A Juneau man has lost an appeal of two separate convictions stemming from an incident where he was found with a gun while on bail.
Steven Warren Stiner, 64, had been stopped for a traffic infraction while on bail release pending the appeal of a felony assault conviction and was found with a pistol. Following a bench trial in October 2012 in Juneau Superior Court, he was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a concealable firearm, as well as two counts of violating the conditions of his release.
At Stiner’s sentencing, his attorney asked the superior court to enter a single conviction for all three counts. Judge Philip Pallenberg, however, ruled that Stiner should receive a merged conviction for violating the conditions of his release and should receive a separate conviction for being a felon in possession.
Stiner appealed that decision, arguing it would be improper under the double jeopardy clause to receive two convictions for one single act of possessing a firearm. But the appellate court found that the violation of bail conditions “implicated a societal interest that is substantially different from society’s’s interest in prohibiting felons from possessing concealable firearms.” Because those two distinct interests need to be separately enforced, Stiner’s appeal was denied in an opinion issued in late January.
• Jameek Cortese, 37, was indicted by a Juneau grand jury Wednesday on one felony count of assault in the second degree, recklessly causing serious physical injury, and one felony count of assault in the third degree, criminal negligence causing serious physical injury by means of a dangerous instrument. Both charges relate to a July 6 incident, according to the court documents. A summons was issued.
• Oscar Snell, 45, was sentenced Jan. 26 in Juneau District Court to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief and violating a domestic violence protective order.
Snell pleaded guilty to the two charges in connection with an incident on Jan. 12. He was sentenced to 30 days with all 30 days suspended for the criminal mischief count and 10 days for the protective order violation, with credit for time served. He was placed on 12 months probation with restitution to be reserved.
• A woman who pleaded guilty to criminal mischief in the third degree after a Jan. 11, 2011, incident in which she set fire to a home in Haines has served her sentence, but has not paid the court-ordered restitution.
Rebecca A. Langford was sentenced to eight months in jail and five years probation. On Jan. 25, an order of discharge was filed because her period of probation has expired. The order noted, however, that judgment of conviction was not being set aside because restitution in excess of $33,900 remains unpaid.
Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
