State v. Soto
State v. Soto
Opinion
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Travis Soto ("Soto"), brings this appeal from the April 13, 2017, judgment of the Putnam County Common Pleas Court denying Soto's motion to dismiss on the grounds of double jeopardy.
Relevant Facts and Procedural History
{¶ 2} On or about January 23, 2006, Soto's toddler son was killed. Soto represented to law enforcement and the Lucas County Coroner that his son was struck while Soto was driving an all-terrain vehicle ("ATV") and that his son died as a result. Consistent with Soto's representations to law enforcement, the coroner concluded that the child died of blunt force trauma caused by an ATV accident.
{¶ 3} On March 31, 2006, Soto was charged with Child Endangering in violation of R.C. 2919.22(A) /(E)(1)(c), a felony of the third degree, and Involuntary Manslaughter in violation of R.C. 2903.04(A), a *620 felony of the first degree. It was alleged that Soto committed Involuntary Manslaughter by causing the death of his son while committing the predicate felony offense of Child Endangering.
{¶ 4} Subsequently, Soto entered into a negotiated plea agreement wherein he agreed to plead guilty to Child Endangering and in exchange the Involuntary Manslaughter charge was dismissed. As a result of Soto's conviction, the record indicates that Soto was sentenced to serve 5 years in prison.
{¶ 5} On or about July 25, 2016, Soto voluntarily appeared at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and allegedly indicated that he wanted to provide a "truthful" account of what happened to his son. Soto told the police that he had actually beat his son to death back in 2006 and that he had staged the ATV accident scene.
{¶ 6} The Lucas County Coroner's original 2006 report was then reviewed by a pediatric abuse specialist who concluded that the toddler had actually died of multiple blunt force trauma due to Soto's violent actions. The expert concluded that Soto's original 2006 misrepresentations "led to the reasonably yet faulty conclusions of the Lucas County Coroner." (Doc. No. 29).
{¶ 7} On August 15, 2016, Soto was indicted by the Putnam County Grand Jury for Aggravated Murder in violation of R.C. 2903.01(C), an unclassified felony, Murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B), an unclassified felony, Felonious Assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1), a felony of the first degree, Kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01, a felony of the first degree, and Tampering with Evidence in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), a felony of the third degree.
{¶ 8} On October 11, 2016, Soto filed a "Motion to Dismiss on the Grounds of Double Jeopardy." In the motion, Soto argued that in his original 2006 prosecution, a charge of Involuntary Manslaughter was dismissed when he pled guilty to Child Endangering. Soto contended that the judgment entries and transcripts from that case did not address whether the matter would be dismissed with or without prejudice, but the "entries in the record makes one think that a change of pleas [sic] to child endangering also disposed of the involuntary manslaughter charge." (Doc. No. 28). Soto contended that Involuntary Manslaughter was a lesser included offense of both Murder and Aggravated Murder, which he argued would bar a subsequent prosecution of Soto on those charges.
{¶ 9} On October 18, 2016, the State filed a response. The State contended that pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's decision in
Blockburger v. United States
,
{¶ 10} The State contended that because of his prior false narrative Soto could not have reasonably believed that his negotiated plea to Child Endangering would bar prosecution of subsequent homicide charges based on the truth. Further, the State argued that subsequent prosecution
*621
on a more serious crime was not barred in a situation where the State was unable to proceed on a more serious charge because the additional facts necessary to sustain the charge had not yet occurred or had not yet been discovered despite the exercise of due diligence.
See
Brown v. Ohio
,
{¶ 11} On April 13, 2017, the trial court filed its judgment entry determining Soto's motion to dismiss. The trial court found that pursuant to Blockburger , Felonious Assault, Kidnapping, Tampering with Evidence, and Aggravated Murder all required proof of an element not required or included in the original prosecution of Child Endangering and Involuntary Manslaughter, which would permit multiple prosecutions. As to the Murder charge, the trial court determined that Soto could not have reasonably believed that his 2006 negotiated plea based on his prior false narrative of events would bar prosecution of a purposeful homicide. Further, the trial court indicated that Involuntary Manslaughter with a Child Endangering predicate was not the same offense as Murder with a Felonious Assault predicate. Finally, the trial court determined that the facts to support the 2016 indictment could not have been discovered in the exercise of due diligence until the additional evidence was uncovered. Thus the trial court overruled Soto's motion to dismiss.
