State v. Reeder

2020 Ohio 5107
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided October 30, 2020·No. 2019-CA-39 & 2019-CA-40·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

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

:

STATE OF OHIO :

: Appellate Case Nos. 2019-CA-39 & Plaintiff-Appellee : 2019-CA-40 :

v. : Trial Court Case Nos. 2018-CR-764 & : 2019-CR-122 DESHAWN REEDER :

: (Criminal Appeal from Defendant-Appellant : Common Pleas Court)

...........

OPINION

Rendered on the 30th day of October, 2020.

...........

JOHN M. LINTZ, Atty. Reg. No. 0097715, Clark County Prosecutor’s Office, Appellate Division, 50 East Columbia Street, Suite 449, Springfield, Ohio 45502 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

CHARLES W. SLICER III, Atty. Reg. No. 0059927, 426 Patterson Road, Dayton, Ohio 45419 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

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

FROELICH, J.

{¶ 1} In a joint plea hearing, Deshawn Reeder pled guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, in Clark C.P. No. 2018-CR-764 and to possession of heroin, a fourth-degree felony, in Clark C.P. No. 2019-CR-122. The trial court subsequently sentenced Reeder to 12 months in prison for aggravated possession of drugs and 18 months in prison for possession of heroin, to be served concurrently.

{¶ 2} Reeder appeals from his convictions, challenging the trial court’s imposition of prison sentences, pursuant to R.C. 2929.13(B)(1)(b)(iii), and its calculation of jail time credit. For the following reasons, the trial court’s judgments will be vacated to the extent that they imposed prison sentences, and those sentences will be modified to community control sanctions for a period of up to five years. In all other respects, including the orders regarding the forfeiture of currency, the trial court’s judgments will be affirmed. Reeder’s community control sanctions will be deemed completed and terminated immediately. Finally, because Reeder should not have been sentenced to prison, his post-release control will be vacated.

I. Factual and Procedural History

{¶ 3} According to the presentence investigation report (PSI), on August 14, 2018, Springfield Police Officer Massie stopped a Jeep Cherokee that Reeder was driving due to the absence of a front license plate. Massie learned that Reeder did not have a driver’s license. After Reeder consented to a search of his vehicle and his person, Officer Massie removed a large quantity of cash and 15 grams of marijuana from Reeder’s front pants pockets. Officer Massie noticed a white powdery substance rolled inside the currency, and Reeder admitted to snorting cocaine using a rolled up dollar bill. Inside

the vehicle, Officer Massie located a gun, several cell phones, digital scales, and “misc. property.” Reeder was charged with trafficking in drugs, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and taken to the Clark County Jail. Reeder was also cited for driving without a license.

{¶ 4} At the jail, Reeder initially denied that he had any contraband on his person.

However, when a deputy began searching Reeder’s pockets, Reeder indicated that he may be in possession of additional drugs. The deputy had already pulled out Reeder’s left front pocket, and several pills dropped to the floor. The pills were imprinted with “RP7.5 325” and were suspected to be Oxycodone. Reeder was additionally charged with trafficking in drugs and illegal conveyance of drugs. The record suggests that Reeder was released from jail the same day.

{¶ 5} In November 2018, a grand jury indicted Reeder in Case No. 2018-CR-764 for illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, in violation of R.C. 2921.36(A)(2), a third-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), both fifth-degree felonies. The bill of particulars indicated that the charges were based on Reeder’s possession of 12 tablets containing Oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic, at the Clark County Jail.

{¶ 6} The PSI further stated that, on December 28, 2018, Officers Melvin and Freeman were dispatched to a residence to check on the welfare of Mariah Hereford. The caller had indicated that Hereford was at the residence and “a male was putting his hands on her.” At the residence, the officers located Hereford, crying and looking visibly scared. She told the officers that Reeder was upset about items he observed on her

phone, and that he broke her phone, assaulted her, and threatened to break her laptop.

{¶ 7} The officers saw Reeder at the residence and, upon entering the basement, they observed Reeder hiding in the crawlspace. The officers ordered Reeder to come out and show his hands. Reeder was holding a white sock, which officers later found contained a plastic baggie with a white rock-like substance inside some rolled-up brown paper towels. At the plea hearing, the prosecutor indicated that the sock contained 2.51 grams of heroin. The police also found $286 on Reeder’s person.

{¶ 8} Reeder was arrested and initially charged with abduction, domestic violence, tampering with evidence, possession of drugs, and trafficking in drugs. At the jail, a deputy discovered a piece of napkin in the crotch area of Reeder’s sweatpants; the napkin contained a small yellow pill believed to contain Acetaminophen and Oxycodone.

{¶ 9} The same day (December 28, 2018), a police officer arrested Reeder on the November indictment. On January 4, 2019, Reeder pled not guilty in Case No. 2018- CR-764, and the court set a bond of $15,000. The arraignment entry included four conditions for the bond:

1. Comply with all criminal provisions of the Ohio Revised Code;

2. Appear timely before the Court for all hearings, pre-trials, trial, and any other matters set by the Court;

3. Engage in no contact, directly or indirectly, with the alleged victim or victims in this case; and 4. Submit to random drug screenings.

Reeder was released on bond the same day.

{¶ 10} On February 26, 2019, Reeder was indicted in Case No. 2019-CA-122 for

possession of heroin, a fourth-degree felony (Count 1), two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies (Counts 2 and 3), tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony (Count 4), trafficking in heroin, a third-degree felony (Count 5), and illegal conveyance, a third-degree felony (Count 6). The indictment included a forfeiture specification for the $286. The charges were based on Reeder’s conduct on December 28, 2018.

{¶ 11} Reeder appeared for arraignment in Case No. 2019-CR-122 on March 1.

Reeder requested, and the court granted him an own recognizance (OR) bond with conditions. The conditions, as set forth in the trial court’s arraignment entry, were identical to those for the $15,000 bond in Case No. 2018-CR-764.

{¶ 12} On April 25, 2019, after a Crim.R. 11 colloquy, Reeder pled guilty to Count 2 of Case No. 2018-CR-764 (aggravated possession of drugs) and Count 1 of Case No. 2019-CR-122 (possession of heroin). In exchange for the pleas, the State agreed to dismiss the remaining charges in both cases. The parties further agreed that Reeder would forfeit the $6,674 in the 2018 case as proceeds of aggravated possession of drugs and the $286 in the 2019 case as an instrumentality that was used in the commission of a felony. The parties agreed to a presentence investigation. The trial court told Reeder at the plea hearing that, as an additional condition of his bond, he needed to cooperate fully with the probation department during the presentence investigation.

{¶ 13} At the bottom of the plea form, the trial court found Reeder guilty, scheduled sentencing for May 16, and indicated that bond was continued “w/ C,” which apparently means “with conditions.” The trial court did not file a separate entry modifying the conditions of bond to include the requirement that Reeder cooperate fully with the

probation department during the presentence investigation.

{¶ 14} According to the PSI, Reeder completed a PSI questionnaire but failed to appear for his PSI interview. The PSI states:

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State v. Reeder, 2020 Ohio 5107 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

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