Opinion
No. 64556
07-22-2014
CHRISTOPHER JAMES YOCUM, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondent.
An unpublished order shall not be regarded as precedent and shall not be cited as legal authority. SCR 123.
ORDER OF AFFIRMANCE
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, of second-degree kidnapping. Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County; Jerome Polaha, Judge.
Appellant Christopher James Yocum contends that the district court abused its discretion by imposing a sentence that is disproportionate to the offense, constituting cruel and unusual punishment. This court will not disturb a district court's sentencing determination absent an abuse of discretion. Parrish v. State, 116 Nev. 982, 989, 12 P.3d 953, 957 (2000). Here, the district court recognized that the mitigating evidence presented by Yocum demonstrated that he was "intelligent," "friendly," and "goal-oriented," but concluded that the nature of the instant offense, wherein Yocum strangled and threatened to kill his pregnant girlfriend, and Yocum's past offenses, which included similar domestic incidents, warranted a term of 26-120 months incarceration. This sentence falls within the parameters required by statute, see NRS 200.330, and is not "so unreasonably disproportionate to the offense as to shock the conscience.'" Blume v. State, 112 Nev. 472, 475, 915 P.2d 282, 284 (1996) (quoting Culverson v. State, 95 Nev. 433, 435, 596 P.2d 220, 221-22 (1979)); see also Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1000-01 (1991) (plurality opinion). Yocum has not alleged that the district court relied solely on impalpable or highly suspect evidence or that the sentencing statute is unconstitutional, see Chavez v. State, 125 Nev. 328, 347-48, 213 P.3d 476, 489-90 (2009), and fails to demonstrate that the district court abused its discretion at sentencing. Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.
Although we filed the fast track statement submitted by Yocum, it fails to comply with the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure because it is not entirely double-spaced, see NRAP 32(a)(4), and the statement of facts section refers to matters in the record without specific citation to the appendix, see NRAP 3C(e)(1)(C). Counsel for Yocum is cautioned that the failure to comply with this court's briefing requirements may result in the imposition of sanctions. See NRAP 3C(n).
__________, J.
Pickering
__________, J.
Parraguirre
__________, J.
Saitta
cc: Hon. Jerome Polaha, District Judge
Calvert & Hubach, LLC
Attorney General/Carson City
Washoe County District Attorney
Washoe District Court Clerk