State v. Cottrell, Unpublished Decision (9-6-2002)
State v. Cottrell, Unpublished Decision (9-6-2002)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Thomas S. Cottrell ("Cottrell") brings this appeal from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Auglaize County sentencing him to four years in prison for violation of his post-release control.{¶ 2} On November 9, 2001, Cottrell took a car belonging to another and eventually was pursued by police in a high-speed chase on interstate 75. At the time of the incident, Cottrell was on post-release control and had no valid operator's license. The Auglaize County Grand Jury indicted Cottrell on one count of fleeing and eluding, a third degree felony, to which Cottrell pled not guilty. On January 22, 2002, the State filed a bill of information including a charge of receiving stolen property prior to attending the hearing. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Cottrell then pled guilty to the charge of receiving stolen property, a fifth degree felony, and one count of attempted fleeing and eluding, a fourth degree felony. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered.
{¶ 3} On March 15, 2002, a sentencing hearing was held. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court sentenced Cottrell to seventeen months in prison on the charge of attempted fleeing and eluding and eleven months in prison on the charge of receiving stolen property. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively for a total of twenty-eight months in prison. At the time of these offenses, Cottrell was serving a term of post-release control for a prior felony conviction in Mercer County. The Court of Common Pleas of Auglaize County, pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 4} Cottrell raises one assignment of error. "The Auglaize County Common Pleas Court was without jurisdiction to sentence [Cottrell] to additional prison time under [R.C.
{¶ 5} Post-release control is governed by R.C.
{¶ 6} "A releasee who has violated any post-release control sanction or the mandatory condition described in [R.C.
{¶ 7} This statute gave the trial court jurisdiction to impose a sentence for the violation of the post-release control conditions. The only restriction upon the trial court is that the maximum sentence must be reduced by the time Cottrell has spent on post-release control. The trial court did take this into consideration when it imposed a sentence of four years in prison, which is less than the time Cottrell had remaining on his post-release control. Thus, the assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 8} The judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Auglaize County is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
SHAW, P.J. and HADLEY, J., concur.
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