Welch v. State

Defendant, Marcus Welch, a/k/a Demetrius Jackson, appeals his judgment and sentence for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and assault. We affirm the judgment but reverse the sentence because the trial court improperly departed from the sentencing guidelines because of risk of harm to a bystander.

This case arose out of the robbery of a car from two victims, Lisa Richardson and Theresa Richardson, her mother. During the course of the robbery, Defendant pointed a gun at both Lisa and Theresa. Defendant was charged with robbery of Lisa with a firearm, aggravated battery of Lisa with a…