STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. MARK JEFFERSON

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-3396-05T43396-05T4

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

MARK JEFFERSON,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________________________

 

Submitted November 28, 2006 - Decided December 12, 2006

Before Judges Skillman and Grall.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Union County, Indictment No. 04-12-1413.

Yvonne Smith Segars, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Ruth Bove Carlucci, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the brief).

Stuart Rabner, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Frank Muroski, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

A jury found defendant guilty of second-degree eluding, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2(b), and third-degree aggravated assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(5). The trial court sentenced defendant to an eight-year term of imprisonment for eluding and a concurrent five-year term for aggravated assault.

On appeal, defendant presents the following arguments:

I. DEFENDANT'S SECOND-DEGREE ELUDING CONVICTION MUST BE REVERSED BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT'S CHARGE RELIEVED THE STATE OF ITS BURDEN OF PROVING THE MATERIAL ELEMENT OF KNOWINGLY CREATING A RISK OF DEATH OR INJURY, THUS DEPRIVING DEFENDANT OF HIS RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS OF LAW AND A FAIR TRIAL. U.S. CONST. AMENDS. V, VI, XIV; N.J. CONST. ART. 1, 1, 9, 10. (Not Raised Below).

II. THE SENTENCE IS EXCESSIVE, AND A REMAND IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO STATE v. NATALE.

 
Defendant's arguments are clearly without merit and do not warrant extended discussion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2). The argument that defendant presents under Point I of his brief was rejected by the Supreme Court in State v. Thomas, 187 N.J. 119, 137-38 (2006). The trial court sentenced defendant after the Court's decision in State v. Natale, 184 N.J. 458 (2005), without reference to the presumptive terms set forth in the Code of Criminal Justice. In view of defendant two prior convictions for indictable offenses, including a sexual assault conviction for which he was sentenced to a nine-year term of imprisonment, defendant's sentence was not excessive.

Affirmed.

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A-3396-05T4

December 12, 2006