State v. Cole

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

A jury found Nelson Cole guilty of aggravated assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1); kidnapping, N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1b; robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1; and aggravated sexual assault, 2C:14~2a(3). The trial court did not merge those convictions, and imposed separate sentences for each offense. The sole issue on this appeal is whether defendant’s convictions for robbery, aggravated assault, and kidnapping merge with his conviction for aggravated sexual assault. We hold that they do not.

I

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on August 8, 1985, a woman drove to Morgan’s…