STATE OF OHIO v. ROBERT ROSE
Appellate Case No. 24196
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT MONTGOMERY COUNTY
July 22, 2011
2011-Ohio-3616
Triаl Court Case No. 2009-CR-2985 (Criminal Appeal from Common Pleas Court)
OPINION
Rendered on the 22nd day of July, 2011.
MATHIAS H. HECK, JR., by JOHNNA M. SHIA, Atty. Reg. #0067685, Montgomery County Prosecutor‘s Office, Appellate Division, Montgomery County Courts Building, P.O. Box 972, 301 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45422 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee
BRYAN K. PENICK, Atty. Reg. #0071489, Byran K. Penick Co., LPA, 371 West First Street, Second Floor, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant
RICE, J., sitting by assignment.
{¶ 1} After pleading guilty to one count of felony-four burglary, appellant, Robert Rose, was sentenсed to serve 15 months in prison and ordered to pay the victims $31,844.87 in restitution. At issue in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in ordering restitution.
{¶ 2} On June 6, 2009, Corwin and Deborah Newell‘s home was burglarized. Appellant was eventually arrested and сharged by bill of information with one count of burglary, in violation of
{¶ 3} Ms. Newell testified she had provided the list to her insurance company and received an insurance settlement in the amount of $4,013.13. After considering the testimony, Ms. Newell‘s list, the police report, and the insurance settlement, the trial court determined Ms. Newell suffered an economic loss of $31,844.87 and entered judgment in that amount in the victim‘s favor.
{¶ 4} Appellant now appeals and assigns the following error for our consideration:
{¶ 5} “The trial court erred in imposing a sentence that was unsuрported by the record and contrary to law.”
{¶ 6} Appellant asserts the trial court erred in awarding restitution in the amount of $31,844.87 because: (1) the order was not comparable to the victim‘s eсonomic losses and, thus, resulted in an unjust economic windfall inuring in the victim‘s favor; and (2) the trial court failed to consider appellant‘s present and future ability to pay.
{¶ 7} We review a trial court‘s ordеr of restitution under an abuse of discretion standard. See, e.g., State v. Naylor, Montgomery App. No. 24098, 2011-Ohio-960, at ¶22. A trial court abuses its discretion when its restitution order fails to “* * * bear a reasonable relationship to the actual financial loss suffered.” State v. Ratliff, Clark App. No. 10-CA-61, 2011-Ohio-2313, at ¶9, citing State v. Williams (1986), 34 Ohio App.3d 33. This Court has noted that abuse of discretion has been defined as “[a]n appellate court‘s standard for reviewing a decision that is asserted to be grossly unsound, unreasonable, illegal, or unsupported by the evidence.” State v. Boles, 187 Ohio App.3d 345, 2010-Ohio-278, at ¶18, quoting Black‘s Law Dictionary (8 Ed.Rev.2004) 11.
{¶ 8} With respect to a restitution order, this court has explained that a trial court acts within its discretion if there is “* * * competent, credible evidence in the recоrd to support the trial court‘s order of restitution ‘to a reasonable degree of certainty.’ ” Ratliff, supra, at ¶15, quoting State v. Summers, Montgomery App. No. 21465, 2006-Ohio-3199, at ¶44. Thus, “[t]he amount of restitution requested should, if necessary, be substantiated through documentary or testimоnial evidence.” State v. Bender, Champaign App. No. 2004 CA 11, 2005-Ohio-919, at ¶10.
{¶ 9} In sentencing a defendant, a court may impose financial sanctions in an amount based upon a victim‘s financial loss suffered as a result of an underlying crime.
{¶ 10} “If the court impоses restitution, the court shall order that the restitution be made to the victim in open court, to the adult probation department that serves the county on behalf of the victim, to the clerk of courts, or to another agency designated by the court. If the court
{¶ 11} Pursuant to
{¶ 12} In this case, the trial court held a restitution hearing to establish the economic loss the victim suffered as a result of the burglary to which appellant pleaded guilty. At the hearing, Ms. Newell testified she and her husband had compiled a list of the items that were taken in the burglary for purposes of reimbursement from their insurance company. The inventory consisted of 103 items, each of which included an estimated cash value as well as a cost “to repair/replace.” Attached to the inventory were nine receipts which specifically documented the value of several items included in the summary.
{¶ 13} Many of the items in the inventory were pieces of jewelry. The values of items
{¶ 14} After submitting their insurance claim, the record reveals Ms. Newell and her husband received a check for $4,013 from their insurance company. While the amount was significantly lower than the estimated value of the loss, Ms. Newell testified she did not have her jеwelry independently insured and her home owner‘s policy had an aggregate “special limit liability” of $2,500 on lost jewelry claims.
{¶ 15} Ms. Newell acknowledged that, upon reporting the burglary, she told the resрonding officer she had lost approximately $10,000 in jewelry; she testified, however, that, at that time, she had not fully examined the extent of her losses. Given the testimony and exhibits, the trial court‘s restitution order bеars a reasonable relationship to the victim‘s losses. Our analysis, however, does not end with this conclusion.
{¶ 16} As discussed above, in ordering restitution, a trial court is required to consider a defendant‘s рresent and future ability to pay the amount ordered. In State v. Ayers, Greene App. No. 2004CA0034, 2005-Ohio-44, this court held a trial court‘s order of restitution was contrary to law because there was nothing in the record indicating the trial court considered the defendant‘s ability to pay the ordered amount. This court observed:
{¶ 17} “Information contained in a presentence investigation report relating to defendant‘s age, health, educаtion and employment history, coupled with a statement by the trial
{¶ 18} Other cases from this district are equally clear as to a trial court‘s obligation on this issue. See State v. Frock, Clark App. No. 2004 CA 76, 2007-Ohio-1026, at ¶6-9 (PSI in record but restitution order reversed for court‘s failure to adequately consider the defendant‘s ability to pay); State v. Hill, Clark App. No. 04CA0047, 2005-Ohio-3877, at ¶11-12 (restitution order reversed becаuse record did not “affirmatively reflect” the court‘s consideration of a defendant‘s ability to pay); State v. Moore (Oct. 30, 1998), Greene App. No. 97CA137, (restitution was appropriate but contrary to law because court failed to сonsider the defendant‘s ability to pay).
{¶ 19} In this case, there is no evidence in the record suggesting the trial court considered appellant‘s present and future ability to pay the amount of the rеstitution order. The court did not state it reviewed the PSI; and, in fact, the PSI was waived. Without some indication that the court possessed information from which we could infer it met its statutory obligation of considering appellant‘s ability to pay the restitution order, e.g., a PSI or something else in the
{¶ 20} We therefore hold that, even though the amount ordered bears a reasonable relationship to the losses suffered, without considering appellant‘s ability to pay the finаncial sanction, the order must be reversed and vacated. Appellant‘s assignment of error is accordingly sustained.
{¶ 21} For the reasons discussed in this opinion, the restitution order entered by the Montgоmery County Court of Common Pleas is reversed and the matter is remanded to the trial court for a determination of appellant‘s present and future ability to pay restitution and resentencing on thаt issue. All other aspects of appellant‘s sentence, however, remain unaffected by this judgment and order.
FROELICH and HALL, JJ., concur.
(Hon. Cynthia Westcott Rice, Eleventh District Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio).
Copies mailed to:
Mathias H. Heck, Jr./Johnna M. Shia
Bryan K. Penick
Hon. Frances E. McGee
