State v. Sullivan, Unpublished Decision (11-9-2005)
State v. Sullivan, Unpublished Decision (11-9-2005)
Opinion of the Court
Defendant-appellant Jeffrey Sullivan pleaded no contest to, and was found guilty of, felonious assault, a felony of the second degree, in the case numbered B-0308370. Sullivan pleaded guilty to illegal conveyance of weapons/drugs onto the grounds of a detention facility or institution, a felony of the third degree, in the case numbered B-0400898. He was sentenced to four years' incarceration on the felonious-assault conviction and to a concurrent one-year term on the illegal-conveyance conviction. Sullivan has appealed the trial court's judgment in both cases, but he has not raised any assignment of error as to his illegal-conveyance conviction. Therefore, the appeal in the case numbered C-0400898 is hereby dismissed.
Sullivan's first assignment of error, alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel, is overruled because the record reveals that Sullivan's counsel did not violate any of his essential duties to his client, and that there exists no reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different in the absence of counsel's alleged ineffectiveness. See Strickland v. Washington (1984),
The second assignment of error alleges that the trial court erred in imposing more than the minimum sentence for felonious assault. Felonious assault is a second-degree felony, for which the sentence is two to eight years' incarceration. Sullivan was sentenced to four years' incarceration.
In State v. Montgomery,
The trial court imposed more than the minimum sentence for the felonious assault based upon the findings that the minimum sentence would demean the seriousness of Sullivan's crime and fail to adequately protect the public. The findings were expressly based, in part, on Sullivan's prior history of convictions and juvenile adjudications. Sullivan's criminal record included adult convictions for criminal trespass, drug abuse and resisting arrest. His numerous juvenile adjudications included assault, felonious assault on a police officer, menacing, criminal trespass, drug abuse and drug trafficking. In light of Sullivan's criminal history, we cannot find clearly and convincingly that the record does not support the trial court's findings or that the findings are contrary to law. We hold that the trial court did not err in imposing more than the minimum sentence on Sullivan even though he had not previously served a prison term. The second assignment of error is overruled.
Therefore, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Further, a certified copy of this Judgment Entry shall constitute the mandate, which shall be sent to the trial court under App.R. 27. Costs shall be taxed under App.R. 24.
Doan, P.J., Sundermann and Hendon, JJ.
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