State v. Norvett, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2001)
State v. Norvett, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2001)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Defendant, Michael Norvett, was indicted under five separate case numbers on four counts of possession of cocaine, two counts of possession of heroin, and two counts of receiving stolen property. Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant ultimately entered guilty pleas to two counts of possession of cocaine, one count of possession of heroin, one count of receiving stolen property, all fifth degree felonies, and two counts of disorderly conduct, both fourth degree misdemeanors. Thereafter, the trial court scheduled sentencing for March 21, 2001. Defendant failed to appear for sentencing, and the trial court rescheduled the hearing for April 18, 2001. Defendant appeared at the rescheduled hearing, and the trial court sentenced him to an eleven-month term of imprisonment on each of the felony counts and to a thirty-day jail term on each of the misdemeanor counts. The court ordered three of the felony sentences to run consecutively, for an aggregate prison sentence of thirty-three months.On April 19, 2001, the trial court journalized entries memorializing its sentencing decisions. Defendant filed a timely appeal from the trial court's judgments. On June 12, 2001, this court sua sponte consolidated the cases for purposes of record filing, briefing, and oral argument. Defendant assigns a single assignment of error for our review:
The trial court erred and abused its discretion by sentencing defendant-appellant to serve consecutive prison terms.
Defendant first challenges the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences. Specifically, defendant contends that the trial court imposed consecutive sentences without making the necessary findings in violation of R.C.
We note initially that a trial court has broad discretion when sentencing within the statutory limits provided. State v. Haines (Oct. 29, 1998), Franklin App. No. 98AP-195, unreported. A reviewing court may not disturb a sentence imposed by a trial court unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the sentence is not supported by the record or is contrary to law. Id.
Pursuant to R.C.
(a) The offender committed the multiple offenses while the offender was awaiting trial or sentencing, was under a sanction imposed pursuant to section
2929.16 ,2929.17 , or2929.18 of the Revised Code, or was under post-release control for a prior offense.(b) The harm caused by the multiple offenses was so great or unusual that no single prison term for any of the offenses committed as part of a single course of conduct adequately reflects the seriousness of the offender's conduct.
(c) The offender's history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by the offender.
Furthermore, when a trial court imposes consecutive sentences under R.C.
At the sentencing hearing, the trial court stated:
* * * [F]or the record, the Court is sentencing consecutively for the following reasons: These crimes were committed — the Court has five cases before it at this point, all of them involving similar behavior. The crimes were committed while the Defendant was awaiting trial on some of these cases and was under sanction or under bond at the time. The harm is so great that a single term doesn't adequately reflect the seriousness of the multiple similar offenses. And the Defendant's criminal history shows that consecutive terms are needed to protect both him and the public from himself with respect to his drug addiction at this point. And he failed to appear for trial — or for sentencing. And the Court believes that a consecutive sentence is appropriate for that, notwithstanding the fact that the legislature decided to leave that one out of the list of reasons that they would cite for consecutive sentencing in the statute, in any event. [Tr. 7-8.]
As evidenced by this excerpt, the trial court expressly found under the unlettered provisions of R.C.
Having determined, however, that the trial court did not make the necessary findings under the unlettered provisions of R.C.
However, since the matter must be returned to the trial court for resentencing, we are compelled to comment upon a contention raised by defendant in his reply brief and addressed by both defendant and the state at oral argument. The guilty plea forms completed by defendant relevant to the felony charges establish that the prosecution and defense counsel jointly recommended to the court that defendant be sentenced to "8 months work release, 4 yrs. probation with drug treatment." The trial court's judgment entries reiterate this recommendation. At the rescheduled sentencing hearing on April 18, 2001, the trial court imposed consecutive sentences totaling thirty-three months in prison. In so doing, the trial court expressly noted that it based its decision to impose consecutive sentences, in part, on the fact that defendant failed to appear at the original sentencing hearing on March 21, 2001. In State v. Stone (Feb. 26, 1999), Hamilton App. No. C-980382, unreported, the Hamilton County Court of Appeals held that, under current sentencing guidelines, a trial court is not permitted to enhance a sentence as a punishment for a defendant's failure to appear for sentencing. Id., citing State v. Johnson (Oct. 23, 1998), Hamilton App. No. C-980013, unreported. The court explained:
Although this court understands the trial court's action, and finds nothing logically objectionable, we must follow the legislative guidelines. Under those guidelines, the sentence here was improper because Stone's failure to appear should not have been factored into the court's decision to impose consecutive sentences or into its decision regarding the length of Stone's sentence in general. As it is not directly presented here, we leave for another day the effect of the original plea bargain, and its seeming breach by Stone by his nonappearance.
Applying Stone to the instant case, we conclude that on remand, the trial court may not consider defendant's failure to appear at the original sentencing hearing in deciding whether to impose consecutive sentences.
Defendant next argues that pursuant to R.C.
Finally, although not specifically assigned as error, defendant appears to challenge the trial court's imposition of a prison sentence rather than community control sanctions. Upon review of the record, we find that the trial court fully complied with the mandates of R.C. Chapter 2929 in this aspect of sentencing.
R.C.
Further, when imposing a prison term for a fifth degree felony, R.C.
In this case, the court specifically found two of the R.C.
Defendant contends that the trial court did not sufficiently state reasons to support its finding that defendant was not amenable to available community control sanctions. We disagree. As noted previously, the court stated that defendant had committed multiple offenses while out on bail prior to trial. The record fully supports such a finding. Further, the trial court made several references to defendant's extensive criminal history. The presentence investigation ("PSI") report reflects prior convictions dating back to 1983 for, inter alia, receiving stolen property, attempted robbery, theft, aggravated trafficking, possession of hallucinogens, drug abuse, possession of cocaine, and possession of heroin.
In addition, the trial court noted that defendant had not responded favorably in the past to probation or parole. The PSI report clearly supports this finding, as it contains information that defendant violated the conditions of his parole. Finally, the court referred to the fact that defendant had failed to timely acknowledge his drug addiction. Again, the PSI report provides support for this finding. The report indicates that defendant denied ever using any type of controlled substances, yet has numerous drug-related convictions. In addition, the PSI report states that "[a]ccording to APA microfiche, [defendant] had a serious drug addiction. While under supervision, he tested positive for cocaine and opiates." Because it is clear from our review of the record that these were the reasons the trial court found to support its finding that defendant was not amenable to community control sanctions, we cannot find that the court's imposition of a prison term was contrary to law.
For the foregoing reasons, we sustain in part and overrule in part defendant's sole assignment of error. Accordingly, the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed with regard to the imposition of prison terms but reversed with regard to the imposition of consecutive terms. Accordingly, the case is remanded to that court for further proceedings in accordance with law and consistent with this opinion.
Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and cause remanded.
BYRANT, P.J., and TYACK, J., concur.
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