State v. StewartState v. Stewart
Rachel A. Kopec
8748 Brecksville Road, Suite 200
Brecksville, OH 44141
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Michael C. O’Malley
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
Christine M. Vacha
Assistant County Prosecutor
Justice Center, 9th Floor
1200 Ontario Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
{¶1} Defendant-appellant Taylor Stewart challenges his 54-month sentence after being convicted of two felonies and a misdemeanor. Stewart first argues that the trial court did not properly consider the purposes of felony sentencing as required by
{¶2} While awaiting trial on an indictment for two counts of felonious assault and one count of domestic violence, аmongst other charges, Stewart was indicted again for subsequent crimes committed against the same victim. The second indictment consisted of one count of violating a protective order and one сount of intimidation of a crime victim or witness.
{¶3} Stewart subsequently pleaded guilty to charges from both indictments. From the first indictment, he pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault, a felony of the third degree. The remaining counts from that indictment were nolled. From the second, he pleaded guilty to attempted intimidation of a crime victim or witness, a felony of the fourth degree, and violating a protective order, а misdemeanor of the first degree.
{¶4} The court sentenced Stewart to 36 months in prison for the attempted felonious assault, 18 months in prison for the attempted intimidation, and time served for the protective оrder violation. The court ordered that his sentences run consecutively.
{¶6} In his first assignment of error, Stewart argues that his sentence is contrary to law because the trial court imposed a prison sentence without properly considering the requisite statutory factors from
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{¶9} The journal entry reflects that the trial court “considered all required factors of the law,” and that it found “that prison is consistent with the purpose of
{¶10} Stewart argues that community control or a lesser sentence would have “better satisfied” the requirements of
{¶11} The record shows that Stewart argued that for sentencing purpоses, the court should consider his relative youth, the fact that this was his first domestic violence case, that he had been screened and accepted into a Community Based Correctional Facility (“CBCF”) program, and his desire to not have additional contact with the victim. The record also shows that Stewart personally addressed the court regarding the domestic violence incident, stating that he was sorry, thаt it was a mistake, and that he did not mean to hurt the victim. He told the court that he “somewhat” had a history of being abused by his mother.
{¶12} The court disputed that it was his first domestic violence case and discussed two previous instances of domestic violence he was involved in, one of which was against his mother. The court also thought he was equivocating about his history of abuse.
{¶13} The state presented a summary of the victim’s statеment: the victim has multiple children, Stewart being the father of at least one. She lives in constant fear of her children’s safety and her own. Stewart violated a protection order and a no-contaсt order multiple times and has continued to threaten the victim. Stewart previously threatened the children and threatened to set the house on fire. The victim wanted to move because Stewart knows where they live.
{¶15} In light of the above, we find no merit to Stewart’s argument thаt the trial court did not consider
{¶16} To the extent that Stewart’s argument goes to the manner in which the trial court weighed the factors, this аrgument is not reviewable. The trial court has discretion to determine the particular weight it assigns a statutory factor. State v. Arnett, 99 Ohio St.3d 208, 215, 724 N.E.2d 793 (2000). And this court does not have the jurisdiction to review whether such a determination is an abuse оf discretion. State v. Smith, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 100206, 2014-Ohio-1520, ¶ 17;
{¶17} In his second assignment of error, Stewart argues that the trial court erred when it sentenced him to consecutive prison terms. His argument consists solely of thе
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{¶19} The record reflects that the court made the necessary findings: it found consecutive sentences were “necessary to prоtect the public from future crime or to punish [Stewart].” The court found that consecutive sentences were “not disproportionate to the seriousness of [Stewart’s] conduct and the danger [he] poses to the public.” Finally, the court found that:
[Stewart] committed one or more of the multiple offenses while [he] was awaiting trial or sentencing, * * * at least two of the multiple offenses were committed in this cаse as part of one or more courses of conduct and the harm caused by said multiple offenses was so great or unusual that no single prison term reflects the seriousness of [his] conduct, or [his] history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime.
{¶21} Stewart’s second assignment of error is also without mеrit.
{¶22} Judgment affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandаte issue out of this court directing the common pleas court to carry this judgment into execution.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
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MELODY J. STEWART, JUDGE
EILEEN A. GALLAGHER, P.J., and
PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, J., CONCUR