A violation of parole does not constitute interfering with the administration of justice under Offense Variable (“OV”) 19 when the defendant is not being sentenced for the parole violation, according to People v. Sours, No. 326291.
Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine. The trial court assessed ten points for OV 19 for interfering with the administration of justice because Defendant failed to report to his parole agent before committing the felony. The Court of Appeals disagreed with the trial court’s application of OV 19. It held that OV 19 is generally scored for conduct that constitutes an attempt to avoid being caught and held accountable for the sentencing offense. Here, Defendant was not being sentenced for violating his parole, but for possession of methamphetamine. For the trial court to have assessed OV 19, Defendant would have had to have acted in a way that hindered the process of investigation and administering judgment for the methamphetamine offense. Thus, the Court remanded for re-sentencing because the additional ten points assessed for OV 19 placed Defendant in a different guidelines range.
