Johnson v. State

SCHEB, Acting Chief Judge.

Defendant, James E. Johnson, appeals his judgment and sentence for kidnapping and petit theft. The only point he raises is that the trial court improperly departed from the recommended guidelines sentence. He is correct.

In 1984, defendant was charged with kidnapping and robbery. He was found guilty of kidnapping and grand theft; however, the court subsequently reduced the theft offense to petit theft. The trial court departed from the guidelines and sentenced the defendant concurrently to thirty years for kidnapping and one year for petit theft. On appeal, this court…