State v. Smith

OPINION

KENNEDY, Judge.

{1} Defendant Jack Brian Smith pled guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle and was sentenced by the trial court. He appeals the trial court’s use of a 1985 South Carolina conviction to enhance his sentence by one year, claiming it was not a valid prior felony conviction that could serve as the basis for enhancing his underlying sentence under the New Mexico Habitual Offender Statute, NMSA 1978, § 31-18-17 (1993). We agree and reverse the one-year enhancement of Defendant’s sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

{2} Defendant was convicted in 1985 in South Carolina’s…