State v. Deal

This is an appeal by the appellant, Jerry Allen Deal, from a final order of the Circuit Court of Braxton County, entered June 24, 1985, which sentenced him to life imprisonment in the state penitentiary as an habitual offender following his conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a felony. The appellant contends that the underlying felony conviction was invalid and that the imposition of a life sentence for recidivism was improper in this case. We find no error warranting reversal of the principal conviction, but we do find error in the enhanced sentence,…