State v. Fleming

2013 Ohio 503
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided February 15, 2013·No. 2012 CA 59·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR CLARK COUNTY, OHIO STATE OF OHIO :

Plaintiff-Appellant : C.A. CASE NO. 2012 CA 59 v. : T.C. NO. 12CR118

JERMAINE FLEMING : (Criminal appeal from Common Pleas Court)

Defendant-Appellee :

:

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OPINION

Rendered on the 15th day of February , 2013.

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ANDREW R. PICEK, Atty. Reg. No. 0082121, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, 50 E. Columbia Street, 4th Floor, P. O. Box 1608, Springfield, Ohio 45501 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellant

JON PAUL RION, Atty. Reg. No. 0067020 and NICOLE RUTTER-HIRTH, Atty. Reg. No. 0081004, 130 W. Second Street, Suite 2150, P. O. Box 1262, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorneys for Defendant-Appellee

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DONOVAN, J.

{¶ 1} This matter is before the Court on the Notice of Appeal of the State of Ohio, filed September 5, 2012. The State appeals from the August 30, 2012 judgment of the trial court that sustained Jermaine Fleming’s motion to suppress. We hereby affirm the judgment of the trial court.

{¶ 2} On February 21, 2012, Fleming was indicted on three counts of trafficking in drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2), three counts of possession of drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), and two counts of having a weapon while under disability, in violation of R.C. 2923.13. On June 29, 2012, Fleming filed his Motion to Suppress, and on July 11, 2012, he filed a Supplemental Motion to Suppress. Attached to the supplemental motion is a 2003 Judgment Entry of Conviction, pursuant to which Fleming was convicted of aggravated burglary, in violation of R.C. 2911.11, and possession of drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.11. Fleming received a seven year sentence. The Judgment Entry of Conviction provides in part:

The Court has further notified the defendant that post release control is mandatory in this case up to a maximum of five years, as well as the consequences for violating conditions of post release control imposed by the parole board under Revised Code Section 2967.28. The defendant is ordered to serve as part of this sentence any term of post release control imposed by the Parole Board, and any prison term for violation of that post release control. (Emphasis added).

{¶ 3} In his supplemental motion, based upon the above language regarding post-release control, Fleming asserted as follows:

The basis for this supplemental motion is that the evidence obtained by the state was obtained as a result of Defendant being subject to [Adult

Parole Authority] supervision, pursuant to a term of post-release control.

However, Defendant was not properly on post-release control, and that portion of his sentence is void. Because Defendant should not have been on post-release control, all searches which occurred as a result of his supervision were improper, and all evidence obtained as a result of those searches must be suppressed.

{¶ 4} The court held a hearing on the motion to suppress on August 24, 2012, at which Parole Officer Tony Barrett testified that he is employed by the Adult Parole Authority, and that on August 25, 2010, he placed Fleming under supervision after he was released from prison for the 2003 offenses. Barrett identified State’s Exhibit 1 as Fleming’s Conditions of Supervision. The ninth condition of supervision listed on the form provides as follows:

I agree to a search, without a warrant, of my person, my motor vehicle, or my place of residence by a supervising officer or other authorized representative of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction at any time. Notice: Pursuant to section 2967.131 of the Revised Code, Officers of the Adult Parole Authority may conduct warrantless searches of your person, your place of residence, your personal property, or any property which you have been given permission to use if they have reasonable grounds to believe that you are not abiding by the law or terms and conditions of your supervision.

{¶ 5} Barrett stated that he approved a residential placement for Fleming as part of

his supervision, located at 18 West Perrin Avenue, and that in March, 2011, he received information that Fleming resided at 1924 Ontario Avenue, in violation of the terms of his supervision. Barrett stated that he later received information that Fleming had been involved in a shooting, and that he conducted a search of 1924 Ontario Avenue on February 13, 2012 and arrested Fleming. Barrett stated that he observed Fleming’s vehicle outside of the Ontario address on that date, and that he contacted the Springfield police for assistance. Barrett stated that a “young lady” answered the door of the residence. He stated that when he asked if Fleming was present, she asked Barrett who he was. When Barrett told her that he was Fleming’s parole officer, he testified that she “backed away and kind of looked over towards another area. I walked in. There he was.”

{¶ 6} The following exchange occurred:

Q. When you placed the defendant under arrest, did you see anything of interest in the immediate area at that time?

A. No. I placed him under arrest. I asked him for the keys to the vehicle. He said they were in the back room. I went to the back room to get the keys. That’s where most of his property was located within that back room.

Came back out at that point and a speaker was turned around and the back of it was exposed with a hole in it. At that point there was a .9 millimeter pistol that was exposed.

Q. When you saw the .9 millimeter pistol, what did you do?

A. * * * I don’t know what we would call it. Did an administrative

search, searched in the common areas and located what seemed to be powder in some of the kitchen drawers.

***

Q. When you went to go get the defendant’s keys out of the bedroom, who instructed you that they were back there?

A. Mr. Fleming.

Q. Why did you go get the keys?

A. Because I wanted to search the car as well.

Q. And he told you to go get the keys out of the bedroom, that they were located there?

A. Yes.

{¶ 7} Barrett testified that he believed the powder that he found to be cocaine.

Barrett stated that he and the responding police officers “backed out of the house, secured the premises, and then that’s when the search warrant was secured.” Barrett stated that at that time, the Springfield police officers took charge of the investigation.

{¶ 8} On cross-examination, Barrett stated that the .9 millimeter weapon was in plain view, “exposed right there.” He stated that he had credible information that Fleming resided at the residence from other individuals as well as his own surveillance. Barrett stated that his arrest and search of the residence occurred pursuant to the 2003 judgment entry of conviction. Specifically, he testified that his authority to arrest Fleming and conduct a search is based upon the ninth condition of supervision in the Conditions of Supervision.

{¶ 9} On redirect, Barrett stated that numerous police officers initially responded

to the scene to assist him, “[d]ue to the fact that there was a weapon involved in the shooting.” The following exchange occurred:

Q. Mr. Barrett, if you can elaborate on the process of how you received that information when somebody is placed on post-release control for us.

A. * * * A certain number of items that come with the packet (sic).

The journal entry is quite often in the packet.

We may have to go to court at times, I believe people have to get the journal entry, but I don’t know the exact date, 2007, 2008, 2009, there was a Barns1 case, which there was a lawsuit against the State of Ohio regarding the entry whether the language was correct as far as PRC goes.

To my knowledge, there was 17,000 plus cases reviewed by the State.

We had to get the journal entries, send them up to the State and they reviewed that to see if the language was appropriate.

Mr. Fleming’s language was deemed appropriate once it was Barns reviewed and so that was - -

MR. RION: Objection as to what was deemed appropriate by a source.

I mean, he can speculate.

MR. PICEK: I think that’s something he was told and this is a

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