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Dobbs v. State

The trial court erred in sentencing defendant as a recidivist, because the state did not introduce any evidence that he had previously pled guilty or been convicted of any crime.

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A jury found Matthew Dobbs guilty of four counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, four counts of obstruction of a police officer, and several drug and traffic offenses. Dobbs appeals from the convictions entered on the verdict, alleging that i the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for one of the counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, ii the trial court erred in failing to merge the convictions for obstruction into the convictions for aggravated assault, and iii the trial court erred in sentencing him as a recidivist. For the reasons provided below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the trial court for resentencing. 1. Dobbs first claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for one of the counts of aggravated assault on a police officer. On appeal from a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence.1 We do not weigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses, but only determine if the evidence is sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.2

Here, the record shows that on September 18, 2007, a corporal with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop of Dobbs’ vehicle for failing to stop at a stop sign. While the corporal’s partner spoke with the passenger of the vehicle, the corporal spoke with the driver, who was later identified as Dobbs. Dobbs appeared nervous and smelled of alcohol, and two additional police officers arrived to assist with the traffic stop.

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