STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. MICHAEL RAMIREZ

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-4494-07T44494-07T4

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

MICHAEL RAMIREZ,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________________________________________

 

Submitted January 21, 2009 - Decided

Before Judges Skillman and Grall.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County, Indictment

No. 07-07-937.

Michael Ramirez, appellant pro se.

James F. Avigliano, Passaic County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Steven E. Braun, Chief Assistant Prosecutor, on the statement in lieu of brief).

PER CURIAM

Defendant appeals from the trial court's denial of his application for jail and/or gap time credits.

Defendant did not file any appendix with his brief, as required by Rule 2:6-1. As a result, we do not have a copy of defendant's application to the trial court that resulted in entry of the order from which the appeal has been taken. Moreover, we do not have a copy of the judgment of conviction that that application apparently sought to modify or transcripts of the plea and sentencing upon which the conviction was based. Therefore, the appeal could be dismissed based on defendant's failure to comply with the appellate rules.

However, because it appears from the facts set forth in the briefs that the appeal is clearly without merit, we have elected to consider defendant's arguments. Defendant was serving a prior sentence at a halfway house when he was charged with a new offense. Those new charges resulted in an administrative transfer of defendant from the halfway house back to a state prison. Defendant subsequently pled guilty to the new charges and was sentenced to a three-year term of imprisonment. After sentencing, defendant applied to the trial court for jail and/or gap time credits for the period between April 18, 2007, when the new charges were filed, and November 15, 2007, when sentence was imposed for his conviction on those charges. The trial court denied this application.

There is no indication in the record before us that defendant completed service of his prior sentence before he

was sentenced for the new offense committed while he was incarcerated in the halfway house. Therefore, defendant was serving time on his prior sentence during the intervening period between the filing of the new charge and sentencing for that charge. For that reason, defendant was not entitled to have any jail credits applied to the new sentence. There is also no basis for an award of gap time credits because defendant was not sentenced to a new term for an offense committed prior to

the former sentence. See N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(2). Defendant's arguments do not warrant any additional discussion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2).

Affirmed.

 

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A-4494-07T4

January 30, 2009