State v. Moore, Unpublished Decision (6-26-2003)
State v. Moore, Unpublished Decision (6-26-2003)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} At the resentencing hearing, the court stated:
{¶ 4} "The defendant has committed the worst forms of these offenses, [sic] this was not just a robbery, this was not just a felonious assault, this was not just a kidnapping. Tying this woman up, hog fashion, stuffing her mouth, beating her with a padlock, are indeed the worst forms of kidnapping, assault and robbery.
{¶ 5} "Moreover, there was a relationship between the defendants and this victim. They were rent free tenants of her home. This was a great show of appreciation.
{¶ 6} "The victim did receive serious injuries, and needed to be transported by ambulance and received medical treatment for these injuries.
{¶ 7} "I agree with the State that in light of the victim's statements here in this court, there must have been some psychological harm as well, maybe that's continuing.1
{¶ 8} "Maybe — I'm not a psychologist, but it appears that while many victims forgive their assaults — the people who assault them, they still though recognize the danger to the public of — of their perpetrators. This victim doesn't seem to have any recognition of that fact.
{¶ 9} "While the court notes that this is the offender's first prison term, to sentence to community control would number 1, it would violate the spirit of Senate Bill 2. These are all felon[ies] of the first degree2 which carry presumption of prison. You don't overcome the presumption of prison merely by having it be your first time. I don't think that's anywhere in the law. I don't even believe our Court of Appeals have [sic] reached that conclusion.
{¶ 10} "Also, this defendant did commit the worst form of these offenses, and to sentence him to community control would seriously demean the activities of August 17, 2000. It would in fact be open season on the members of our county, on the citizens of our county.
{¶ 11} "The court finds, [sic] make the following findings: Defendant has committed the worst form of these offense[s], the maximum sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime, to sentence otherwise would seriously demean the nature of the offenses, given the extreme brutality and seriousness of the offender's conduct and relationship between the parties.
{¶ 12} "But for the appearance of the police in this case, defendant's conduct would not have abated. Even with the appearance of the police in this case, there was a serious opportunity for the conduct to not have abated, had this woman not been able to squeal loud enough for those two officers to hear her, they may have accepted the blatant representations of this defendant and his cohorts that nothing was going on in that apartment. And this woman may have been beaten to death but for them overhearing her screams.
{¶ 13} "Consecutive sentences in this case are not disproportionate to the danger this offender poses to the public. This is almost a made for TV movie, but, because the victim survived, due to the good work of the Cleveland Police Department, I don't think Hollywood would be interested.
{¶ 14} "Therefore, the court imposes the original sentence that the court imposed originally, which is, maximum ten-year sentence for aggravated robbery, which is Count 1, * * * eight years on the felonious assault, Count 2, ten years on aggravated burglary [Count 3], and ten years on kidnapping, to run consecutive.
{¶ 15} "Mr. [Moore], your remorse in this case came almost two years too late. Remorse should have been August 17th, 2000, prior to starting to beat this woman, prior to tying her up, prior to telling the police there was nothing going on in that apartment. That's the remorse."
{¶ 17} To impose consecutive sentences, a court must find that (1) the consecutive service is necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish the offender; (2) 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 (3) one of the following: (a) the offender committed the multiple offenses while the offender was awaiting trial or sentencing, was under a sanction imposed pursuant to section
{¶ 18} Here, the court did not make the requisite findings for the imposition of consecutive sentences. The court merely stated that consecutive sentences "in this case are not disproportionate to the danger this offender poses to the public."
PATRICIA A. BLACKMON, J., CONCURS. ANNE L. KILBANE, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE OPINION.
Dissenting Opinion
{¶ 20} On this appeal from an order of Judge Kathleen A. Sutula that resentenced Latavius Moore to the same thirty-eight year prison term that had been vacated and remanded in a prior appeal,3 I dissent. Although I agree that the judge failed to make the proper findings before imposing consecutive sentences, there is no need to remand for another attempt at sentencing because the judgment should be modified pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 21} Moore, along with two others, was involved in a violent robbery of Mary Jo Gilmore, who had allowed the three to stay at her home until the attack. Ms. Gilmore was tied up in her bedroom and beaten, both with fists and a padlock, and among her injuries suffered a wound to her head that required five stitches to close. On November 9, 2000, then twenty-year-old Moore pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, aggravated burglary, and kidnapping. Three of the four offenses are first degree felonies, while felonious assault is a second degree felony. The judge held a sentencing hearing on November 29, 2000, imposed maximum and consecutive prison sentences resulting in an aggregate prison term of thirty-eight years, and entered a judgment of conviction and sentence on February 7, 2001.
{¶ 22} In Moore I this court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing because the judge failed to comply with statutory sentencing requirements. A second sentencing hearing was held on August 19, 2002 and, as the majority notes, the judge again found Moore deserving of maximum and consecutive sentences although she again failed to comply with statutory sentencing requirements, and imposed the same sentence previously imposed in Moore I.
{¶ 23} Before imposing consecutive sentences, R.C.
{¶ 24} Moore was not subject to any other criminal proceedings when the offenses took place and, although his criminal history included two prior arrests, there was no indication of prior convictions or that he had previously served a prison term. Therefore, among the three alternatives available in R.C.
{¶ 25} I do not doubt that Ms. Gilmore suffered emotional and psychological trauma as a result of the event, but there was no evidence that she sought or required treatment for psychological trauma, and her most serious physical injury was a wound to the head that required five stitches to treat. Moreover, she stated her forgiveness of Moore and requested leniency at both sentencing hearings. When compared with other "conduct normally constituting the offense"4 and the injuries suffered by other robbery victims, the record does not show that her injuries are so great or unusual that consecutive sentences are necessary.
{¶ 26} In addition, even though the charged offenses arose from a single event, Moore pleaded guilty to all four and the judge sentenced him to maximum consecutive terms. Based upon the "abstract" analysis employed by State v. Rance,5 the Moore I court rejected his claims that some or all of the offenses were allied6 and that determination is not reviewable here. Nevertheless, consecutive sentences based on offenses arising from a single event should be carefully scrutinized to ensure that multiple punishments are not only authorized, but necessary and appropriate to crimes arising from a single event.7 Despite the "abstract" analysis employed in Rance, the facts of the offenses committed can and should be considered when imposing sentence. Where offenses are factually allied the judge should be less inclined to impose consecutive prison terms even if the offenses are not legally allied under Rance.8
{¶ 27} Not only does R.C.
{¶ 28} A defendant convicted of murder pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 29} I agree that the power to modify a sentence under R.C.
{¶ 30} Because there is no basis for finding that a single prison term will be inadequate to punish him or protect the public from future crime and his lack of a significant criminal history prevents a finding that he presents an extraordinary risk of recidivism, I would sustain Moore's third and fourth assignments of error, find the others moot,15 and modify his sentence to make the sentences concurrent instead of consecutive.
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