Hon v. Commonwealth

STEPHENS, Chief Justice.

The basic issue we decide on this appeal is whether the Commonwealth, in a persistent felony offender prosecution, must affirmatively prove that the defendant was at least eighteen years old when the previous crime(s) were committed. We answer this question in the affirmative and reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Ronnie K. Hori was convicted of two counts of first degree burglary and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on each count. He was tried as a second degree persistent felony offender and received an enhanced sentence of one hundred years in prison.…