State v. Willis

2013 Ohio 2391
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 10, 2013·No. CA2012-08-155·Published·Cited by 26 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BUTLER COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, :

CASE NO. CA2012-08-155

Plaintiff-Appellee, :

OPINION

: 6/10/2013

- vs -

:

LEDARYLE J. WILLIS, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. CR2012-01-0075

Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, Kimberly L. McManus, Government Services Center, 315 High Street, 11th Floor, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for plaintiff-appellee

John T. Willard, P.O. Box 35, Hamilton, Ohio 45012, for defendant-appellant

S. POWELL, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Ledaryle J. Willis, appeals his convictions in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas for carrying a concealed weapon, having a weapon while under disability, and obstructing official business. For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part and reverse in part the decision of the trial court.

{¶ 2} On January 4, 2012, Middletown Police Officer James Wilcox was patrolling the downtown area of Middletown. Around 12:30 a.m., Officer Wilcox observed appellant riding

a bicycle without a headlight or rear light. Officer Wilcox drove to a road close to appellant, activated a spotlight, and pulled over. When Officer Wilcox's spotlight illuminated appellant, appellant stood up on his bicycle, pedaled faster, and travelled around Officer Wilcox's vehicle. Appellant traveled through two parking lots, over curbs, and behind Officer Wilcox's vehicle several times. Eventually, a second police cruiser blocked appellant from riding out of a parking lot. Officer Wilcox then bumped appellant's bicycle with his police cruiser's front bumper and appellant fell to the ground.

{¶ 3} After appellant fell to the ground, Officer Wilcox placed appellant in handcuffs.

As he handcuffed appellant, Officer Wilcox asked him if he had any weapons on him and appellant did not respond. Officer Wilcox searched appellant's front pocket and found a loaded handgun magazine. Officer Wilcox also found a 9 mm handgun concealed inside a blue sock tucked in the back of appellant's waistband.

{¶ 4} On March 7, 2012, the Butler County Grand Jury indicted appellant for carrying a concealed weapon, having a weapon while under disability, and obstructing official business. Thereafter, appellant's counsel filed a motion to suppress the evidence. Subsequently, the trial court held a hearing and overruled the motion. On May 3, 2012, appellant entered a plea of "no contest" to each charged offense. Appellant was sentenced to an aggregate community control term for five years, a 90-day jail sentence with credit for 92 days served, and a fine of $500. Appellant was also ordered to pay the costs of prosecution.

{¶ 5} Appellant now appeals, asserting four assignments of error.

{¶ 6} Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 7} IT WAS ERROR FOR THE JUDGMENT ENTRY IN THE INSTANT CASE TO REFLECT THAT THE APPELLANT PLED GUILTY TO THE CHARGES WHEN THE PLEA SIGNED AT THE PLEA HEARING CLEARLY STATES THAT THE APPELLANT PLED NO

CONTEST.

{¶ 8} Appellant argues that his judgment of conviction entry inaccurately reflects the type of plea he made to the charges. After the motion to suppress, appellant pled "no contest" to carrying a concealed weapon, having a weapon while under disability, and obstructing official business. While appellant pled "no contest" to these charges, the judgment entry states that appellant entered a guilty plea. The state concedes that this was in error and suggests that this court should order the trial court to issue a nunc pro tunc judgment of conviction entry correcting the mistake.

{¶ 9} It is well settled that courts possess the authority to correct errors in judgment entries so that the record speaks the truth. State ex rel. Fogle v. Steiner, 74 Ohio St.3d 158, 163-164 (1995); Crim.R. 36. Errors subject to correction by the court include a clerical error, mistake, or omission that is mechanical in nature and apparent on the record and do not involve a legal decision or judgment. State v. Miller, 127 Ohio St.3d 407, 2010-Ohio-5705, ¶ 15. Nunc pro tunc entries are used to make the record reflect what the court actually decided and not what the court might or should have decided or what the court intended to decide. State v. Lester, 130 Ohio St.3d 303, 2011-Ohio-5204.

{¶ 10} In this case, the trial court committed a clerical error by stating that appellant pled "guilty" to the charges when the record reflects that he pled "no contest." It is clear that the trial court actually decided that appellant pled "no contest" and the error in the judgment entry is purely clerical. Consequently, the trial court erred in stating that appellant pled "guilty" to the charges and this matter is remanded to the trial court so that the court may issue a nunc pro tunc entry to accurately reflect appellant's plea.

{¶ 11} Appellant's first assignment of error is sustained.

{¶ 12} Assignment of Error No. 2:

{¶ 13} IT WAS ERROR FOR THE TRIAL COURT NOT TO SUPPRESS ANY OR ALL

EVIDENCE SEIZED BY THE STATE AS THE RESULT OF THE UNWARRANTED AND UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE OF THE APPELLANT WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE.

{¶ 14} Appellant challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress the evidence on two bases. Appellant argues that Officer Wilcox had no authority to attempt to stop him when he observed appellant riding a bicycle without a proper light because he only committed a minor misdemeanor. Appellant also maintains that Officer Wilcox's actions were unconstitutional because the officer had no basis to arrest and search him.

{¶ 15} Appellate review of a ruling on a motion to suppress presents a mixed question of law and fact. State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152, 2003-Ohio-5372, ¶ 8. When considering a motion to suppress, the trial court, as the trier of fact, is in the best position to weigh the evidence in order to resolve factual questions and evaluate witness credibility. State v. Eyer, 12th Dist. No. CA2007-06-071, 2008-Ohio-1193, ¶ 8. In turn, the appellate court must accept the trial court's findings of fact so long as they are supported by competent, credible evidence. State v. Lange, 12th Dist. No. CA2007-09-232, 2008-Ohio- 3595, ¶ 4. After accepting the trial court's factual findings as true, the appellate court must then determine, as a matter of law, and without deferring to the trial court's conclusions, whether the trial court applied the appropriate legal standard. State v. Forbes, 12th Dist. No. CA2007-01-001, 2007-Ohio-6412, ¶ 29.

Traffic Stop

{¶ 16} We begin by addressing whether Officer Wilcox's attempts to stop appellant for violating a traffic ordinance were constitutional. Initially, we note that appellant has waived the constitutionality of Officer Wilcox's ability to stop appellant for violating a traffic ordinance. While appellant's written motion to suppress argued that Officer Wilcox's stop was not based on reasonable articulable suspicion, during the suppression hearing, appellant conceded that

he was not challenging the stop. The trial court acknowledged this concession, noting, "I think the defense concedes that the officer's ability to stop the individual for having violated this section is recognized constitutionally."

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