State v. Rembert

2014 Ohio 300
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided January 30, 2014·No. 99707·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

Court of Appeals of Ohio

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION No. 99707

STATE OF OHIO

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE

vs.

JEFFREY D. REMBERT, JR.

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

JUDGMENT:

AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED

Criminal Appeal from the

Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CR-567712

BEFORE: McCormack, J., E.A. Gallagher, P.J., and E.T. Gallagher, J.

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: January 30, 2014

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Thomas A. Rein Leader Building, Suite 940 526 Superior Ave. Cleveland, OH 44114

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Timothy J. McGinty Cuyahoga County Prosecutor

By: Daniel A. Cleary Assistant County Prosecutor 8th Floor, Justice Center 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, OH 44113

TIM McCORMACK, J.:

{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Jeffrey D. Rembert, Jr., appeals from a judgment of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas that convicted him of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery after he pleaded guilty to these offenses. He claims his guilty plea was not knowing, intelligent, or voluntary. He also alleges various errors made by the trial court at his sentencing hearing. After a careful review of the record and applicable law, we affirm his conviction and sentence. For the limited purpose of determining the court costs and calculating jail-time credit, we remand the case to the trial court.

Substantive Facts and Procedural History

{¶2} On July 14, 2012, Jacqueline Gavorski, age 65, returned home after a late-night grocery shopping trip. When she was unloading her car in her driveway, she was approached by Rembert, a 16-year-old who lived in the neighborhood. Rembert struck her six times with a large landscaping rock. Gavorski died on the scene from her head injuries; her pants had been pulled down to her knees. There were injuries to her arms, suggesting she was trying to defend herself during the attack.

{¶3} Rembert took Gavorski’s purse and left the scene. He was later seen going through the purse with two friends. When questioned by the South Euclid police, Gavorski blamed the incident on one of the two friends. However, within the same day, the police retrieved some clothing, stained with the victim’s blood, from a washing machine in the house Rembert was living in at the time. Also, a surveillance video showed Rembert walk into a nearby McDonald’s in that clothing the night before the incident. The police also had evidence that Rembert’s DNA was found on and in the rock.

{¶4} Rembert was bound over from the juvenile court and subsequently indicted on six counts: two counts of aggravated murder, in violation of R.C. 2903.01(A) and 2903.01(B), respectively; one count of murder; two counts of felonious assault; and one count of aggravated robbery, in violation of R.C. 2911.01(A)(3).

{¶5} Rembert pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, in violation of R.C.

2903.01(A), and aggravated robbery, in violation of R.C. 2911.01(A)(3). For his aggravated murder offense, he was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years. For the aggravated robbery, he was sentenced to 11 years. The two terms are to be served consecutively.

{¶6} Rembert now appeals, raising eight assignments of error for our review.

We address them in the order presented. The first four assignments of error concern his guilty plea.

Guilty Plea

{¶7} Crim.R. 11(C) sets forth the requirements for a valid plea. It states, in pertinent part:

(2) In felony cases the court may refuse to accept a plea of guilty or a plea of no contest, and shall not accept a plea of guilty or no contest without first addressing the defendant personally and doing all of the following:

(a) Determining that the defendant is making the plea voluntarily, with understanding of the nature of the charges and of the maximum penalty involved, and if applicable, that the defendant is not eligible for probation or for the imposition of community control sanctions at the sentencing hearing.

(b) Informing the defendant of and determining that the defendant understands the effect of the plea of guilty or no contest, and that the court, upon acceptance of the plea, may proceed with judgment and sentence.

(c) Informing the defendant and determining that the defendant understands that by the plea the defendant is waiving the rights to jury trial, to confront witnesses against him or her, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in the defendant’s favor, and to require the state to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at a trial at which the defendant cannot be compelled to testify against himself or herself.

{¶8} To ensure that pleas conform to Crim.R. 11, the trial judge must engage the defendant in a colloquy before accepting his or her plea. See State v. Ballard, 66 Ohio St.2d 473, 423 N.E.2d 115 (1981), paragraph one of the syllabus. “Ohio Crim.R. 11(C) was adopted in order to facilitate a more accurate determination of the voluntariness of a defendant’s plea by ensuring an adequate record for review.” State v. Nero, 56 Ohio St.3d 106, 564 N.E.2d 474 (1990).

{¶9} Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c) delineates the five constitutional rights a trial court must personally advise a defendant he is waiving before the court can accept a guilty plea. See Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 242-243, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). For these constitutional rights delineated in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c), we require strict compliance.

State v. Moviel, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 86244, 2006-Ohio-697, ¶ 10. When the trial court fails to explain these constitutional rights, it is presumed the plea was entered involuntarily and unknowingly made and therefore invalid. State v. Griggs, 103 Ohio St.3d 85, 2004-Ohio-4415, 814 N.E.2d 51, ¶ 12.

{¶10} On the other hand, regarding a defendant’s nonconstitutional rights delineated in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(a) and (b), such as the maximum possible penalty, a substantial-compliance standard applies. State v. Stewart, 51 Ohio St.2d 86, 92, 364 N.E.2d 1163 (1977). The test for prejudice is whether the plea would have otherwise been made. Nero at 108. Under the substantial-compliance standard, a slight deviation from the text of the rule is permissible, so long as the totality of the circumstances indicates that “the defendant subjectively understands the implications of his plea and the rights he is waiving,” the plea may be upheld. Id.

{¶11} The first four assignments of error Rembert raises on appeal regarding his guilty plea concern his nonconstitutional rights, therefore, we review them under a substantial-compliance standard.

Maximum Penalty

{¶12} Under the first assignment of error, Rembert contends he did not enter his guilty plea knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily, because the trial court failed to properly inform him of the maximum penalties as required by Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(a).

{¶13} R.C. 2929.03 prescribes four possible sentences for aggravated murder:

(a) Life imprisonment without parole;

(b) Subject to division (A)(1)(e) of this section, life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving twenty years of imprisonment;

(c) Subject to division (A)(1)(e) of this section, life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving twenty-five full years of imprisonment;

(d) Subject to division (A)(1)(e) of this section, life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving thirty full years of imprisonment[.]

{¶14} The word “full” is significant in that it determines whether a prisoner’s term can be reduced for good behavior or earned credit. When a defendant is sentenced to 25 full years or 30 full years of imprisonment, the prison term cannot be diminished for good behavior or by credit earned.

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