State of Arizona v. Dave Allen Laporte

── State of Arizona v. Dave Allen Laporte ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION TWO THE STATE OF ARIZONA, Appellee, v. DAVE ALLEN LAPORTE, Appellant. No. 2 CA-CR 2024-0249 Filed June 5, 2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Apache County No. S0100CR201900388 The Honorable Michael Latham, Judge VACATED AND REMANDED COUNSEL Kristin K. Mayes, Arizona Attorney General Alice M. Jones, Deputy Solicitor General/Section Chief of Criminal Appeals By Joshua C. Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Phoenix Counsel for Appellee E.M. Hale Law, Lakeside By Elizabeth M. Hale Counsel for Appellant  STATE v. LaPORTE Opinion of the Court OPINION Vice Chief Judge Eppich authored the opinion of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Vásquez and Chief Judge Staring concurred. E P P I C H, Vice Chief Judge: ¶1 Dave LaPorte appeals from the sentences imposed by the trial court for second-degree murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and tampering with physical evidence on remand from his prior appeal. He argues the trial court violated this court’s mandate when it sentenced him to an aggravated term after this court ordered him to be sentenced at or below the presumptive prison term for each count. For the following reasons, we vacate his sentences and remand for resentencing consistent with this opinion. Factual and Procedural Background ¶2 In October 2019, LaPorte killed his wife, T.L., and left her body in a ditch by the side of the road. State v. LaPorte, No. 1 CA-CR 22-0257, ¶¶ 3-6 (Ariz. App. Feb. 1, 2024) (mem. decision). After a jury trial, he was convicted of second-degree murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and tampering with physical evidence. Id. ¶ 9. While the jury was deliberating, the state, defense counsel, and the court discussed aggravating factors. Both parties appeared to be under the impression that LaPorte had a prior aggravated DUI conviction that—although more than ten years old—was considered a “forever prior” and could serve as an aggravator for the second-degree murder and as an enhancer for the other two counts.1 After discussing how this “forever prior” served as an aggravator, both parties appeared to agree to the court’s suggestion to skip a jury trial on the other alleged aggravating factors. But this agreement could be revoked as the court noted: [The court]: Okay. No aggravation phase. Now of course, if you change your minds— [Prosecutor]: That’s fine 1A.R.S. §§ 13-105(22)(iv); 13-703. 2  STATE v. LaPORTE Opinion of the Court [Defense Counsel]: We’ll let you know ¶3 At the sentencing hearing, the court found the “forever prior” to be an aggravating factor as to the second-degree murder, and the use of a deadly weapon as an aggravating factor for the rest of the charges. LaPorte was sentenced as a repetitive offender and received the maximum sentence for all three convictions. Id. ¶¶ 10-14. ¶4 LaPorte appealed, and this court affirmed his convictions but vacated his sentences because the prior conviction “was for attempted aggravated DUI, not aggravated DUI” and therefore “could not be used as an aggravating circumstance to impose a maximum sentence” for any of the convictions because it was not a historical prior felony conviction. Id. ¶¶ 11, 30-33; see A.R.S. §§ 13-105(22), 13-703.2 Further, this court noted other issues at sentencing, including that it was err