People v. Eberly

Per Curiam. Defendant pleaded guilty to armed robbery, MCL 750.529; MSA 28.797, was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison, and appeals by right. He raises a single issue; whether armed robbery carries a mandatory minimum term so that failure to inform a defendant of that term at a guilty plea proceeding violates GCR 1963, 785.7(l)(d). By statute, armed robbery is punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years. The weight of authority in this Court is that this offense carries no mandatory minimum sentence. People v Landis, 91 Mich App 345; 283 NW2d 647 (1979), People v Freeman, 73 Mich App 568; 252 NW2d 518 (1977), and People v McKnight, 72 Mich App 282; 249 NW2d 392 (1976). We observe, however, that at least two members of this Court would hold that "life or any term of years” requires that a defendant serve some mandatory minimum sentence. People v Harper, 83 Mich App 390; 269 NW2d 470 (1978), lv den 406 Mich 1021 (1979). We believe that the defendant’s interpretation of the words "any term of years” was implicitly rejected in People v Jones, 410 Mich 407; 301 NW2d 822 (1981), in which the Supreme Court reversed pleas to armed robbery when the defendants were not informed of the maximum terms. The Court did not, however, discuss the failure to advise the defendants of any minimum term. In this case, the defendant was informed of the maximum term. As we hold that there is no minimum term for armed robbery, the defendant was adequately informed of the sentencing consequences of his plea. Affirmed.