holding that offense gravity score and deadly weapon enhancement involve discretionary aspects of sentencing
How later courts described this case
- holding that offense gravity score and deadly weapon enhancement involve discretionary aspects of sentencing
- holding that a saw used to stab a victim was a deadly weapon
- Commonwealth challenged discretionary aspects of sentencing by claiming that sentencing court failed to apply deadly weapon enhancement
- saw used to stab victim was a deadly weapon
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
DEL SOLE, Judge,
dissenting.
I would affirm the trial court’s sentence for the reasons stated in its opinion. The trial judge fashioned a sentence so the defendant received county time. This was important to insure continual psychiatric therapy. A review of the pre-sentence report supports this consideration. While I agree with the Majority that consideration of Weapon Enhancement is appropriate where the Aggravated Assault conviction is based upon 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2702(a)(1), I do not believe that remand is necessary.
Enhancement only requires that the trial judge add to the Guideline range not that a specific additional period of incarceration be imposed. Here the Court sought to establish a specific sentencing objective, namely continuation of *376 therapy. This is in keeping with the pre-sentence report recommendations. Also, the trial judge points out that the sentence has been enhanced by imposition of a consecutive sentence for the Possession of an Instrument of Crime conviction. It is important to remember that the instrumentality involved in the case, a dry wall saw, is not by nature an instrument of crime. It did not become one until it was used in the assault. I see no reason to remand for resentencing since the trial judge can impose the same sentence to achieve the result intended.
Since I believe that the sentence imposed by the trial court does not evidence any abuse of discretion and in fact has legitimate and proper reasons to support its imposition, I would affirm.