State v. Alexis

| iBARRY, Judge.

The defendant pleaded guilty to purse snatching, La. R.S. 14:65.1 and was sentenced as a third offender to 7 years at hard labor. In this application the State argues that the trial court erred by sentencing the defendant to 7 years, which is less than the statutory minimum of 13 years under La. R.S. 15.529.1. We grant the writ application and affirm.

In State v. Dorthey, 623 So.2d 1276, 1280 (La.1993), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that if the trial court finds that the punishment mandated by La. R.S. 15:529.1 is constitutionally excessive, the trial court has “the option,…