Commonwealth v. Mola

¶ 1 After Ernesto Mola pled guilty to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance (heroin), Judge Scott D. Keller sentenced him to concurrent terms of two to 15 years in prison. Fifteen years is the statutory maximum sentence. Judge Keller imposed this sentence because he had reached the conclusion that sentencing defendants in drug and gun cases to maximum sentences of less than the statutory maximum was ineffective in specifically or generally deterring drug trafficking. (Trial Court Opinion, 5/5/03, at 5.) Mola has appealed, challenging his sentence. Finding that Mola has raised a…