Jones v. State

Timothy Jones appeals from the denial of his motion to correct a void sentence. In July 1999, Jones was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, obstruction or hindering of a law enforcement officer and reckless driving. During sentencing, the fact that Jones was facing five additional felony cases was revealed. The trial court temporarily suspended the sentencing proceedings to give defense counsel and the prosecution an opportunity to discuss these charges to see if they could “get rid of those right now.” Following plea negotiations, Jones entered a guilty plea on the charges that had just been tried and to charges of theft by taking a motor vehicle and removal of a vehicle identification number. Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, the State agreed to dead docket the remaining pending charges. As part of the plea negotiations, the State recommended that Jones be sentenced to thirty years to serve on the possession with intent to distribute count and twelve months to serve concurrently on the two misdemeanor counts. The State further recommended that Jones be sentenced to twenty years to serve on the theft by receiving charge and five years to serve on the removal of the VIN; both of those sentences were also to run concurrently. Additionally, the State recommended all the sentences were to run concurrently with any sentence Jones might receive on pending federal drug trafficking charges. The trial court accepted the State’s recommendations and sentenced Jones accordingly.

Almost ten years later, Jones filed a motion to correct his sentence. In his motion, Jones contends he was wrongly sentenced as a recidivist, that the trial court erred in considering evidence of similar transactions, that the trial court erred by admitting certain other evidence at trial, that the trial court impermissibly participated in the plea negotiations, that the trial court erred by not setting aside the jury’s verdict and that his trial counsel was ineffective. The trial court denied the motion, and Jones, pro se, timely filed this appeal.