State v. StroubState v. Stroub
{¶1} Defendant-appellant Edward D. Stroub (“Stroub“) brings this appеal from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Wyandot County. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment is affirmed.
{¶2} On April 29, 2009, the Wyandot County Grand Jury indicted Stroub on two counts of trafficking in a Schedule II cоntrolled substance in violation of
Defendant shall plead guilty to Count One of the Indictment (F4) [trafficking in Schedule II contrоlled substance]. The State will dismiss the School Specification to County One.
The State will dismiss Count Two and the School Specification to County Two.
The State will amend Count Three to less than the bulk amount. Defendant shall plead guilty to Count Three of the Indictment (F3) [trafficking in Schedule II controlled substance], as amended, and the School Specification to Count Three.
The State and Defendant will jointly recommend a basic prison term of twelve (12) months on Count One and a basic prison of (sic) two (2) years on Count Three, consecutive to each other.
Agreement, 3. The trial court held a change of plea hearing and discussed the terms of the plea agreement with Stroub. Stroub then signed the agreement in open court and the trial court accepted the plea.
{¶3} On April 15, 2010, a sentencing hearing was held. The trial court sentenced Stroub to twelve months in prison for Count One and three years in prison for Count Three. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively for a total sentence of four years. Stroub appeals the judgment and raises the following assignments of error.
First Assignment of Error
The trial court erred in accepting [Stroub‘s] criminal rule waiver at the plea hearing in that it was not knowing and vоluntary with respect to the school specification.
Second Assignment of Error
[Stroub‘s] conviction of trafficking with a school specification was not supported by the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to the school specification.
Third Assignment of Error
The counsel for [Stroub] provided ineffect (sic) assistance of counsel.
(B) Effect of guilty or no contest pleas. With reference tо the offense or offenses to which the plea is entered:
(1) The plea of guilty is a complete admission of the defendant‘s guilt.
* * *
(C) Pleas of guilty and no contest in felony cases.
* * *
(1) 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 fоllowing:
(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 plеa 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 dеfendant 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 tо 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.
{¶5} Here, Strоub claims that since he did not clearly enter a guilty plea to the school specification, the trial court erred in accepting his plea. A review of the record reveаls the following dialogue between the trial court and Stroub.
The Court: All right. Mr. Stroub, as to the first aggravated trafficking in drugs charge that it‘s proposed you‘re going to plead to, tell me what your understanding оf the penalty associated with this charge, what that is, the maximum penalty.
The Defendant: I got it wrote – I got it wrote down here. Is that the third degree or the fourth degree?
The Court: That would be the felony of the fourth degree.
The Defendant: Yeah. I just started reading it. Is says that I can get up to a year, I think, eighteen months. I didn‘t read the rest of it. Yeah. Eighteen months is on that second sheet. Yeah. I seen (sic) that.
The Court: And you could get a maximum fine of $5,000?
The Defendant: Right.
The Court: An also on the felony of the third degree that you are proposing to plead to, can you tell me what the maximum fine for that is?
The Defendant: Up to ten thousand.
The Court: And do you understand at least five thousand is mandatory?
The Defendant: That‘s what it says, yeah.
The Court: Can you tell me what the maximum time in prison is you could receive? The Defendant: It says five years.
The Court: And you understand you could receive five years if you got the maximum penalty?
The Defendant: That‘s what it says, yes.
* * *
The Court: do you understand the nature of these charges and the possible dеfenses you might have to them?
The Defendant: Yes.
The Court: Are you entering this plea voluntarily and of your own free will?
The Defendant: yes.
* * *
The Court: Well, let‘s read the sentence recommendation. It says, Defendant shall plead guilty to Cоunt One in the indictment, F4. The State will dismiss the school specification to Count One. State will dismiss Count Two and the school specification to Count Two. State will amend Count Three to less than the bulk amount. Defendant shall plead guilty to Count Three of the indictment, an F3 as amended, and the school specification to Count Three.
* * *
The Court: Again, Mr. Stroub, are you entering this plea voluntarily?
The Defendant: Yes.
The Court: You may sign the plea.
March 30, 2010 Transcript, 5-14 (emphasis added). Stroub then signed the plea agreement in open court. Although Stroub later questioned whether the school was within 1,000 feet of his home, the State stated that GPS mapping was done and Stroub‘s home was within the required distance for the specification. Tr. 16. The trial court then questioned Stroub as to whether he admitted the specification.
The Defendant: If that‘s what they say. I didn‘t measure it. I‘m just going by what they‘re saying.
The Court: Well, I nеed to know you know what the amended indictment, what it accuses you of in Count One and in Count Three with the specification and you‘re admitting to those allegations.
The Defendant: I thought they was (sic) dropping that school specification. Okay. I thought they was (sic) dropping it. Like I said, if they‘re saying it‘s within one thousand feet, I have no way of measuring it.
The Court: But what I‘m saying is you‘re admitting to what you‘re аccused of in the amended indictment in Count 1 and Count 3?
The Defendant: Yes.
Tr. 17. Despite the fact that Stroub stated that he did not know about the school specification remaining for Count Three, a review of the record indicates that the trial court informed him that the specification as to Count Three was remaining and that Count Three would be an F3. Thus the record supports a conclusion that
{¶6} In his second assignment of error, Stroub argues that the school specification was not supported by sufficient evidence.
{¶7} Finally, Stroub claims that he was dеnied effective assistance of counsel. “Reversal of convictions on ineffective assistance requires the defendant to show ‘first that counsel‘s performance was defiсient and, second that the deficient performance prejudice the defense so as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial.‘” State v. Cassano, 96 Ohio St.3d 94, 2002-Ohio-3751, ¶105, 772 N.E.2d 81. The defendant must show that there was a reasonable probability that but for counsel‘s error, the result of the trial would have been different. Id. at ¶108.
{¶9} Having found no error prejudicial to Strоub, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Wyandot County is affirmed.
Judgment Affirmed
ROGERS P.J., and PRESTON, J., concur.
/jlr