State v. Alonzo Shelton

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed Shelton's conviction and sentence, holding that the consent to search his girlfriend's apartment was voluntary, that the admission of his suspended‑sentence length was not an abuse of discretion, that the court lacks authority to review the sentence on direct appeal absent extraordinary circumstances, and that Shelton waived his merger arguments by failing to raise them pre‑trial. The court relied on de novo review of consent and abuse‑of‑discretion standards for evidentiary rulings, and it remanded for further post‑conviction relief under Rule 35.