Opinion
DOCKET NO. A-5785-13T2
01-05-2016
STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. WAYMON BROWN, a/k/a AIJALON ARAD, Defendant-Appellant.
Waymon Brown, appellant pro se. Joseph D. Coronato, Ocean County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Samuel Marzarella, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION Before Judges St. John and Guadagno. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Ocean County, Indictment No. 96-07-0661. Waymon Brown, appellant pro se. Joseph D. Coronato, Ocean County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Samuel Marzarella, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief). PER CURIAM
Defendant Waymon Brown appeals the Law Division's May 13, 2014 order denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence. We affirm.
In 1996, defendant was convicted by a jury of first-degree attempted murder, third-degree possession of a knife for an unlawful purpose, and third-degree unlawful taking of a means of conveyance. Defendant was sentenced to an aggregate extended term of eighty years' imprisonment with thirty years' parole ineligibility. In 1998, we affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence in an unpublished opinion. State v. Brown, No. A-3961-96 (App. Div. Nov. 6, 1998). The Supreme Court denied defendant's petition for certification. State v. Brown, 158 N.J. 71 (1999).
Defendant filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief (PCR), which was denied without a hearing. Defendant appealed and we remanded for further proceedings as required by State v. Rue, 175 N.J. 1 (2002). State v. Brown, No. A-2168-01 (App. Div. Feb. 27, 2003). After a hearing, the PCR court denied defendant's petition for PCR. We affirmed the denial of PCR in an unpublished opinion, State v. Brown, No. A-2474-03 (App. Div. Feb. 24, 2005), and the Supreme Court denied defendant's petition for certification. State v. Brown, 183 N.J. 591 (2005).
In 2006, defendant filed a pro se petition for PCR and to correct an illegal sentence, which was denied by the court pursuant to Rule 1:16-2, without oral argument. Defendant appealed, claiming ineffective assistance of his plea counsel for failing to challenge the predicate convictions upon which his extended term was based. We affirmed, finding that defendant's claim was essentially the same argument previously presented by defendant on his direct appeal and in his first petition for PCR. State v. Brown, No. A-5330-05 (App. Div. June 27, 2007) (slip op. at 6).
In 2009, defendant filed his third PCR petition and motion to correct an illegal sentence. Both the petition and motion were denied without a hearing. Defendant appealed and, in 2011, we again affirmed, holding "not only has defendant's present claim been definitively adjudicated on several prior occasions, Rule 3:22-5, but is, as well, meritless. R. 2:11-3(e)(2)." State v. Arad, No. A-5024-08 (App. Div. July 6, 2011) (slip op. at 6).
In 2013, defendant filed a pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence. After hearing oral argument, Judge Wendel E. Daniels denied defendant's motion on May 13, 2014. In a written decision accompanying his order denying relief, Judge Daniels determined that "all of defendant's present claims have been adjudicated on several prior occasions and deemed meritless."
In his pro se appeal, defendant raises the following arguments:
POINT I
PETITIONER'S FIFTH, SIXTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED WHEN HE WAS SENTENCED TO THE EXTENDED TERM UNDER RECIDIVIST STATUTE [N.J.S.A.] 2C:44-3a, PERSISTENT OFFENDER STATUS. 1a-2-16 [SIC] STATE V. LADO, 275 N.J. SUPER. 140, 159.
POINT II
APPELLANT ARGUES THAT HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED WHEN HE WAS GIVEN AN EXTENDED TERM CONTRARY TO STATE V. PIERCE, 188 [N.J.] 155, 902 A.2D 1195 (2006). 1a-2-16 [SIC].
As we determined in our 2011 opinion, not only have defendant's present claims been definitively adjudicated on several prior occasions, Rule 3:22-5, but they are also meritless. R. 2:11-3(e)(2).
Affirmed. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in my office.
CLERK OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION