State v. Weaver

ANTOON, Judge.

The state appeals the defendant’s sentence which was imposed for the offenses of forgery,1 and fraudulent use of a credit card.2 Specifically, the state contends that the defendant’s sentence is an improper downward departure from the guidelines because no contemporaneous written reasons were provided by the trial court to support the departure. We agree and, therefore, reverse.

As a result of having violated his probation, the defendant appeared before the trial court for sentencing. The scoresheet reflected a recommended sentencing range of five-and-one-half to seven years…