State v. Brimacombe

960 N.E.2d 1042, 195 Ohio App. 3d 524
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 30, 2011
DocketNo. L-10-1179
StatusPublished
Cited by96 cases

This text of 960 N.E.2d 1042 (State v. Brimacombe) 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. Brimacombe, 960 N.E.2d 1042, 195 Ohio App. 3d 524 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Yarbrough, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Gregg Brimacombe, appeals his conviction and sentence entered by the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas on one count of rape. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment below.

{¶ 2} On December 17, 2009, Brimacombe was indicted on one count of rape, a first-degree felony in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(a) and (b), and four counts of sexual battery, fourth-degree felonies, in violation of R.C. 2907.03(A)(5) and (B). The substance of the indictment charged Brimacombe with separate instances of felony sexual conduct with his stepson beginning in October 2003, when the boy was 12 years old, and continuing through July 2008. The indictment alleged that the sexual conduct occurred in Brimacombe’s home in Sylvania, Ohio, where the victim and his mother also resided.

{¶ 3} On December 23, 2009, following Brimacombe’s request for pretrial release on bond, the trial court set an aggregate monetary bond of $210,000 on the five counts. As additional conditions of release, the court ordered Brimacombe to have no contact with the victim and to “surrender all weapons and guns owned by him to the Sylvania Police Department.” On January 5, 2010, he was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. The court granted Brimacombe’s request to travel beyond Lucas County for work purposes while on release. Previous terms and conditions of the bond were ordered continued, but “with the following stipulation [that] any and all weapons in the possession of attorney [Ken] Sass, relating to this case, shall be turned over to the Sylvania Police Department; a total of seven (7) firearms shall be surrendered in all, no later than 4:30 p.m. on the 6th day of January 2010.”

{¶ 4} Eventually, on May 28, 2010, Brimacombe pleaded guilty to the rape count charged under R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(a) and (b). Nolle prosequi were entered on the four sexual-battery counts. The sentencing transcript indicates that after informing Brimacombe of the consequences of his guilty plea, the court permitted the prosecutor to ask him a series of questions to which he responded in more detail about his relationship to the victim, the specific sexual conduct involved, and the dates and location where it occurred. After this questioning, the court accepted his guilty plea and reviewed defense counsel’s sentencing memorandum. A presentence investigation and report were waived. The court received mitiga[527]*527tion statements from defense counsel and Brimacombe and a victim-impact statement from the victim’s mother. The prosecutor offered no statement, but asked the court to order the surrendered weapons destroyed.

{¶ 5} The court then proceeded with sentencing and sexual-offender classification hearings. The court imposed the maximum term of ten years’ imprisonment on the rape count and ordered Brimacombe to be registered as a Tier-Ill child-sex offender. The court also imposed five years of mandatory postrelease control and then further stated: “[A]ny and all weapons that were confiscated, those will be ordered destroyed.” A judgment entry recounting Brimacombe’s plea and sentence and ordering the firearms destroyed was filed June 2, 2010.

{¶ 6} This appeal followed. Brimacombe now assigns two errors for review, the first of which states:

{¶ 7} “A. The trial court’s [sic] abused its discretion when it sentenced the appellant to a maximum prison term.”

{¶ 8} In support of the first assignment, counsel for Brimacombe asserts that the court abused its discretion in failing to articulate the specific aspects of his conduct that warranted the maximum sentence. Counsel points to Brimacombe’s having no prior criminal record, his steady employment for 15 years, and the numerous favorable letters that his friends and colleagues filed with the court. Balanced against these positive facts, he argues that the court misapplied the sentencing factors in R.C. 2929.12 by “failing] to provide any support on the record” as to how Brimacombe’s sexual abuse of his stepson was “more serious than conduct that normally constitutes the offense.”

{¶ 9} Appellate courts review assigned errors challenging the sentencing court’s application of R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12 under the two-step approach announced in State v. Kalish, 120 Ohio St.3d 23, 2008-Ohio-4912, 896 N.E.2d 124.1 Before evaluating Brimacombe’s maximum sentence under Kalish, however, we will first address his contentions regarding the general application of R.C. 2929.12 in the wake of State v. Foster, 109 Ohio St.3d 1, 2006-Ohio-856, 845 N.E.2d 470.

{¶ 10} After Foster, “trial courts have full discretion to impose a prison sentence within the statutory range and are no longer required to make findings [528]*528or give their reasons for imposing maximum, consecutive, or more than the minimum sentences.” Id. at paragraph seven of the syllabus. (Emphasis added.) While trial courts are not required to make findings or give reasons for imposing such sentences, they still must carefully consider the sentencing statutes that apply to every felony case. See State v. Mathis, 109 Ohio St.3d 54, 2006-Ohio-855, 846 N.E.2d 1, ¶ 38. R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12 were left undisturbed by Foster and thus remain the two principal statutes for the trial court to employ when sentencing felony offenders. See State v. Teel, 6th Dist. No. S-06-045, 2007-Ohio-3570, 2007 WL 2013529, ¶ 12; State v. Elswick, 11th Dist. No. 2006-L-075, 2006-Ohio-7011, 2006 WL 3833868, ¶ 53. As well, the court must be “guided by statutes that are specific to the case itself.” Mathis at ¶ 38.

{¶ 11} R.C. 2929.12 is a guidance statute. It sets forth the seriousness and recidivism criteria that a trial court “shall consider ” in fashioning a felony sentence. Id. at ¶ 38. Subsections (B) and (C) establish the factors indicating whether the offender’s conduct is more serious or less serious than conduct normally constituting the offense. Subsections (D) and (E) contain the factors bearing on whether the offender is likely or not likely to commit future crimes. While the phrase “shall consider” is used throughout R.C. 2929.12, the sentencing court is not obligated to give a detailed explanation of how it algebraically applied each seriousness and recidivism factor to the offender. Indeed, no specific recitation is required. State v. Arnett (2000), 88 Ohio St.3d 208, 215, 724 N.E.2d 793. Merely stating that the court considered the statutory factors is enough. Id. See also State v. Friess, 6th Dist. No. L-05-1307, 2007-Ohio-2030, 2007 WL 1229313, ¶ 7.2

{¶ 12} We turn now to Brimacombe’s argument regarding the trial court’s choice of the maximum sentence for his rape conviction. In Kalish, 120 Ohio St.3d 23, 2008-Ohio-4912, 896 N.E.2d 124, the Supreme Court established a “two-pronged” approach for appellate review of felony sentences, stating:

{¶ 13} “First, [appellate courts] must examine the sentencing court’s compliance with all applicable rules and statutes in imposing the sentence to determine whether the sentence is clearly and convincingly contrary to law. If this first [529]

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Bluebook (online)
960 N.E.2d 1042, 195 Ohio App. 3d 524, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brimacombe-ohioctapp-2011.