State v. Pelland, Unpublished Decision (11-8-2000)
State v. Pelland, Unpublished Decision (11-8-2000)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
This appeal, having been heretofore placed on the accelerated calendar, is being considered pursuant to App.R. 11.1(E) and Loc.R. 12. Pursuant to Loc.R. 12, we hereby elect to issue a full opinion in lieu of a judgment entry.In 1995, defendant-appellant, Chad R. Pelland, was convicted of trafficking in marijuana in Defiance C.P. Case No. 6462. He was sentenced to a prison term of one and one-half years, but was later granted shock probation. He subsequently absconded from the jurisdiction and was eventually arrested in Florida.
On June 6, 1997, defendant was indicted for escape, in violation of R.C.
The trial court erred in denying Mr. Pelland's motion to withdraw his guilty plea in violation of his right to due process guaranteed under the
Fifth andFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and ArticleI , Section16 of the Ohio Constitution.
The Ohio escape statute, R.C.
Under a prior version of the statute, the defendant was correct. Former R.C.
In Conyers, supra, the Ohio Supreme Court concluded that the General Assembly manifested its intent in 146 Ohio Laws, Part II, 2214 to remove the emphasized exclusions so that parolees would be included in the class of persons subject to prosecution for escape. Id. at 248. Based on the reasoning of Conyers, supra, we believe it is similarly probable that the General Assembly intended that individuals on shock probation were also to be included within the class of individuals subject to the escape statute.
However, the defendant urges that such a construction of the current definition of "detention" set forth in R.C.
In response to these arguments, the State asserts in its brief that "persons on shock probation are supervised by the Adult Parole Authority which is under the Department of Corrections." Additionally, the State argues that the defendant was aware of the change in the law in October 1996 covering escape from probation prior to his absconding and makes reference in its brief to a form the defendant supposedly signed notifying him that if he absconded supervision, he could be charged with escape. However, there is no "waiver form" or anything else in the portions of the record supplied to us in this case to support either of these assertions. We also note that no transcript of the shock probation hearing is provided in the record. Nor is there a transcript of the hearing held on defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Nevertheless, a review of the transcript of the plea proceeding reveals that the escape to which defendant pled guilty was allegedly based on his failure to return or report to the Defiance County Adult Probation Department after he had received a travel permit to Indiana to pursue a job. The trial court's colloquy with defendant when his guilty plea was entered indicates that defendant understood the nature of the charge against him and that upon entering a guilty plea, his right to appeal would be greatly diminished. Further, it is clear from the record that defendant's counsel had requested and received full discovery of the facts pertaining to the indictment prior to defendant entering his plea. In sum, an examination of the transcript of the guilty plea proceeding discloses that the trial court complied with Crim.R. 11(C), and there is nothing in the record to suggest that defendant did not enter his plea knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily. Moreover, the defendant was also aware that the potential prison time imposed for escape could have been more than the two years to which he was sentenced.
Crim.R. 32.1 provides that a post-conviction motion to withdraw a guilty plea is only granted in order to correct a manifest injustice.State v. Xie (1992),
We know of no authority requiring a recitation of facts in support of a guilty plea although it may clearly be the better practice of many courts to have the prosecutor do so. Nevertheless, it is a plea of "not guilty" that requires the State to prove all material facts relating to the crime charged. State v. Manago (1974),
Thus, for example, defendant argues that he must be excluded from the definition of "detention" because unlike a parolee, the "evidence" establishes that he was under the supervision of the county probation department and not the department of rehabilitation and correction while on release. Defendant claims that the supervision of persons on shock probation is administered by the court's probation officers as opposed to employees of the department of rehabilitation and corrections and finds support for such a distinction in R.C.
On the other hand, section (A)(1) of R.C.
In lieu of establishing a county department of probation under division (A) of this section and in lieu of entering into an agreement with the adult parole authority as described in division (B) of section
2301.32 of the Revised Code, the court of common pleas may request the board of county commissioners to contract with, and upon that request the board may contract with, any nonprofit, public or private agency, association, or organization for the provision of probation services and supervisory services for persons placed under community control sanctions.
Thus, it is apparent that the statute contemplates agreements entered into with the adult parole authority for supervision. See R.C.
More importantly, even if defendant's claims were established factually, it is not at all clear that his legal argument would prevail. Specifically, R.C.
Finally, we question the extent of possible prejudice to the defendant on this issue. See State v. Stewart (1977),
Along the same line, the defendant also challenges the validity of his "detention" under the escape statute by arguing that a person on shock probation is not on "release" from a state correctional institution because the shock probationer's sentence is suspended by the court not the institution. Defendant relies on R.C.
If an offender mentioned in section
2951.02 of the Revised Code resides in the county in which the trial was conducted, the court that issues an order of probation shall place the offender under the control and supervision of a department of probation in the county that serves the court. If there is no department of probation in the county that serves the court, the probation order, under section2301.32 of the Revised Code, may place the offender on probation in charge of the adult parole authority created by section5149.02 of the Revised Code that then shall have the powers and duties of a county department of probation.
However, the defendant's argument on the issue of release is similarly subject to dispute inasmuch as the current statutory definition of "detention" has been broadly defined to include supervision of a person on "any type of release from a state correctional facility." Conyers,supra, at 249 (Emphasis sic.). We note that the General Assembly has provided a specific definition of a "releasee" in R.C.
In sum, it is clear that the arguments and statutory constructions now raised by the defendant regarding the escape charge in this case were never brought before the trial court and are subject to different interpretations than those urged by the defendant. As such, they do not rise to the level of demonstrating a "manifest injustice" sufficient to void defendant's plea. On the contrary, they are precisely the kind of factual and legal challenges to a charge which any defendant must decide whether to pursue at trial or give up in exchange for a negotiated plea. By entering into a knowing, intelligent and voluntary plea of guilty without raising these issues, the defendant waived the right to pursue these arguments. State v. Wilson (1979),
Based on the foregoing, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Accordingly, defendant's assignment of error is overruled and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
_________________________ SHAW, J.
HADLEY, P.J., and WALTERS, J., concur.
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