State v. Wang

2026 Ohio 861
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 13, 2026
DocketWD-25-014
StatusPublished

This text of 2026 Ohio 861 (State v. Wang) 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. Wang, 2026 Ohio 861 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Wang, 2026-Ohio-861.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT WOOD COUNTY

State of Ohio Court of Appeals No.WD-25-014

Appellee Trial Court No. 2023CR0458 v.

Xiaosong Wang DECISION AND JUDGMENT

Appellant Decided: March 13, 2026

***** Paul A. Dobson, Wood County Prosecutor, and Kristofer A. Kristofferson, Assistant Prosecutor, for appellee.

Jeffrey P. Nunnari, for appellant. *****

DUHART, J.

{¶ 1} This case is before the court on appeal from the December 19, 2024 judgment of the

Wood County Common Pleas Court. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in

part. I. Assignments of Error

1. APPELLANT'S GUILTY PLEAS WERE NOT KNOWINGLY, INTELLIGENTLY AND VOLUNTARILY ENTERED.

2. APPELLANT'S SENTENCES ARE CONTRARY TO LAW.

II. Background

{¶ 2} Appellant, Xiaosong Wang, was indicted on the following twelve counts: Counts 1

and 2 - aggravated murder, an unspecified felony, in violation of R.C. 2903.01(A) and R.C.

2929.02(A); Counts 3 and 4 - murder, an unclassified felony, in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B)

and (D) and R.C. 2929.02(B); Counts 5, 6, and 7 - attempted murder, a first-degree felony, in

violation of R.C. 2923.02, R.C. 2903.02(A) and (D) and R.C. 2929.02(B); Counts 8, 9 and 10 -

felonious assault, a second-degree felony, in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) and (D)(1)(a); and,

Counts 11 and 12 - possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony, in violation of R.C.

2923.24(A) and (C). Counts 1 - 10 each also included a three-year firearm specification

pursuant to R.C. 2941.145(A) and two specifications for forfeiture of a weapon, under R.C.

2941.1417(A). Wang pled not guilty.

{¶ 3} On August 26, 2024, a change of plea hearing was held, and Wang withdrew his

not guilty pleas and entered a plea of guilty to each count and specification in the indictment.

As part of the plea agreement, the State agreed to merge certain offenses and to not seek a life-

without-parole sentence.

{¶ 4} On October 7, 2024, Wang’s attorneys were given leave to withdraw and a new

attorney was appointed to represent him.

2. {¶ 5} Wang filed a motion to withdraw his plea. A hearing was held, and the motion was

denied.

{¶ 6} Wang was sentenced on December 11, 2024. Pursuant to the plea agreement,

Count 1 was merged with Count 3, Count 2 was merged with Count 4, and Counts 5 - 10 were

merged. The State elected to proceed on Count 1, 2, and 5. Wang was then sentenced to life

with the possibility of parole after 20 years for Count 1, life with the possibility of parole after

20 years for Count 2, a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and an indefinite maximum term

of 15 years on Count 5, and 12 months each for Counts 11 and 12. Additionally, there were

three-year firearm specifications attached to Counts 1, 2 and 5. Counts 1 and 2 were ordered to

run consecutively to each other and consecutively to the associated gun specifications.1 In the

judgment entry, Counts 5, 11, and 12 and the gun specification attached to Count 5 were ordered

to run consecutively to each other, but concurrent to Counts 1 and 2 and their associated gun

specifications. In total, Wang was sentenced to 46 years to life.

{¶ 7} Wang appealed.

1 There appears to be some inconsistency in the trial court’s sentence as stated at the sentencing hearing as opposed to the judgment entry relating to whether the gun specification attached to Count 5 runs consecutively or concurrently to Counts 5, 11 and 12. This issue has not been raised by either party and therefore is rendered moot by our decision. Moreover, the inconsistency does not affect the length of Wang’s sentence.

3. III. First Assignment of Error

A. Arguments

{¶ 8} Wang contends that his plea was not made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.

He points to the fact that his native language is Mandarin and alleges that the plea form and the

plea colloquy contained errors and misstatements and do not comply with Crim.R. 11.

