STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, - vs - LEON SHAVERS III, Defendant-Appellant.
CASE NO. CA2014-05-119
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BUTLER COUNTY
4/20/2015
[Cite as State v. Shavers, 2015-Ohio-1485.]
HENDRICKSON, J.
CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. CR2013-10-1659
Charles M. Conliff, P.O. Box 18424, Fairfield, Ohio 45018-0424, for defendant-appellant
O P I N I O N
HENDRICKSON, J.
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Leon Shavers, appeals his convictions in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas after entering guilty pleas to trafficking in heroin. For the reasons detailed below, we affirm the decision of the trial court.
{¶ 2} Appellant was indicted in November 2013 on 15 counts involving possession and trafficking in heroin and cocaine. On April 3, 2014, pursuant to a plea agreement, appellant pled guilty to three counts in trafficking heroin: (1) Count 5, trafficking in heroin, in
{¶ 3} Assignment of Error No. 1:
{¶ 4} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO APPELLANT‘S PREJUDICE BY ACCEPTING A GUILTY PLEA ON THE PREMISE THAT HE WOULD RECEIVE A SINGLE MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCE WHEN APPELLANT‘S UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR A BLENDED SENTENCE CONSISTING OF MANDATORY AND NON-MANDATORY TIME.
{¶ 5} In his first assignment of error, appellant argues that his plea was not constitutionally sound because the trial court failed to advise him that he was going to receive a mandatory prison sentence. Appellant alleges that he believed he was going to receive a “blended” sentence consisting of some “non-mandatory” prison time combined with a lesser amount of “mandatory” prison time. We find appellant‘s argument has no merit.
{¶ 6} A defendant‘s plea in a criminal case is invalid if not made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. State v. Ackley, 12th Dist. Madison No. CA2013-04-010, 2014-Ohio-876, ¶ 8.
{¶ 7} Pursuant to
In felony cases the court may refuse to accept a plea of guilty or
a plea of no contest, and shall not accept a plea of guilty or no contest without first addressing the defendant personally and doing all of the following: (a) Determining that the defendant is making the plea voluntarily, with understanding of the nature of the charges and of the maximum penalty involved, and if applicable, that the defendant is not eligible for probation or for the imposition of community control sanctions at the sentencing hearing.
(b) Informing the defendant of and determining that the defendant understands the effect of the plea of guilty or no contest, and that the court, upon acceptance of the plea, may proceed with judgment and sentence.
(c) Informing the defendant and determining that the defendant understands that by the plea the defendant is waiving the rights to jury trial, to confront witnesses against him or her, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in the defendant‘s favor, and to require the state to prove the defendant‘s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at a trial at which the defendant cannot be compelled to testify against himself or herself.
{¶ 8} “In conducting this colloquy, the trial judge must convey accurate information to the defendant so that the defendant can understand the consequences of his decision and enter a valid plea.” State v. Givens, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2014-02-047, 2015-Ohio-361, ¶ 11.
{¶ 9} A guilty plea is invalid if the trial court does not strictly comply with
{¶ 10} Even if we find the trial court did not substantially comply with
{¶ 11} In the present case, it is undisputed that the trial court strictly complied with the constitutional requirements of
{¶ 12} During the plea colloquy, the trial court initially stated that appellant was subjected to a “presumption” of prison time on all counts. However, because Counts 7 and 9 included mandatory prison time, the trial court corrected itself and instructed appellant of the maximum penalties and mandatory nature for the offenses. Specifically, the court stated:
THE COURT: * * * I‘ve been saying that prison is presumed in your case and it is with regards to Count 5 which is a felony in the third degree, but with regards to Counts 7 and 9, it‘s actually mandatory in your case so the Court has no option to place you on community control for those Counts. The Court must sentence you to prison for Counts 7 and 9 for a period between two and eight years on each of those Counts.
THE COURT: So the Court apologizes for any confusion that it might have caused, but again Count 5 is a presumption of prison and Counts 7 and 9 are required mandatory prison term[s]. Do you understand that?
APPELLANT: Yes ma‘am.
THE COURT: So the Court will be sending you to prison if it accepts your plea in this case and it will be for a period up to 36 months on Count 5 and for a period of up to eight years on each of Counts 7 and 9. Do you understand that?
APPELLANT: Yes ma‘am.
{¶ 13} After a thorough review of the record, we find the totality of circumstances
{¶ 14} Assignment of Error No. 2:
{¶ 15} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO APPELLANT‘S PREJUDICE BY IMPOSING A MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCE RATHER THAN A BLENDED SENTENCE INCLUDING BOTH MANDATORY TIME AND COMMUNITY CONTROL SANCTIONS.
{¶ 16} In his second assignment of error, appellant argues the trial court erred by imposing a six-year mandatory sentence on Counts 7 and 9. Appellant again argues the trial court should have imposed a “blended” sentence consisting of less mandatory prison time.
{¶ 17} We review the imposed sentence under the standard of review set forth in
{¶ 18} Instead, an appellate court may take any action authorized under
{¶ 19} As previously noted, appellant was convicted of trafficking in heroin in violation of
{¶ 20} Based on our review of the record, we find no error in the trial court‘s
{¶ 21} Judgment affirmed.
M. POWELL, P.J., and S. POWELL, J., concur.