State v. Porch

100 N.E.3d 1134, 2017 Ohio 8885
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County
DecidedDecember 7, 2017
DocketNo. 105536
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 100 N.E.3d 1134 (State v. Porch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Porch, 100 N.E.3d 1134, 2017 Ohio 8885 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., J.:

{¶ 1} Appellant, Lashay T. Porch, appeals from the denial of his presentence motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Appellant argues the trial court abused its discretion. After a thorough review of the record and law, this court affirms.

I. Factual and Procedural History

{¶ 2} Appellant was arrested and accused of shooting at two female victims from a car. The victims described walking toward a home when a car in which appellant was a passenger drove by. They saw appellant fire several gunshots at them. Bullets hit the house, and luckily no one was injured during this May 9, 2016 incident. Appellant was known to the victims, and they identified him as the individual who shot at them.

{¶ 3} Later, when appellant was involved in a traffic stop on May 23, 2016, he fled from police. This resulted in a high-speed pursuit that lasted for several miles and exceeded speeds of 80 m.p.h. through residential neighborhoods. Appellant was indicted and charged with 13 counts related to the shooting incident, and separately indicted and charged with six counts related to the police chase.

{¶ 4} Appellant's attorney worked out a plea agreement with the state, and appellant pled guilty to two counts of felonious assault, second-degree felony violations of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) ; discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises, a third-degree felony violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) ; and having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2). In the second case, appellant pled guilty to failure to comply, a third-degree felony violation of R.C. 2921.331(B). The state agreed to dismiss the remaining charges and all firearm specifications in the two cases.

{¶ 5} On October 27, 2016, the day of sentencing, the trial court conducted a hearing regarding letters sent by appellant. The trial court acknowledged receiving a series of letters from appellant. The first correspondence the court examined was an undated letter received in the mail. The letter sought to withdraw his guilty pleas. The court next noted a letter dated October 1, 2016, which was essentially the same as the other letter. A third letter, dated September 19, 2016, also sought to withdraw the guilty pleas previously entered in the cases.

*1136{¶ 6} The September letter indicates that counsel had promised appellant that he would receive probation in the cases. In the other two letters, appellant asserted that he wanted to withdraw his pleas because his attorney did not file a particular motion or show appellant motions for discovery or bills of particulars.

{¶ 7} The court offered appellant a chance to speak about his letters. Appellant stated,

The main reason I feel like I want to take my plea, Your Honor, not to down my attorney and not to down the courts, I feel that situation had nothing to do with me, Your Honor.
To be honest, from my right hand to God, the main reason I took that plea, Your Honor, is because I miss my family so much, Your Honor. I never been in jail this long. I never been in this much trouble ever in my life.
I'm not this type of guy. I love women. I was like why would I take my time out today to go shoot at some girls, Your Honor? This whole situation was a misunderstanding.
* * *
That's from the bottom of my heart, Your Honor. Not just even trying to come in your courtroom and talking just to be saying anything, this is the honest to God truth, I did not commit this crime.
I only did this-I only took this plea because I miss my family. I want to go home. This jail stuff, it's not me. I'm not used to this. It's not me, Your Honor. I barely know all of this court stuff.1 I just miss my family, Your Honor.
If you could find it in your heart-Your Honor, even if you do give me some time, Your Honor, I'm hoping for county time. Even if I don't get my plea back, probation, whatever, Your Honor, if you do give me some time, I'll man up to it, but I'm praying at least it's county time, Your Honor. I didn't commit this crime.

{¶ 8} The trial court denied the motion and proceeded to sentencing.

{¶ 9} Following comments from a few police officers, appellant's probation officer, counsel, someone on behalf of appellant, and appellant, the court imposed a total prison sentence of nine-and-a-half years. The court terminated appellant's current terms of community control without additional sanction in one case, and imposed an 18-month prison sentence in the other. The court imposed two five-year sentences for two counts of felonious assault, a 30-month sentence for discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premises, and a 30-month sentence for having weapons while under disability. These were all imposed concurrent to each other. In the second case, the court also imposed a 36-month prison sentence for failure to comply, which was required to be served consecutive to the other sentences. The court ran the sentences from the three cases consecutive to each other after making appropriate findings.

{¶ 10} Appellant then filed the instant appeal assigning one error for review:

1. The trial court abused its discretion in denying appellant's [presentence] motion to withdraw his plea of guilty.

II. Law and Analysis

{¶ 11} Crim.R. 32.1 allows a criminal defendant to motion the court to withdraw previously entered guilty pleas. Motions made prior to sentencing are governed by a liberal standard that should err on the side of granting withdrawal.

*1137State v. Xie , 62 Ohio St.3d 521, 527, 584 N.E.2d 715 (1992). However, "[a] defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea prior to sentencing." Id. A motion made after sentence is imposed requires a movant to demonstrate a manifest injustice that would result were the motion denied. Crim.R. 32.1. A defendant must demonstrate a "reasonable and legitimate basis for the withdrawal of the plea." Xie at id. "[D]espite the more lenient standard applicable to [presentence] motions, an appellate court will only reverse a denial of leave to withdraw when the trial court has abused its discretion." State v. Peterseim , 68 Ohio App.2d 211, 213, 428 N.E.2d 863 (8th Dist.1980).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
100 N.E.3d 1134, 2017 Ohio 8885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-porch-ohctapp8cuyahog-2017.