{¶ 12} It is from this judgment that Soto appeals, asserting the following assignment of error for our review. 1
Assignment of Error
The trial court erred [in] overrul[ing] Defendant's Motion to Dismiss on Double Jeopardy Grounds.
{¶ 13} In Soto's assignment of error, he contends that the trial court erred by overruling his motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds. Specifically, Soto argues that his 2006 plea that resulted in the dismissal of the Involuntary Manslaughter charge should bar the current prosecution because Involuntary Manslaughter is a lesser included offense of Aggravated Murder and Murder. Further, Soto argues that the trial court did not support its finding that Soto could not have reasonably believed that the earlier dismissal would bar future prosecution for the death of Soto's son. Finally, Soto argues that the State did not reserve any right to bring additional charges in the original dismissal of his Involuntary Manslaughter charge.
Standard of Review
{¶ 14} Appellate courts review the denial of a motion to dismiss an indictment on the grounds of double jeopardy de novo, "because it is a pure question of law."
State v. Mutter
,
Relevant Authority and Analysis
{¶ 15} "Where successive prosecutions are at stake, the double jeopardy guarantee serves 'a constitutional policy of finality for the defendant's benefit.' "
State v. Liberatore,
{¶ 16} The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no person shall "be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." Through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, this protection applies to individuals prosecuted by the State of Ohio.
State v. Brown
,
{¶ 17} Principally, "The Double Jeopardy Clauses [of both Constitutions] protect against three abuses: (1) 'a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal,' (2) 'a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction,' and (3) 'multiple punishments for the same offense.' "
Mutter
at ¶ 15 quoting
North Carolina v. Pearce,
{¶ 18} "In determining whether an accused is being successively prosecuted for the 'same offense,' the [Supreme Court of Ohio] * * * adopted the 'same elements' test articulated [by the Supreme Court of the United States] in
Blockburger v. United States
(1932),
*623
(Emphasis added.)
United States v. Dixon
,
{¶ 19} In this case, Soto argues that he should not be able to be prosecuted for Aggravated Murder and Murder due to the fact that his prior 2006 plea agreement disposed of a count of Involuntary Manslaughter against him. In support of his position, Soto cites multiple cases wherein the Supreme Court of Ohio has stated that Involuntary Manslaughter is a lesser included offense of both Aggravated Murder and Murder.
See
State v. Lynch
,
{¶ 20} Both the Supreme Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of Ohio have addressed situations where government entities attempted to prosecute an individual for a greater offense after a defendant had been convicted of a lesser included offense. In
Brown v. Ohio
,
{¶ 21} More recently, the Supreme Court of Ohio considered a situation where a defendant was prosecuted for a "misdemeanor offense that was a lesser included offense of the felony for which [he was] originally indicted." Mutter , supra , at ¶ 22. The Supreme Court of Ohio determined that "a misdemeanor conviction for a lesser included offense bars the state from indicting the same defendant for a felony that by definition included the misdemeanor offense within it as a lesser included offense, arising from the same facts." Id.
{¶ 22} Here, Soto was never convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter; however, he was charged with Involuntary Manslaughter in 2006 and that charge was dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement wherein Soto agreed to plead guilty to Child Endangering, the predicate offense of the Involuntary Manslaughter. Notably, the new charges against Soto, which include Aggravated Murder and Murder, were also filed after Soto served his 5-year prison sentence on the Child Endangering conviction related to the death of his son. Thus while Soto was not convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, he was in jeopardy of being tried and convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter but-for the plea agreement, resulting in his conviction and sentence for the predicate offense of Child Endangering. Involuntary Manslaughter is a lesser included offense of Aggravated Murder and Murder, as the Supreme Court of Ohio has stated, thus it would seem that a subsequent prosecution would be barred in these circumstances.
