PEOPLE OF MI V DRAKE D WEBB
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
October 31, 2000
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 220326
Oakland Circuit Court
LC No. 98-158254-FC
DRAKE D. WEBB,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Griffin, P.J., and Cavanagh and Gage, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals by delayed leave granted his plea-based convictions of armed robbery,
MCL 750.529; MSA 28.797, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL
750.227b; MSA 28.424(2). We affirm. This appeal is being decided without oral argument pursuant
to MCR 7.214(E).
Pursuant to MCL 764.1f(1); MSA 28.860(6)(1), defendant (DOB 1-1-82) was charged as an
adult with armed robbery and felony-firearm as a result of an incident in which defendant and two other
youths robbed a man at gunpoint. Defendant was sixteen-years-old at the time the incident occurred.
The court evaluated the case pursuant to People v Cobbs, 443 Mich 276; 505 NW2d 208 (1993),
and indicated that it would be inclined to impose a minimum term of eighteen months for the conviction
of armed robbery. Regarding the conviction of felony-firearm, the court stated that it would sentence
defendant as a youthful trainee if it concluded that the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (YTA), MCL
762.11 et seq.; MSA 28.853(11) et seq., applied. The court noted that if it concluded the YTA did
not apply, it would sentence defendant as an adult or a juvenile, at its discretion. Defendant indicated he
understood.
The court held a hearing to determine whether defendant should be sentenced as an adult or a
juvenile on the conviction of felony-firearm. After hearing testimony from representatives of the
Department of Corrections, the Family Independence Agency, and the probation department, all of
whom recommended defendant be sentenced as an adult, the court denied defendant YTA status on the
conviction of felony-firearm. The court concluded that when all factors were considered, an adult
sentence was appropriate. The court sentenced defendant as an adult to one and one-half to twenty
-1
years’ for the conviction of armed robbery, and to a consecutive two-year term, with credit for 122
days, for the conviction of felony-firearm.
Initially, defendant argues that the amendments to MCL 769.1; MSA 28.1072 enacted by
1996 PA 247, allowing a prosecutor to determine if a juvenile will be tried as an adult under certain
enumerated circumstances, and requiring a court to sentence a juvenile as an adult if convicted of any of
the enumerated crimes, violates federal and state guarantees of equal protection and separation of
powers. We disagree. In People v Conat, 238 Mich App 134; 605 NW2d 49 (1999), another panel
of this Court considered and rejected these same arguments. For the reasons stated in that decision, we
find defendant’s arguments to be without merit.
Next, defendant argues he should be entitled to withdraw his plea to the charge of felony
firearm for the reason that the adult sentence he received for that offense did not comport with the
Cobbs, supra, agreement. Specifically, defendant contends the court agreed to sentence him to YTA
status or to a juvenile term. We disagree. The record indicates the court agreed to place defendant on
youthful trainee status if it found the YTA was applicable. Otherwise, it would impose either an adult or
a juvenile sentence. Upon finding the YTA was inapplicable, a conclusion which defendant does not
contest on appeal, the court imposed an adult sentence. The sentenced imposed by the court
conformed to the Cobbs, supra, agreement. Defendant’s argument that his plea was not understanding
and voluntary was not preserved by the filing of a motion to withdraw the plea in the trial court;
therefore, we decline to address the issue on appeal. MCR 6.311(C).
Finally, defendant argues the trial court abused its discretion by sentencing him as an adult on
the conviction of felony-firearm when an analysis of the relevant factors mitigated in favor of a juvenile
sentence. MCL 769.1(3); MSA 28.1072(3); MCR 6.931(E)(3); People v Cheeks, 216 Mich App
470, 474; 549 NW2d 584 (1996). We disagree. Defendant pleaded guilty to using a firearm to
commit the offense of armed robbery. He pointed a gun at another person and demanded that person’s
property. The seriousness of the offense and defendant’s culpability therein mitigated in favor of an
adult sentence. MCL 769.1(3)(a) and (b); MSA 28.1072(3)(a) and (b). Defendant’s lack of a prior
record mitigated in his favor. MCL 769.1(3)(c); MSA 28.1072(3)(c). However, defendant’s record
of disruptive behavior in school, including truancy and fighting, demonstrated a lack of willingness on his
part to participate meaningfully in available programming. MCL 769.1(3)(d); MSA 28.1072(3)(d).
The court concluded that either the adult or the juvenile system could provide adequate punishment and
programming, MCL 769.1(3)(e); MSA 28.1072(3)(e), and that the dispositional options worked in
defendant’s favor. MCL 769.1(3)(f); MSA 28.1072(3)(f). Given the factors did not weigh heavily in
defendant’s favor, and given the seriousness of the incident in which defendant participated, we cannot
conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing an adult sentence for the offense of felony
firearm. See People v Black, 203 Mich App 428, 430-431; 513 NW2d 152 (1994).
Affirmed.
/s/ Richard Allen Griffin
/s/ Mark J. Cavanagh
/s/ Hilda R. Gage
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