State v. Ramey, Unpublished Decision (12-6-2002)
State v. Ramey, Unpublished Decision (12-6-2002)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} Although the September 25, 2001 judgment entry is identified by trial court case number 01-CR-000296, the trial court, in that single judgment entry, sentenced appellant in two separate matters: 01-CR-000296 and 00-CR-000444. The facts of 01-CR-000296 are as follows: on July 2, 2001, the Lake County Grand Jury indicted appellant on three counts: (1) domestic violence, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 3} With respect to 00-CR-000444, appellant was indicted on November 24, 2000, on two counts: (1) assault on a police officer, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 4} The two separate trial court cases were consolidated into a single sentencing hearing, which was held on September 25, 2001. In its September 25, 2001 judgment entry, the trial court sentenced appellant to two years for abduction, and six months for assaulting a police officer, with the sentences to run consecutively.
{¶ 5} Appellant has filed a timely appeal and makes the following assignment of error:
{¶ 6} "The trial court erred to the prejudice of [appellant] when it ordered consecutive sentences."
{¶ 7} In connection with his assignment of error, appellant raises two arguments: first, that the trial court failed to provide the reasons supporting its finding that consecutive sentences were necessary; and, second, that the trial court failed to give appropriate weight to mitigating factors when it determined that consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future crime by appellant.
{¶ 8} The imposition of consecutive sentences is governed, in part, by R.C.
{¶ 9} "If multiple prison terms are imposed on an offender for convictions of multiple offenses, the court may require the offender to serve the prison terms consecutively if the court finds that the consecutive service is necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish the offender and that consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the offender's conduct and to the danger the offender poses to the public, and if the court also finds any of the following:
{¶ 10} "(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.{¶ 11} "(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.
{¶ 12} "(c) The offender's history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by the offender."
{¶ 13} Additionally, if the trial court chooses to impose consecutive sentences, it must state its reasons for doing so. R.C.
{¶ 14} In sum, there are three findings a trial court must make before imposing consecutive sentences: (1) consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public or punish the offender; (2) consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the offender's conduct; and (3) one of the three factors set forth in R.C.
{¶ 15} In the instant case, the trial court found in its September 25, 2001 judgment entry that "consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish [appellant] and are not disproportionate to the seriousness of [appellant's] conduct and the danger [appellant] poses to the public, and [appellant's] history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by [appellant]." The trial court clearly made the requisite findings as set forth in R.C.
{¶ 16} The trial court also supplied reasons sufficient to support its imposition of consecutive sentences. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court told appellant:
{¶ 17} "* * * I find that both cases involve violence. There has been a continuing propensity for violence throughout your adult life * * *.
{¶ 18} "And the particular officer involved in this case, although he tried to act as most deputies would, I have to indicate that he was injured. Did receive injuries to his head from the head butt that you delivered and your continued fighting with him after he tried to arrest you and the conduct with the other victim has been continuing and continuous and the public needs protection from people like you * * *."
{¶ 19} The trial court's observation of appellant's propensity for violence and, in this particular case, violence towards a law enforcement official, was more than adequate to provide underlying reasons for the imposition of consecutive sentences as mandated by R.C.
{¶ 20} In the second issue raised by appellant, he appears to argue that the trial court erred in finding that consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future crime by appellant. In support of this contention, appellant posits a series of facts and circumstances that he contends serve to mitigate his behavior with respect to the incidents which led to his convictions: (1) he endured an extremely abusive childhood; (2) he suffers from mental disturbances, including an anger management disorder, which causes him to act aggressively when he fears that he will be abandoned by a woman with whom he is in a relationship; (3) he was abusing alcohol at the time of the offenses; and (4) he expressed genuine remorse for his crimes.
{¶ 21} With respect to the first three factors that appellant suggests mitigate his behavior, we would note that R.C.
{¶ 22} R.C.
{¶ 23} For the foregoing reasons, appellant's sole assignment of error is without merit, and the judgment entry of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
WILLIAM M. O'NEILL, P.J., DIANE V. GRENDELL, J., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.