PEOPLE OF MI V MICHAEL DENNIS WHITE
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
October 12, 2004
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 248218
Jackson Circuit Court
LC No. 02-005693-FH
MICHAEL DENNIS WHITE,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Griffin, P.J., and Saad and O’Connell, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right his conviction for breaking and entering with intent to
commit larceny, MCL 750.110, following a bench trial. We affirm. This appeal is being
decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
Defendant broke into a building and took change from a cashbox. The police
apprehended defendant after he attempted to flee the area. He had a large quantity of change and
the key to the cashbox in his pocket. The statutory sentencing guidelines provided a range of 19
to 76 months for defendant’s minimum term of incarceration. The trial court rejected
defendant’s contention that the guidelines were scored incorrectly and sentenced him as a fourth
habitual offender to 2½ to 5 years in prison.
Defendant argues that trial counsel’s failure to move for a directed verdict at the close of
the prosecution’s case constituted ineffective assistance. We disagree. Defendant did not move
for a new trial or an evidentiary hearing on the issue of ineffective assistance in the trial court, so
our review is limited to mistakes apparent on the record. People v Snider, 239 Mich App 393,
423; 608 NW2d 502 (2000). The evidence showed that a cashbox had been opened and loose
change had been removed. Defendant was apprehended in the immediate vicinity of the building
with a large quantity of loose change and a key to the cashbox. Given defendant’s later
conviction, he fails to persuade us that the trial court would have rejected the strong evidence
presented by the prosecutor and granted defendant’s motion for directed verdict. Trial counsel
did not render ineffective assistance by failing to make a meritless motion. People v Riley (After
Remand), 468 Mich 135, 141-142; 659 NW2d 611 (2003).
Defendant next asserts that his sentence is disproportionate to his circumstances and the
offense. We disagree. The trial court actually lowered, by half, defendant’s maximum sentence
from what it would have been if the trial court had not sentenced him as an habitual offender.
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Moreover, even if we agreed with defendant that the guidelines should have recommended a
range of 0 to 30 months for defendant’s minimum term after excluding older felonies, his current
minimum sentence fits within this range. Ultimately, defendant’s sentence is proportionate given
his history of felonies and the seriousness of this crime. People v Babcock, 469 Mich 247, 264;
666 NW2d 231 (2003).
Affirmed.
/s/ Richard Allen Griffin
/s/ Henry William Saad
/s/ Peter D. O’Connell
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