MEMORANDUM. Defendant was convicted by jury of armed robbery, MCL 750.529; MSA 28.797, and was sentenced to forty-five to eighty years’ imprisonment. This Court vacated defendant’s sentence and remanded for resentencing, opining “[w]hile the trial court was within its discretion in departing from the guidelines, particularly in light of defendant’s low chances of rehabilitation, the extent of the departure in this case was excessive.” People v Wenzel, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, issued 11/5/96 (Docket No. 178557), slip op at p 4. On remand, defendant was sentenced to thirty­ seven to eighty years’ imprisonment. Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm. The trial court correctly concluded that this Court sanctioned a sentence outside the guidelines range in its previous opinion, based on the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the offense and offender. The trial court, in any event, exceeded the guidelines because it believed such a sentence to be appropriate, not because the court thought this Court required such a result. This was proper. People v Robinson, ___ Mich App ___; ___ NW2d ___ (1997) (Docket Nos. 191237, 191238, 191766, issued 12/16/97). Defendant’s sentence does not violate the principle of proportionality for the reasons stated on the record at the time of resentencing. People v Houston, 448 Mich 312; 532 NW2d 508 (1995); People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). Affirmed. * Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment. -1­ /s/ Janet T. Neff /s/ Helene N. White /s/ Donald A. Teeple -2­

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.