Monnie Villareal v. State of Mississippi

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2021-CP-00440-COA

MONNIE VILLAREAL APPELLANT

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/25/2021
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. ROBERT P. KREBS
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: JACKSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: MONNIE VILLAREAL (PRO SE)
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: SCOTT STUART
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/11/2022
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., GREENLEE AND EMFINGER, JJ.

WILSON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. In June 2017, Monnie Villareal and two codefendants were indicted for insurance

fraud (Count I), conspiracy to commit insurance fraud (Count II), false pretenses (Count III),

and conspiracy to commit false pretenses (Count IV). The indictment alleged that the

defendants, acting on behalf of a tree service business, conspired to present a fake certificate

of insurance to a customer in order to obtain the customer’s business and payment in excess

of $500. In May 2018, pursuant to a plea bargain, Villareal pled guilty to Count II, and the

remaining counts were nolle prosequied. The court sentenced Villareal to five years in the

custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) with credit for time served

and the remainder suspended on post-release supervision (PRS).
¶2. In December 2020, the court revoked Villareal’s PRS because Villareal had

absconded and violated other terms of his PRS. The court sentenced Villareal to serve three

years, with the remainder of his sentence suspended on PRS.

¶3. In February 2021, Villareal filed a motion for post-conviction relief (PCR) alleging

that his sentence was “illegal.” Villareal asserted that the maximum sentence for his crime

was six months in the county jail because he pled guilty to conspiracy to commit only

misdemeanor false pretenses. The court denied Villareal’s motion, explaining that he had

pled guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, a felony with a maximum sentence of

five years’ imprisonment. Villareal appealed. We affirm.

¶4. Villareal’s plea petition stated that he was pleading guilty to “Conspiracy” without

specifying whether he was pleading to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud (Count II) or

conspiracy to commit false pretenses (Count IV). However, the petition clearly stated that

the maximum sentence was five years. In addition, it was made clear during Villareal’s plea

hearing that he was pleading guilty to Count II. Villareal admitted that he had agreed and

conspired “to commit the crime of insurance fraud.” He also admitted that he was guilty of

the crime set out in “Count II” of the indictment.

¶5. Insurance fraud is a felony. See Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-309(1) (Rev. 2019).

Therefore, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud is also a felony and carries a maximum

sentence of five years’ imprisonment. Miss. Code Ann. § 97-1-1(1)(h) (Rev. 2020).

Accordingly, Villareal’s sentence is not “illegal,” and the circuit court correctly denied his

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PCR motion.1 In addition, to the extent that Villareal attempts to raise issues on appeal that

he did not raise in his PCR motion, his claims are procedurally barred because he failed to

raise them in the circuit court. See, e.g., Fluker v. State, 17 So. 3d 181, 183 (¶5) (Miss. Ct.

App. 2009) (“[A] defendant who fails to raise an issue in his motion for post-conviction

relief before the trial court may not raise that issue for the first time on appeal.” (citing

Gardner v. State, 531 So. 2d 805, 808-09 (Miss. 1988))).

¶6. AFFIRMED.

BARNES, C.J., CARLTON, P.J., GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS, McDONALD,
McCARTY, SMITH AND EMFINGER, JJ., CONCUR. LAWRENCE, J., NOT
PARTICIPATING.

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We also note that Count IV of Villareal’s indictment charged with him with
conspiracy to commit felony false pretenses, not misdemeanor. The indictment specifically
alleged that Villareal conspired “to obtain agreement(s) to do [tree] work and payment(s) in
excess of $500.00.” See Miss. Code Ann. § 97-19-39(2) (Rev. 2020) (providing that
obtaining money or other property with a value of $500 or more by fraud or false pretense
is a felony punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment). Villareal’s assertion that he pled
guilty to misdemeanor false pretenses apparently relies on a Notice of Criminal Disposition
sent to MDOC following the revocation of his PRS in 2020. The Notice erroneously stated
that Villareal had been convicted and sentenced on all four counts of the indictment; that
Count III involved less than $500; and that for Count IV he had been sentenced under the
misdemeanor subsection of the conspiracy statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 97-1-1(4). The Notice
was in error on all these points. Errors in a notice of criminal disposition created years after
a defendant’s plea and conviction cannot alter the substance of the plea and conviction. As
this Court has explained, a notice of criminal disposition is not an official judgment. Rather,
it only “serves as an administrative commitment form completed for the administrative
benefit of the MDOC.” Weary v. State, 155 So. 3d 866, 869 (¶9) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013)
(citing Fuller v. State, 914 So. 2d 1230, 1232 (¶4) (Miss. Ct. App. 2005)). Thus, Villareal’s
2018 sentencing order is controlling notwithstanding errors in the 2020 Notice of Criminal
Disposition. Weary, 155 So. 3d at 869 (¶9); Fuller, 914 So. 2d at 1232 (¶4).

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