Opinion
DOCKET NO. A-1854-11T3
06-26-2012
STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. JAMES BECK, Defendant-Appellant.
Steven J. Kossup argued the cause for appellant (Law Offices of Steven J. Kossup, PC, attorneys; Mr. Kossup, on the brief). Jerome P. Neidhardt argued the cause for respondent (David J. Weaver, Sussex County Prosecutor, attorney; Thomas J. Reed, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
Before Judges Graves and J. N. Harris.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Sussex County, Indictment No. 10-06-0220.
Steven J. Kossup argued the cause for appellant (Law Offices of Steven J. Kossup, PC, attorneys; Mr. Kossup, on the brief).
Jerome P. Neidhardt argued the cause for respondent (David J. Weaver, Sussex County Prosecutor, attorney; Thomas J. Reed, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief). PER CURIAM
Defendant James Beck appeals from an order entered on November 17, 2011, denying his application for additional jail credit. We affirm.
On September 13, 2007, defendant was sentenced in Passaic County to a four-year prison term for third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance. He was paroled on August 17, 2009, with a maximum release date of April 11, 2010. On October 26, 2009, defendant was arrested on new charges in Sussex County and remained in custody until he posted bail on October 28, 2009.
Following his release from jail, defendant was charged with violating the terms and conditions of his parole by failing to notify his parole officer that he had been arrested and that he had changed his address. Defendant was also charged with violating the special conditions of his parole by using controlled dangerous substances and by failing to participate in out-patient substance abuse counseling. In addition, when defendant was arrested in Sussex County on November 6, 2009, he was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in a school zone; and resisting arrest.
Defendant posted bail on the new criminal charges. Nevertheless, he remained in custody on the parole warrant until April 11, 2010, the "max out date" for his Passaic County sentence. See N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.62(a)(2) ("No parolee held in custody on a parole warrant shall be entitled to release on bail.").
On June 13, 2011, defendant pled guilty to counts one and four of Indictment No. 10-06-0220, as amended, which charged him with third-degree possession of cocaine on October 25, 2009 and November 6, 2009. The court subsequently imposed concurrent two-year terms of probation, subject to incarceration in the county jail for 180 days and other conditions. The court awarded defendant jail time credit for the period from October 26 through October 28, 2009. The court denied defendant's request for additional credit because the parole warrant issued as a result of defendant's "underlying sentence," and defendant "was released at the time [that] sentence was up." Subsequent to sentencing, defendant filed a motion for reconsideration, which was heard and denied on November 17, 2011.
On appeal, defendant advances the same arguments he made to the trial court. He claims he is entitled to jail credit on the Sussex County offenses for the time spent in custody after the parole warrant was lodged against him. We do not agree. In our view, the trial court did not err in denying defendant's request for additional jail credit because the parole warrant was not based on defendant's convictions in Sussex County; the time that defendant spent in jail on the parole warrant was credited to his Passaic County sentence; and, generally, jail credit is required "only for such confinement as is attributable to the arrest or other detention resulting from the particular offense." State v. Black, 153 N.J. 438, 456 (1998) (internal quotations and citation omitted); see also State v. Harvey, 273 N.J. Super. 572, 575 (App. Div. 1994) ("Duplicate or double credits should not be given.").
Affirmed.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in my office.
CLERK OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION