State v. Bell

CATHELL, Judge.

Wilbur Bell, respondent, was convicted in a court trial before the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County of second degree rape, assault and battery, attempted rape, and assault with intent to rape. He was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on the rape conviction, with ten years suspended. The trial court merged the remaining counts for sentencing purposes. Respondent appealed his convictions to the Court of Special Appeals.

As relevant to this opinion, that court vacated his convictions and remanded the case to the circuit court, holding that respondent had been…