{¶ 23} The dissent argues that because the Involuntary Manslaughter count in the original prosecution was dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement Double Jeopardy should not be implicated here. In support, the dissent cites language from
*624
State v. Bonarrigo
,
{¶ 24} Moreover, while the trial court found that under the Blockburger test Aggravated Murder and Murder contained additional elements that Involuntary Manslaughter did not have, Blockburger actually requires that each offense contain an element that the other does not in order for a subsequent prosecution to be permissible. The Supreme Court of Ohio has determined that when comparing elements the
test is not a word game to be performed by rote by matching the words chosen by the legislature to define criminal offenses. Some offenses, such as aggravated murder and murder, lend themselves to such a simple matching test; others do not. [Citations omitted] * * * The proper overall focus is on the nature and circumstances of the offenses as defined, rather than on the precise words used to define them.
State v. Thomas
,
{¶ 25} Turning then to the actual elements of the crimes involved with the Supreme Court of Ohio's standards in mind, the original 2006 charge of Involuntary Manslaughter was alleged to be a violation of R.C. 2903.04(A), which reads, "No person shall cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy as a proximate result of the offender's committing or attempting to commit a felony." R.C. 2903.04(A). 3
{¶ 26} The 2016 indictment alleges one count of Aggravated Murder, which requires proof that, "No person shall purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy." R.C. 2903.01. The 2016 indictment also alleges one count of Murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B), which reads, "No person shall cause the death of another as a proximate result of the offender's committing or attempting to commit an offense of violence that is a felony of the first or second degree and that is not a violation of section 2903.03 or 2903.04 of the Revised Code." The offense of violence alleged in the 2016 indictment is Felonious Assault in violation *625 of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1), which reads, "No person shall knowingly * * * [c]ause serious physical harm to another or to another's unborn."
{¶ 27} Based on the guidance of the Supreme Court of Ohio that an elements' test is not a "rote" matching test, we cannot agree with the trial court that
both
Aggravated Murder and Involuntary Manslaughter contain elements that the other does not. While Aggravated Murder does contain the language of "prior calculation and design," which Involuntary Manslaughter does not have, the Supreme Court of Ohio has held that "[A]ggravated [M]urder with prior calculation and design, * * * is defined as [M]urder with an enhanced mental state. Thus the only distinguishing factor between R.C. 2903.01(A) [Aggravated Murder] and [I]nvoluntary [M]anslaughter is, as in the case of murder, the mental state involved."
Thomas
,
{¶ 28} Alternatively, the State argues that even if the offenses are considered the same under
Blockburger
, there is an exception to
Blockburger
that would allow a subsequent prosecution if the additional facts necessary to sustain a charge have not yet occurred or have not been discovered despite the exercise of due diligence.
Brown v. Ohio
,
{¶ 29} We do not believe either of these assumptions are constitutionally tenable in making a double jeopardy determination. On the contrary, regardless of a criminal defendant's narrative, it is the State's responsibility to properly and thoroughly investigate the matter in regard to making an accurate assessment of what happened, determining the appropriate charges based on those facts, and determining what, if any, plea negotiations to accept once charges have been brought.
{¶ 30} Notably, there is no evidence in the record before us, nor has the State presented any, to indicate that at the time of the original plea agreement the State reserved the right to bring additional charges related to the death of Soto's child.
See
State v. Carpenter
,
{¶ 31} Regardless of the status of the record as to any reservation of rights by the State at the original plea, the trial court determined that because Soto was not forthright in confessing his true culpability in his original statement to law enforcement, he could not have reasonably believed that his 2006 negotiated plea would have barred prosecution of the subsequent charges, citing a case from the Tenth District Court of Appeals in support.
