Opinion
OP 22-0013
01-25-2022
GEORGE C. WELLS, Petitioner, v. JIM SALMONSEN, Respondent.
ORDER
George C. Wells has filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, again challenging his sentence. Wells requests reinstatement of the fifty-year persistent felony offender (PFO) sentence originally imposed, instead of the singular 100-year PFO sentence he received following this Court's remand of his ease for re-sentencing in Wells v. Kirkegard, No. OP 15-0466, Order (Mont. Set. 29, 2015). Wells contends that the original fifty-year PFO sentence, which was imposed in addition to his sentences for three individual felonies, is valid.
Once again, we explain that Wells' sentence received on remand is valid and he is not entitled to relief. The District Court resentenced Wells as a PFO because Wells remained eligible for a PFO designation, and the court issued a singular 100-year PFO sentence for all of his felonies in that matter. Wells is not entitled to only a fifty-year PFO sentence. As we stated in Robinson, which Wells misquotes:
In Gunderson II, this Court overruled prior precedent when we determined that the PFO sentence replaces the sentence for the underlying felony. In Larsen v. Stale, 362 Mont. 543, 272 P.3d 124 (2011), we granted habeas relief, concluding that while it was lawful for the district court to sentence Larsen as a PFO. it was not lawful to also sentence him for the underlying felony.Robinson v. Kirkegard, No. OP 12-0660, Order at 2 (Mont. Jan. 9, 2013) (emphasis added). A defendant can either receive sentences for individual felonies, or a singular sentence for a PFO designation, but he cannot receive both nor must he receive only the shorter sentence. See Slate v. Gimderson, 2010 Ml" 166, 1j 54, 357 Mont. 142, 237 P.3d 74 (Gunderson II) ("when a persistent felony offender is convicted on multiple felony charges, the district court can sentence the offender to the maximum sentence allowable on each charge."). (Emphasis in original.)
As we have held previously. Wells is precluded from habeas relief on this issue. Wells v. Salmonsen, No. OP 21-0526, Order denying habeas corpus relief (Mont. Nov. 9, 2021) and Wells v, Fletcher, No. OP 17-0224. Order (Mont. May 9, 2017); see also § 46-22-101(2). MCA. We caution Wells to refrain from his repeated filings collaterally attacking his sentence. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Habeas Relief is DENIED and DISMISSED.
The Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this Order to counsel of record and to George C. Wells personally.