State v. Stokes
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In this case, defendant Bradley Alan Stokes appealed his convictions from the Fourteenth Judicial District Court, Musselshell County, for both burglary and assault with a weapon. Stokes was charged with these crimes following an altercation at the home of Michael Benson, in which he used a crowbar to break into the residence and assaulted Benson with the crowbar. He was convicted of burglary and assault with a weapon, both felonies. There was agreement that Stokes could not be convicted of both charges, as the assault with a weapon charge was the predicate offense for the burglary conviction. The dispute concerned which of the convictions should be vacated and whether the case should be remanded for resentencing.
The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reversed Stokes's conviction for assault with a weapon, as it was determined to be the predicate offense that merged into the principal offense of burglary. The court held that the assault with a weapon conviction should be vacated, following the precedent that when a criminal defendant is improperly convicted of two offenses arising from the same transaction, the remedy is to reverse the conviction for the lesser-included offense only and remand for resentencing. Therefore, the court remanded the case to the District Court to vacate the assault with a weapon conviction and for resentencing on the remaining burglary conviction.
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