Sentencing; Scoring of OV 19; Interference with the administration of justice; MCL 777.49(c); People v Deweerd; Ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to the scoring of OV 19

The court held that OV 19 was properly scored at 10 points because defendant’s conduct went beyond a mere denial and amounted to interference with the administration of justice under Deweerd. As such, his ineffective assistance claim based on counsel’s failure to object to the scoring of OV 19 failed. He was convicted of second-degree murder and felony-firearm after telling a detective there had been a scuffle in the house and someone was shot, then fleeing the scene with the gun. The trial court sentenced him as a fourth-offense habitual offender to 50 to 90 years for the former and a consecutive 2-year term for the latter. In a prior appeal, the court affirmed the trial court’s scoring of OV 19 at 10 points, but the Supreme Court remanded for reconsideration in light of Deweerd. On remand, the court found that Deweerd did not bar scoring OV 19 at 10 points, finding he “did not merely maintain his innocence or refuse to confess, but he deliberately gave the detective misinformation that ‘divert[ed] suspicion onto others and away from him,’ . . . ‘actively redirect[ed] the investigation,’ and ‘attempt[ed] to or successfully prevent[ed] law enforcement from being able to arrest [him].’” In addition, he “fled the scene with the murder weapon, which ‘conceal[ed] evidence from law enforcement.’” The court also rejected his claim that counsel was ineffective for not objecting to OV 19’s scoring, noting that “[f]ailing to advance a meritless argument or raise a futile objection does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.” Affirmed.