State v. Beverly

2016 Ohio 8078
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 9, 2016
Docket2015-CA-71
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 8078 (State v. Beverly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Beverly, 2016 Ohio 8078 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Beverly, 2016-Ohio-8078.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT CLARK COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO : Appellate Case No. 2015-CA-71 : Plaintiff-Appellee : Trial Court Case No. 11-CR-258 : v. : (Criminal Appeal from : Common Pleas Court) JORDAN BEVERLY : : Defendant-Appellant : : : ........... OPINION Rendered on the 9th day of December, 2016. ...........

MEGAN M. FARLEY, Atty. Reg. No. 0088515, Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, 50 East Columbia Street, Suite 449, Springfield, Ohio 45502 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

MICHAEL R. PENTECOST, Atty. Reg. No. 0036803, 117 South Main Street, Suite 400, Dayton, Ohio 45422 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

.............

HALL, J.

{¶ 1} Jordan Beverly appeals from his resentencing on charges of engaging in a -2-

pattern of corrupt activity, burglary (eight counts), attempted burglary (two counts),

receiving stolen property (five counts), having weapons while under disability, and fleeing

and eluding.

{¶ 2} Beverly advances two assignments of error. First, he contends the trial court

abused its discretion in imposing an aggregate 50-year prison sentence. Second, he

claims the trial court erred in imposing an aggregate sentence that was not consistent

with the sentence received by a co-defendant who pled guilty.

{¶ 3} The record reflects that Beverly was indicted on the above-referenced

charges and others in April 2011. The charges primarily stemmed from a series of thefts

and burglaries in and around Clark County in late 2010 and early 2011. Beverly allegedly

committed the offenses with co-defendant Brandon Imber. In August 2011, a jury found

Beverly guilty on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, eight counts of

burglary, six counts of receiving stolen property, two counts of attempted burglary, two

counts of fleeing and eluding, and one count of having weapons while under disability.

The trial court merged the two counts of fleeing and eluding. It then sentenced Beverly to

an aggregate prison term of 66.5 years. Co-defendant Imber separately pled guilty to 10

fourth-degree felonies (receiving stolen property, attempted burglary, and having

weapons while under disability) and received a prison sentence of 13.5 years.

{¶ 4} On appeal, this court reversed Beverly’s conviction for engaging in a pattern

of corrupt activity, finding that the State had failed to prove the “enterprise” element of the

offense. See State v. Beverly, 2d Dist. Clark No. 2011 CA 64, 2013-Ohio-1365, ¶ 3. This

court also concluded that his aggregate 66.5 year sentence was an abuse of discretion

and that a weapons-under-disability and a receiving stolen property conviction should -3-

have merged as allied offenses. Id. As a result, this court reversed and remanded for

resentencing. On further appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed this court’s judgment

with regard to the conviction for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. It concluded that

the “enterprise” element had been proven. See State v. Beverly, 143 Ohio St.3d 258,

2015-Ohio-219, 37 N.E.3d 116. The Ohio Supreme Court did not review the

appropriateness of Beverly’s sentence. It remanded for resentencing, apparently

pursuant to this court’s prior mandate, after reinstating the corrupt-activity conviction.

{¶ 5} The trial court subsequently held a resentencing hearing on June 19, 2015.

At the outset of the hearing, the parties and the trial court agreed that applicable changes

to the law had reduced the maximum potential sentence on the third-degree felony counts

from five years in prison to three years. They also agreed that the maximum potential

penalty on the corrupt-activity conviction was ten years in prison. The parties also

recognized that the trial court now was obligated to make statutory findings before

imposing consecutive sentences. Finally, they agreed that the trial court would consider

additional information not before it at the time of the original sentencing, namely a PSI

report (which had not been prepared before the original sentencing) and a report

concerning Beverly’s conduct while in prison.

{¶ 6} After hearing arguments from counsel, the trial court merged the two

convictions discussed by this court in Beverly’s prior appeal. It then made the findings

required for consecutive sentences and imposed the following prison terms: 10 years for

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1); one year for receiving stolen property (F4);

one year for receiving stolen property (F5); 18 months for receiving stolen property (F4);

three years for attempted burglary (F3); three years for burglary (F3); one year for -4-

receiving stolen property (F4); three years for burglary (F3); three years for burglary (F3);

three years for burglary (F3); three years for burglary (F3); one year for receiving stolen

property (F4); three years for having weapons under disability (F3); three years for fleeing

and eluding (F3); 18 months for attempted burglary (F4); three years for burglary (F3);

three years for burglary (F3); and three years for burglary (F3). The trial court ordered all

of the foregoing terms to be served consecutively. This appeal followed.

{¶ 7} In his first assignment of error, Beverly challenges his aggregate 50-year

prison sentence as an abuse of discretion. He advances several arguments in support.

First, he cites this court’s statement in his prior appeal that “treating this case as if these

crimes were the most serious forms of the offenses, and treating Beverly as if he were

the most depraved of offenders, is not supported by the evidence in the record.” Beverly,

2013-Ohio-1365, at ¶ 57. Second, he cites this court’s observation in his prior appeal that

the disparity between his then 66.5-year sentence and co-defendant Imber’s 13.5 year

sentence had the appearance to be a “trial tax” on Beverly given that “the evidence in the

record established that Imber was equally culpable with Beverly regarding the charged

offenses.” Id. at ¶ 58. Third, he argues that the trial court’s reduction in his sentence from

66.5 years to 50 years is no reduction at all when sentencing-law changes are considered.

Beverly notes that the statutory maximum sentence for his 11 third-degree felonies was

reduced from five years to three years prior to his resentencing. Consequently, if the trial

court had made that change and otherwise resentenced him exactly as it had the first

time, his aggregate sentence would have been reduced by 22 years. Instead, the trial

court limited the reduction to 16.5 years by ordering some previously-concurrent

sentences to run consecutively. Beverly argues that this act by the trial court had the -5-

appearance of an impermissible “appeal tax” to punish him for his successful sentencing

appeal. Finally, he asserts that nothing in the PSI report or the report about his prison

conduct justifies a 50-year aggregate sentence that he contends is in conflict with this

court’s prior opinion finding an abuse of discretion.

{¶ 8} In his second assignment of error, Beverly reiterates his complaint about the

disparity between his aggregate sentence and co-defenant Imber’s 13.5-year sentence.

Based on the same reasoning set forth above, he maintains that the disparity is evidence

of an impermissible “trial tax” or “appeal tax.”

{¶ 9} Upon review, we find both of Beverly’s assignments of error to be

unpersuasive.

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2016 Ohio 8078, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-beverly-ohioctapp-2016.