PEOPLE OF MI V J D ROPER
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
August 17, 1999
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 205005
Genesee Circuit Court
LC No. 92-047076 FH
J.D. ROPER,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Bandstra, C.J., and Whitbeck and Talbot, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right from his guilty plea conviction of delivery of 225 grams or more
but less than 650 grams of cocaine, MCL 333.7401(2)(a)(ii); MSA 14.15(7401)(2)(a)(ii). On remand
from this Court, defendant was sentenced to serve ten to thirty years in prison for his conviction.1 We
affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence but remand the matter to the trial court for the correction of
defendant’s presentence investigation report.
Defendant first argues that his ten year minimum sentence was disproportionately severe. We
disagree. Sentencing decisions are subject to review by this Court on an abuse of discretion standard.
People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 635-636; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). A sentence constitutes an abuse
of the trial court’s discretion if it violates the principle of proportionality. The principle of proportionality
requires sentences to be “proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the offense
and the offender.” Id. at 636.
The statutorily mandated minimum sentence for a conviction of delivery of 225 grams or more
but less than 650 grams of cocaine is twenty years.
MCL 333.7401(2)(a)(ii); MSA
14.15(7401)(2)(a)(ii). In this case, upon a finding of “substantial and compelling” reasons for a
departure from the statutorily prescribed minimum sentence, the trial court sentenced defendant to a
minimum term of only ten years’ imprisonment. See MCL 333.7401(4); MSA 14.15(7401)(4).
Considering the serious nature of the offense, and the fact that defendant had a prior conviction for
delivery of cocaine, we hold that the ten-year minimum sentence imposed by the trial court was not
disproportionately severe. Milbourn, supra at 636.
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Defendant next argues that he is entitled to have his presentence report corrected, striking
information that the trial court indicated it would not consider in sentencing. We agree.
When a defendant claims that a presentence investigation report contains an error, the court
may hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the report’s accuracy, may accept the defendant’s
unsworn statement, or may ignore the alleged misinformation when sentencing. See MCR 6.425(D)(3);
People v Brooks, 169 Mich App 360, 364-365; 425 NW2d 555 (1988). If the trial court indicates
that it will strike the challenged information, but does not do so, the defendant is entitled to have the
matter remanded for correction. See People v Paquette, 214 Mich App 336, 346-347; 543 NW2d
342 (1995). Here, at the adjournment of sentencing, defendant objected to the inclusion of a series of
traffic offenses and misdemeanors in the presentence report on the ground that they were not relevant to
sentencing. The trial court stated that it would not consider those prior offenses when it sentenced
defendant. When defendant was later sentenced, the trial court indicated that it had previously
determined that the challenged misdemeanors and traffic offenses should be stricken from the
presentence investigation report. On this basis, we conclude that defendant is entitled to have this
matter remanded solely for correction of his presentence investigation report. Paquette, supra at 346
347. On remand, the trial court shall strike any reference to the challenged misdemeanors and traffic
offenses. We do not retain jurisdiction.
Affirmed.
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
/s/ William C. Whitbeck
/s/ Michael J. Talbot
1
Defendant was originally sentenced to a term of twenty to thirty years’ imprisonment. A prior panel of
this Court remanded for resentencing because the trial court incorrectly believed that it had no discretion
to depart from the sentence mandated by MCL 333.7401(2)(a)(ii); MSA 14.15(7401)(2)(a)(ii). See
People v Roper, unpublished memorandum opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued December 6, 1996
(Docket No. 161932).
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