PEOPLE OF MI V HENRY A COVINGTON
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
August 2, 2002
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 232015
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 00-000162
HENRY A. COVINGTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Fitzgerald, P.J., and Holbrook, Jr. and Griffin, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant was originally charged with second-degree murder, MCL 750.317, possession
of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b, and felon in possession of a
firearm, MCL 750.224f. Following a jury trial, defendant was acquitted of the first two charges
but convicted of the latter felon in possession charge. The trial court sentenced defendant as a
second offender to a minimum term of nineteen months to a maximum term of five years, with
338 days of credit for time served. Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm.
The sole issue raised by defendant on appeal concerns the proportionality of his sentence.
Citing People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630; 461 NW2d 1 (1990), defendant contends that although
he had one previous drug-related felony conviction for which he was on lifetime probation at the
time of the instant offense, he otherwise had completed 815 hours of community service for that
offense, had an exemplary record of honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps,
had been consistently employed since 1995, graduated from high school in 1985 and was the
father of three minor children, one of whom lived with him. Defendant maintains that given
these circumstances, the trial court abused its discretion and violated the principle of
proportionality when it failed to sentence him to the low end of the guidelines or to a
probationary term.
However, under the legislative sentencing guidelines,1 “[i]f a minimum sentence is within
the appropriate guidelines sentencing range, the court of appeals shall affirm that sentence and
shall not remand for resentencing absent an error in scoring the sentencing guidelines or
1
The legislative sentencing guidelines apply to the present case because the instant offense was
committed on or after January 1, 1999. MCL 769.34(1) and (2); People v Hegwood, 465 Mich
432, 438; 636 NW2d 127 (2001).
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inaccurate information relied upon in determining the defendant’s sentence.” People v Babcock,
244 Mich App 64, 73; 624 NW2d 479 (2000), quoting MCL 769.34(10). This Court must
therefore affirm sentences falling within the appropriate guidelines range. Id.
In the instant case, the guidelines set forth a minimum sentence range from five to
twenty-three months. Because defendant’s nineteen-month minimum sentence fell within this
range, and defendant neither alleges nor does the record establish that the trial court relied on
inaccurate information, the sentence was proper and appellate relief from the imposed sentence is
foreclosed. MCL 769.34(10); Babcock, supra.
Affirmed.
/s/ E. Thomas Fitzgerald
/s/ Donald E. Holbrook, Jr.
/s/ Richard Allen Griffin
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