State v. Beard, Unpublished Decision (6-29-2001)
State v. Beard, Unpublished Decision (6-29-2001)
Opinion of the Court
The appellant raises the following assignments of error for our review:
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1:
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2:THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE DEFENDANT-APPELLANT HAD VIOLATED HIS PROBATION WHEN SUCH ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OCCURRED, IF AT ALL, DURING THE PERIOD WHEN DEFENDANT WAS NOT ON PROBATION, AS THE SAME HAD BEEN SUSPENDED. [TRANSCRIPT P. 29]
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN REINSTATING THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE IN THIS CASE AND IN ORDERING CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES. [TRANSCRIPT P. 29; JUDGMENT ENTRY OF SENTENCE]
FACTUAL STATEMENT
The appellant was convicted in the Ross County Court of Common Pleas on one count of aggravated trafficking in drugs, a third degree felony. On January 17, 1996, the Court ordered that he be sentenced to a definite term of incarceration of eighteen months. On February 23, 1996, the court granted appellant's motion for shock probation. He was placed on probation for a five-year period, pursuant to the trial court's order granting this motion.
In April 1998, the appellant failed to report to his probation officer in accordance with the terms of his probation. The trial court issued an order on April 24, 1998, suspending the appellant's probation period until he made his presence known and returned to the jurisdiction.
On April 30, 1998, the appellant was charged in the state of Georgia with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. A Decatur County, Georgia court found him guilty of the charge on November 11, 1998, and sentenced him to a term of four years incarceration, which was to be served concurrently with any sentence imposed in the case subjudice.
On September 24, 1999, the appellant was charged with probation violation, based on his failure to report to his probation officer since April 1998 and his conviction in Georgia. The trial court also reinstated the appellant's probation effective September 24, 1999. A hearing was held on the probation violation charge on November 2, 1999. On November 16, 1999, the trial court filed its judgment entry of sentence, reimposing the appellant's original eighteen-month sentence with a four-day credit for time served in the local jail. The trial court also ordered that the original sentence was to be served consecutively to the aforementioned Georgia sentence and consecutively to a subsequent Ross County sentence for a conviction of aggravated possession of drugs (Ross County C.P. No. 97-CR-143).
I
In his First Assignment of Error, the appellant claims that the April 24, 1998 suspension order was a termination of his probation that divested the trial court of the requisite subject matter jurisdiction necessary to reinstate the appellant's original sentence. The appellant also argues that his conviction in Georgia could not constitute a probation violation since it occurred after his probationary period was allegedly terminated.
The appellant correctly argues that the jurisdiction of the sentencing court ceases upon the end or termination of the probationary period. R.C.
There is no evidence of record to indicate that the trial court intended to terminate, rather than suspend, the appellant's probationary period when it issued the suspension order in April 1998. The journal entry states that the appellant's probation sentence was suspended "until that time which the defendant herein makes his presence known and returns to the jurisdiction of this Court." Considering the language of the April 24, 1998 suspension order, we find that the appellant's probationary period was not terminated, as he contends, but rather suspended.
The trial court had statutory authority pursuant to R.C.
Probation under section
2951.02 of the Revised Code continues for the period that the judge or magistrate determines and * * * may be extended. * * * If the probationer absconds or otherwise absents himself from the jurisdiction of the court without permission from the county department of probation or the court to do so, or if he is confined in any institution for the commission of any offense whatever, the probation period ceases to run until such time as he is brought before the court for its further action.
R.C.
This Court has previously held that a suspension order pursuant to R.C.
The appellant also argues that the trial court's April 24, 1998 suspension order failed to toll the period of his probation pursuant to R.C.
For the reasons stated above, the appellant's First Assignment of Error is OVERRULED.
Moreover, we note that the appellant was released on shock probation pursuant to R.C.
The fact that the appellant was granted shock probation under R.C.
The parole board has a duty to follow the sentencing court's entry granting jail time credit. Weimer v. Ohio Dept. of Rehab. Cor. (1999),
After the appellant was found to have violated the conditions of his probation under R.C.
R.C.
When a defendant on probation is brought before the judge or magistrate under section
2951.08 of the Revised Code, the judge or magistrate immediately shall inquire into the conduct of the defendant, and may terminate the probation and impose any sentence that originally could have been imposed * * *.
R.C.
Appellant argues that the trial court's consecutive sentencing order violated his double jeopardy rights by improperly increasing his original sentence. In addressing the constitutionality of imposing a greater sentence under R.C.
The appellant cites State v. Harper (1999), Lucas App. Nos. L-98-1194, L-98-1195, L-98-1196, unreported, in support of his proposition that the trial court imposed "a new and more severe sentence" in this case by ordering consecutive sentences. The appellant in Harper was originally sentenced to terms of eighteen months in prison for each of two separate criminal convictions, aggravated assault and aggravated riot, with the two sentences to run concurrently. He was granted community control release and subsequently violated the terms of his release. Based on the violation, the trial court reinstated his previous sentences of eighteen months per offense, now to be served consecutively, not concurrently, as originally ordered. The Sixth Appellate District reversed, finding that the defendant's original sentences were improperly increased. The court cited Draper and concluded that the modification violated the appellant's double jeopardy rights.
In Harper, the trial court increased the defendant's original sentences by ordering them to run consecutively, rather than concurrently. The casesub judice is distinguishable because the trial court ordered the appellant to serve his original sentence consecutively to his sentences for subsequent offenses in Ohio and Georgia.1 The court did not alter the duration of the original sentence, so it is difficult to conceptualize how the sentence was increased. Nevertheless, we find that the trial court lacked statutory authority to order that the appellant's original sentence be served consecutively to his two subsequent convictions and sentences.
When a criminal defendant violates the terms of his or her probation, the trial court's authority is limited to imposing a prison sentence or continuing the probation. See R.C.
We recognize that our decision is somewhat counterintuitive. The appellant committed new felonies while he was on probation, so one might expect that he would be subject to consecutive sentences. It is the sentences for the subsequent offenses, however, which could potentially run consecutively to the sentence for the original offense. At the time of his original sentencing in 1996, the appellant had been convicted of only one crime. Thus, the appellant's original sentence could not have been consecutive to anything. By ordering that the appellant's original sentence run consecutively to the sentences for the subsequent offenses, the trial court increased the severity of the original sentence, in violation of Draper.
The trial court likely could have ordered the sentence for appellant's subsequent offense to run consecutively to his sentence for the original offense. See Steen, Vinton App. No. 93CA490, unreported, at *22-23 (stating that the court imposing sentence for the "new" felony has authority to impose a consecutive sentence). However, the appellant's subsequent offenses are separate cases, and they are not before us in this appeal. We find only that the trial court could not increase the appellant's original sentence by ordering that it run consecutively to a sentence for a subsequent offense.
We note that appellant is not entitled to credit for the time he served in Georgia.
For all the foregoing reasons, both branches of appellant's Second Assignment of Error are SUSTAINED.
This case is affirmed in part and reversed in part. We remand to the Ross County Court of Common Pleas for resentencing of the defendant in a manner consistent with this opinion.
The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Ross County Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution.
Any stay previously granted by this Court is hereby terminated as of the date of this Entry.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Exceptions.
David T. Evans, Judge.
Abele, P.J., and Kline, J. Concur in Judgment and Opinion.
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