State v. Sellman

2019 Ohio 4185
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 11, 2019
Docket2019-CA-3
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2019 Ohio 4185 (State v. Sellman) 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. Sellman, 2019 Ohio 4185 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Sellman, 2019-Ohio-4185.]

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

STATE OF OHIO : : Plaintiff-Appellee : Appellate Case No. 2019-CA-3 : v. : Trial Court Case No. 2018-CR-12 : LUKE A. SELLMAN : (Criminal Appeal from : Common Pleas Court) Defendant-Appellant : :

...........

OPINION

Rendered on the 11th day of October, 2019.

JANNA L. PARKER, Atty. Reg. No. 0075261, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Miami County Prosecutor’s Office, 201 West Main Street, Troy, Ohio 45373 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

JAMES A. ANZELMO, Atty. Reg. No. 0068229, 446 Howland Drive, Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

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

WELBAUM, P.J. -2-

{¶ 1} Following his conviction on his guilty plea for aggravated possession of

drugs, Defendant-appellant, Luke A. Sellman, challenges on appeal the decision of the

Miami County Court of Common Pleas overruling his presentence motion to withdraw his

guilty plea. For the reasons outlined below, the judgment of the trial court will be

affirmed.

Facts and Course of Proceedings

{¶ 2} On February 14, 2018, the Miami County Grand Jury returned an indictment

charging Sellman with one count of aggravated possession of drugs (methamphetamine)

in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A)/(C)(1)(d), a felony of the first degree, and one count of

possession of drugs (marijuana) in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A)/(C)(3)(c), a felony of the

fifth degree. The count of aggravated possession of drugs included a forfeiture

specification for $2,975 that was found during the commission of the offense. The

charges arose after detectives from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office executed a search

warrant at Sellman’s residence and discovered the drugs in question. The detectives

also discovered various items of drug paraphernalia, including scales, baggies, and

smoking pipes, as well as numerous firearms and the $2,975 referenced above.

{¶ 3} Following his indictment, Sellman entered into a plea agreement with the

State. As part of this plea agreement, Sellman agreed to plead guilty to the aggravated

possession of drugs charge and the attendant forfeiture specification. In exchange for

Sellman’s guilty plea, the State agreed to dismiss the charge for possession of marijuana.

The State also agreed not to file any drug trafficking charges against Sellman or any

charges against Sellman’s girlfriend, Jessica Burd. The matter then proceeded to a plea -3-

hearing on June 11, 2018.

{¶ 4} At Sellman’s plea hearing, the trial court confirmed that Sellman was entering

his guilty plea voluntarily and that Sellman understood the nature of the charges against

him. The trial court also confirmed that Sellman understood the maximum penalty

involved and that he was not eligible for probation or community control sanctions. In

doing so, the trial court expressly advised Sellman that his offense carried a mandatory

prison sentence ranging from three and 11 years. Following these advisements,

Sellman stated: “I was under the impression that—” and then paused to speak with his

trial counsel off the record. Plea Hearing Trans. p. 6.

{¶ 5} After speaking with his trial counsel off the record, Sellman informed the trial

court that he understood its prior statements regarding the mandatory prison sentence

that he faced. In response, the trial court asked Sellman: “Did your attorney answer your

question to your satisfaction?” Id. Sellman responded “Yes.” Id. The trial court then

advised Sellman that he was “not eligible for any early release program, such as judicial

release or transitional control, or any other form of early release[.]” Id. at 7. Upon being

so advised, Sellman indicated to the trial court that he understood he was ineligible for

early release.

{¶ 6} As the plea hearing continued, the trial court asked Sellman if he had signed,

read, and discussed the written plea form with his trial counsel. Sellman indicated that

he had done so and told the trial court that he had no questions about the contents of the

plea form. The contents of the plea form included the same information that the trial

court had given Sellman about the mandatory nature of his prison sentence, the

sentencing range, and his ineligibility for judicial release. -4-

{¶ 7} At the close of the plea hearing, the trial court asked Sellman if he felt that

he had enough time to think about his decision to plead guilty. Sellman responded that

he did. Sellman thereafter pled guilty to aggravated possession of drugs and the

attendant forfeiture specification. Satisfied that his plea was knowingly, intelligently, and

voluntarily entered, the trial court accepted Sellman’s guilty plea. The trial court then

ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled the matter for sentencing on July 17,

2018.

{¶ 8} Following the plea hearing, Sellman retained new trial counsel. Then, on

the day before his sentencing hearing, Sellman filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

In the motion, Sellman requested to withdraw his guilty plea on grounds that he did not

have sufficient communications with his former trial counsel prior to the plea hearing.

Sellman also claimed that he did not understand the nature of the possible penalties he

faced before entering his guilty plea. Sellman further claimed that there was a “possible”

motion to suppress that could have been filed and a “possible” defense of entrapment

that were not addressed by his former trial counsel.

{¶ 9} On July 27, 2018, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing on Sellman’s

presentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Sellman testified on his own behalf at

the evidentiary hearing, and his former trial counsel, Jay Lopez, testified on behalf of the

State. Following their testimony, the trial court took the matter under advisement and

issued a written decision overruling Sellman’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

Sellman now appeals from that decision, raising two assignments of error for review.

First Assignment of Error -5-

{¶ 10} Under his first assignment of error, Sellman contends that the trial court

erred in denying his presentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We disagree.

{¶ 11} Pursuant to Crim.R. 32.1, “[a] motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or no

contest may be made only before sentence is imposed; but to correct manifest injustice

the court after sentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the

defendant to withdraw his or her plea.” The presentence standard is more lenient than

the “manifest injustice” standard, which is applicable to postsentence motions. State v.

Fugate, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 21574, 2007-Ohio-26, ¶ 10. A presentence motion to

withdraw a guilty plea “should be freely and liberally granted.” State v. Xie, 62 Ohio St.3d

521, 527, 584 N.E.2d 715 (1992). “Nevertheless, even under the presentence standard,

the right to withdraw a plea is not absolute, and a trial court retains discretion to overrule

a presentence motion to withdraw a plea.” State v. Rozell, 2018-Ohio-1722, 111 N.E.3d

861, ¶ 24 (2d Dist.), citing Xie at 527.

{¶ 12} This court reviews a trial court’s decision on a motion to withdraw a guilty

plea for an abuse of discretion. Id. at ¶ 25, citing State v. Smith, 49 Ohio St.2d 261, 264,

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2019 Ohio 4185, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sellman-ohioctapp-2019.