State v. Bollar, 172 N.E.3d 499

On August 13, 2019, Marquis Bollar shot and killed Erica DeLong; he was a felon under disability and not permitted to possess a firearm.
A Stark County grand jury indicted Bollar on felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and having weapons under disability; each count carried a firearm specification.
The state dismissed felony murder; Bollar pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, having weapons under disability, and the firearm specifications.
The trial court merged involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault as allied offenses for sentencing but nonetheless imposed two three-year prison terms for firearm specifications and ordered them consecutive to the manslaughter term; it also imposed 36 months for weapons under disability, yielding an aggregate minimum of 20 years.
Bollar appealed, arguing that because the two violent counts merged, only one firearm specification sentence could lawfully be imposed; the court affirmed the sentencing entry.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether R.C. 2929.14(B)(1)(g) permits imposing multiple firearm-specification prison terms when the underlying felonies are merged as allied offenses	The State: the statute requires the court to impose prison terms for the two most serious firearm specifications if the offender is convicted/pleads guilty to two or more felonies of the enumerated types; convictions survive merger (Whitfield), so specs remain enforceable	Bollar: when two offenses merge as allied, no separate underlying sentence exists for the merged count, so its attendant firearm specification cannot be given a separate enhancing sentence	The court held R.C. 2929.14(B)(1)(g) authorizes imposing the two most serious firearm-specification terms; guilty pleas/convictions remain despite merger, so specifications need not merge and the trial court acted lawfully

State v. Ruff, 34 N.E.3d 892 (Ohio 2015) (articulates allied-offenses test; dissimilar import if separate victims or separate identifiable harms)
State v. Whitfield, 922 N.E.2d 182 (Ohio 2010) (conviction for an allied offense survives merger for sentencing; do not vacate guilt determination)
State v. Ford, 945 N.E.2d 498 (Ohio 2011) (firearm specification is a sentence enhancement that increases an underlying felony sentence)
State v. Bickerstaff, 461 N.E.2d 892 (Ohio 1984) (review of cumulative punishments focuses on whether legislature authorized separate punishments)
Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359 (U.S. 1983) (Double Jeopardy does not bar cumulative punishments authorized by legislature)