See
State v. Bridges
, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 14AP-602,
{¶ 32} Furthermore, in
Bridges
, the Tenth District actually distinguished its own case in
State v. Church
, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 12AP-34,
{¶ 33} Finally, while we may be somewhat sympathetic to the notion that Soto's conduct, which may even constitute a separate crime, should not in any way be rewarded or might even be construed as a waiver of a defendant's constitutional rights in some circumstances, as noted earlier we are not convinced that this conduct supersedes either the duty of the State to independently investigate and prosecute crime, or the Double Jeopardy rights of the defendant where, as here, he has been convicted and served his sentenced for the offense pled to in exchange for dismissing the Involuntary Manslaughter.
{¶ 34} Based on these circumstances and the holding of the United States Supreme Court in Blockburger and the Supreme Court of Ohio in Thomas , we find that because Involuntary Manslaughter constitutes a lesser included offense of Aggravated Murder and Murder, the principles of Double Jeopardy would prevent a subsequent prosecution of Soto for Aggravated Murder and Murder in this instance.
{¶ 35} In sum, it is our conclusion that it was the responsibility of the State to thoroughly and forensically investigate the matter at the outset, and to thoroughly vet Soto's story when his son first died. The State did so to the extent it was satisfied back in 2006 and brought the original charges regarding the death of Soto's child. The State then negotiated a plea agreement based on those conclusions and dismissed the homicide charge without any indication in the record as to further reservation regarding future developments. Finally, Soto then served his entire sentence emanating from that negotiated plea agreement. Under these circumstances we are compelled to find that Soto cannot now be prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced *627 again for the death of the same child. Accordingly, for all of these reasons Soto's assignment of error is sustained.
Conclusion
{¶ 36} For the foregoing reasons the assignment of error is sustained and the judgment of the Putnam County Common Pleas Court is reversed. This cause is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Judgment Reversed and Cause Remanded
WILLAMOWSKI, P.J., concurs.
ZIMMERMAN, J., dissents.
{¶ 37} I start my dissent noting that our record does not contain any facts surrounding the defendant-appellant's original plea. Soto's underlying plea to the charge of Child Endangering and the State's voluntary dismissal of the Involuntary Manslaughter charge have relevance to the proceedings before us. Specifically, did Soto plead no contest; did the State nolle the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter; did the negotiated plea between Soto and the State occur after commencement of a trial? These questions are unanswered.
{¶ 38} However, for purposes of my dissent, I must presume that the underlying proceedings were "regular" since a "presumption of regularity" attaches to all judicial proceedings.
See generally
,
State v. Richardson
,
{¶ 39} Herein, the
nolle
of the Involuntary Manslaughter count by the State neither operated as an acquittal nor prevented further prosecution of the offense.
See
Bucolo v. Adkins
,
{¶ 40} Accordingly, I agree with the trial court's denial of Soto's motion to dismiss for different reasons, and contend that double jeopardy does not apply in this case because Soto was not convicted or punished for any offense that is a lesser included offense of the charges set forth in the new 2017 indictment.
{¶ 41} The only possible valid legal issue in this case is whether or not Soto's speedy trial rights were violated after his indictment for murder and aggravated murder charges. However, that issue is not before us.
{¶ 42} I therefore dissent.
The Supreme Court of Ohio has determined that the denial of a motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds is a final appealable order.
State v. Anderson
,
All of Soto's arguments on appeal pertain to the charges of Aggravated Murder and Murder. He does not appear to contend that the remaining charges against him are barred by Double Jeopardy. In fact, in his summary of the issue presented for review in his brief, Soto states the issue as "Whether the Defendant's earlier guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter barred prosecution for murder and aggravated murder 11 years later." Notably the prior guilty plea was not to involuntary manslaughter, making that an incorrect statement; however, this summary is consistent with the position that Soto raises no challenges regarding the remaining counts against him.
The felony allegedly committed was Child Endangering in violation of R.C. 2919.22(A) /(E)(1)(c), which reads, "No person, who is the parent * * * of a child * * * shall create a substantial risk to the health or safety of the child, by violating a duty of care, protection, or support. * * * If the violation * * * results in serious physical harm to the child involved, [it is] a felony of the third degree[.]"
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Travis SOTO, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Charges of Aggravated Murder and Murder are barred by double jeopardy.