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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A07-0095, A07-0132

Court of Appeals State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Steven Douglas Stanke, Appellant. ________________________

Anderson, Paul H., J.

Filed: May 7, 2009 Office of Appellate Courts

Lawrence Hammerling, Chief State Appellate Public Defender, Marie Wolf, Assistant State Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota, for appellant. Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and Robert M.A. Johnson, Anoka County Attorney, Marcy S. Crain, Assistant Anoka County Attorney, Anoka, Minnesota, for respondent. ________________________

SYLLABUS The district court erred in using a peace officer's particular vulnerability for purposes of sentencing when the officer was acting in the line of duty and the defendant was charged with a crime that already accounted for the presence of peace officers acting in the line of duty.

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Although remanding this case to the district court to reweigh the defendant's sentence in light of our decision would ordinarily be the better course of action, the facts here are so atypical and particularly egregious that they justify affirming defendant's sentence without remand. Affirmed. OPINION ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice. Appellant Steven Douglas Stanke pleaded guilty to both fleeing a peace officer resulting in death and fleeing a peace officer resulting in great bodily harm. Stanke waived his right to a Blakely sentencing jury. The Anoka County District Court found nine aggravating factors and one severe aggravating factor--that the peace officer was particularly vulnerable. The court then sentenced Stanke to more than double the

presumptive sentence. The Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the district court erred in finding the severe aggravating factor but upheld the sentence on other grounds. On appeal to our court, Stanke asserts that after Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), the court of appeals is not permitted to uphold a greater-than-double-durational sentence on alternative grounds. The State urges us to reject the court of appeals' analysis and uphold the district court's sentence on its original grounds. We conclude that the district court erred in using the peace officer's particular vulnerability to be a severe aggravating factor, but we nevertheless uphold the district court's original sentence on other grounds. On September 6, 2005, appellant Steven Douglas Stanke, was driving a stolen car on I-35W during rush hour when he saw police officers behind him. Stanke, who was 2

wanted in connection with several burglaries in South Dakota, tried to elude the police by exiting I-35W. When this tactic did not work, he drove back onto I-35W with the police still behind him. A high-speed chase in the southbound lanes of I-35W ensued. Throughout the chase, Stanke maintained speeds of between 90 and 110 miles per hour. While passing between two trucks, he loaded a syringe with methamphetamine and water and injected the substance into his arm. Stanke was also speaking on a cell phone during the chase. While his hands were otherwise occupied, Stanke steered the car with his knee. The police later learned that because of methamphetamine use Stanke had been awake for approximately two weeks at the time of the chase. At his sentencing hearing, Stanke acknowledged that his conduct during the chase was dangerous to the police and everybody else on I-35W. Approximately fourteen miles into the chase, Lino Lakes Police Officer Shawn Silvera deployed "stop sticks" 1 in the left lane of southbound I-35W. After Silvera placed the stop sticks across the left lane, he positioned himself on or near the shoulder of I-35W as Stanke's car approached. When Stanke approached Silvera, Stanke turned his car to the left and hit Silvera. The force of the collision threw Silvera approximately 310 to 320 feet before his body came to rest in the ditch. After striking Silvera, Stanke struck another car. This collision caused the driver of the other car to suffer significant injury. The police arrested Stanke at the collision site.

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"Stop sticks" are tire-deflation devices, used to slow or stop a vehicle.

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Two hours after the collision, the police took a blood sample from Stanke. The subsequent toxicology test indicated that Stanke's blood methamphetamine level was .17 milligrams per liter. At trial, a toxicologist testified that a blood methamphetamine level this high is associated with a person who is abusing methamphetamine. The toxicologist also testified that this blood methamphetamine level would impair a person's reaction time and ability to drive. The toxicologist also agreed with the State that it is "inherently dangerous to have an abusive amount of methamphetamine in [one's] system and operate a motor vehicle." On September 11, 2006, Stanke appeared in district court and entered a plea of guilty to fleeing a peace officer resulting in death, for having caused the death of Officer Silvera. Minn. Stat.

Download A07-95, A07-132, State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Steven Douglas Stanke, Appe

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