State of Iowa
v.
Freddie Helai
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Freddie Helai
Attorney for the Appellee
Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
John J. Wolfe
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, George L. Stigler, Judge. CONVICTION AFFIRMED; SENTENCE VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Mullins, J. (5 pages)
Freddie Helai appeals his conviction, following a guilty plea, of lascivious acts with a child and the sentence imposed. He argues his plea was entered unknowingly and involuntarily because he was misadvised of the potential immigration consequences of his plea and his counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to ensure he was accurately advised and by failing to file a motion in arrest of judgment to challenge his plea based on the alleged deficiencies. He also argues the court relied on improper considerations in imposing sentence. OPINION HOLDS: We find the record inadequate to determine the ineffective-assistance claim and thus preserve it for postconviction relief. We agree the court improperly relied upon unproven and irrelevant information in imposing sentence, and we therefore vacate the sentence imposed and remand the matter to the district court for resentencing.
