2006-M-12 State
of Minnesota, Appellant, vs. Todd Skipintheday, Respondent.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CRIME: Skipintheday is a member of the Native Gangster Disciples (“NDG”)
criminal gang. On July 11, 2003, he traveled with other NDG members and
affiliates from Minneapolis to a house party near Redwood Falls. Members
of the rival Native Mob (“NM”) criminal gang were present.
When a fight broke out between NDG and NM members, Skipintheday
hid behind a house. When shots broke out, he warned NDG members that an
NM member was approaching with a submachine gun. He ran to his car,
followed by Kimberly Berry and NDG members James Mata and Itanca Henry. As they
fled the scene, Mata said he had shot someone. Skipintheday told Berry to
say nothing. When they were pulled over by local police, Skipintheday
tried to hide Mata’s handgun and spent shells from the submachine
gun. Skipintheday lied to the police about Itanca Henry.
The altercation had left two people shot and wounded and one
person shot and killed.
PRIOR PROCEEDINGS: Skipintheday ultimately pleaded guilty to being an
accomplice after-the-fact. He pleaded to accessory counts for three
underlying crimes: first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and
first-degree assault for the benefit of a gang.
Following sentencing proceedings, the district court determined
that because Skipintheday was an accomplice after-the-fact to three underlying
offenses, each related to a separate shooting victim, Skipintheday’s
crimes fell under a multiple-victim exception to the general rule, which
typically permits only one sentence for crimes arising out of a single
behavioral incident. Therefore, the district court gave Skipintheday
multiple sentences of 48 months, 48 months, and 52 months for the
three crimes.
On appeal, the court of appeals reversed and remanded for
resentencing. The court determined that the crime of being an “accomplice
after-the-fact” is a crime against the administration of justice, not a crime
against personal victims, and therefore determined that Skipintheday’s
crimes were not “multiple-victim crimes” for the purpose of multiple
sentencing. The state now appeals that decision, arguing that the victims of
the underlying shooting crimes were also victims of Skipintheday’s
accomplice-after-the-fact crimes.
THIS DECISION: Justice Gildea joined the unanimous decision by Justice
Meyer.
We “hold that Skipintheday’s three
counts of being an accomplice after-the-fact, all arising from a single
behavioral incident, were not multiple-victim crimes, and are therefore not
subject to multiple sentences.” “We have vacated Skipintheday’s
sentences for accomplice after-the-fact to assault in the first degree for the
benefit of a gang, and for accomplice after-the-fact to attempted second-degree
murder.” Generally,
Minnesota law “permits punishment for the most
serious crime resulting from one behavioral incident.”
The court struck down two multiple
sentences and upheld the sentence for first-degree murder.
DATE OF DECISION: July 13, 2006
RECORD NUMBER: 2006-116
DESCRIPTION: [MURDER] [GANG]
No comments:
Post a Comment