B. Law

{¶ 9} A defendant’s decision to enter a guilty plea must be knowing, intelligent and

voluntary. State v. Dangler, 2020-Ohio-2765, ¶ 10. Crim.R. 11(C) sets forth the procedures

trial courts must follow when accepting pleas and “‘ensures an adequate record on review by

requiring the trial court to personally inform the defendant of his rights and the consequences of

his plea and determine if the plea is understandingly and voluntarily made.’” Id. at ¶ 11, citing

State v. Stone, 43 Ohio St.2d 163, 168 (1975). Specifically, a trial court must “‘must make the

determinations and give the warnings required by Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(a) and (b)’” and “‘notify the

defendant of his or her constitutional rights enumerated in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c).’” State v.

Gowdy, 2025-Ohio-5575, ¶ 23, quoting State v. Veney, 2008-Ohio-5200, ¶ 13. Traditionally, “a

defendant is not entitled to have his plea vacated unless he demonstrates he was prejudiced by a

failure of the trial court to comply with the provisions of Crim.R. 11(C).” State v. Blackman,

2023-Ohio-3535, ¶ 15 (6th Dist.), quoting Dangler at ¶ 16. “When a trial court complies with

the requirements set out in Crim.R. 11, misstatements of law or premature pretrial rulings on

ancillary issues, even if erroneous, do not invalidate an otherwise valid plea.” Gowdy at ¶ 2.

{¶ 10} When an appellant seeks to vacate his plea on the basis that the plea was not

entered in a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary manner due to the trial court’s failure to comply

4. with Crim.R. 11, the questions to consider are: “(1) has the trial court complied with the relevant

provision of the rule? (2) if the court has not complied fully with the rule, is the purported

failure of a type that excuses a defendant from the burden of demonstrating prejudice? and (3) if

a showing of prejudice is required, has the defendant met that burden?”2 Dangler at ¶ 17.

Generally, an appellant must show prejudice to have his plea vacated unless the court fails to

explain a constitutional right in Crim.R. 11(C)(2)(c) or completely fails to comply with any

portion of Crim.R. 11(C). State v. Lucas, 2025-Ohio-5303, ¶ 13 (6th Dist.), citing Dangler at ¶

13-16. “The test for prejudice is ‘“‘whether the plea would have otherwise been made.’”’” Id.

{¶ 11} We note that Wang’s arguments in this assignment of error generally pertain to

failures under Crim.R.11(C)(2), and he claims that both the written plea form and the plea

colloquy did not comply with Crim.R. 11(C)(2). However, Crim.R. 11(C)(2) requires that the

court address the defendant personally, and when considering whether the trial court complied

with Crim.R. 11(C), our focus is on the dialogue between the court and the defendant to

determine whether the defendant understood the consequences of his plea. Dangler at ¶ 12.

Nevertheless, we may consider the plea form to clarify any alleged ambiguity during the

Crim.R. 11 oral plea colloquy. State v. Williams, 2025-Ohio-2331, ¶ 36 (6th Dist.), quoting

State v. Barker, 2011-Ohio-4130, paragraph two of the syllabus.

2 Both parties base their arguments on a standard which considers whether the trial court strictly complied with the constitutional requirements of Crim.R. 11 and substantially complied with the nonconstitutional requirements of Crim.R. 11.

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Related

State v. Barker
2011 Ohio 4130 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Schleiger (Slip Opinion)
2014 Ohio 3970 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2014)
State v. Willis
2019 Ohio 1182 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Dangler (Slip Opinion)
2020 Ohio 2765 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2020)
State v. Bates (Slip Opinion)
2022 Ohio 475 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2022)
State v. Stone
331 N.E.2d 411 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1975)
State v. Nero
564 N.E.2d 474 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Blackman
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2023 Ohio 2983 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
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2023 Ohio 3851 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2023)
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2025 Ohio 455 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
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State v. Williams
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2025 Ohio 2845 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
State v. Lucas
2025 Ohio 5303 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
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2025 Ohio 5604 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2025)
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2025 Ohio 5575 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2025)

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2026 Ohio 861, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wang-ohioctapp-2026.