James E. Heathcock v. State Alaska

James Heathcock pled guilty to a charge of forgery in the second degree, AS 11.46.505(a)(1). He was charged with forging check for $550. He appeared in front of Superior Court Judge Douglas J. Serdahely for sentencing. Although Heathcock had formerly been convicted of two prior felonies, burglary in a dwelling and issuing a check without funds, the state stipulated that, for purposes of presumptive sentencing, Heathcocks two prior felonies should be viewed as a single prior conviction. In light of that stipulation, Judge Serdahely ruled that Heathcock would be sentenced as a second felony offender. Since forgery in the second degree is a class C felony, Heathcock thus faced a presumptive sentence of two years. AS 12.55.125(e)(1).