State v. Colburn

[Cite as State v. Colburn, 2016-Ohio-165.]
STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
)ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
COUNTY OF MEDINA )
STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 14CA0012-M
Appellee
v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT
ENTERED IN THE
CHAD COLBURN COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
COUNTY OF MEDINA, OHIO
Appellant CASE No. 13CR0322
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
Dated: January 19, 2016
CARR, Presiding Judge.
{¶1} Appellant, Chad A. Colburn, appeals the judgment of the Medina County Court of
Common Pleas. This Court affirms.
I.
{¶2} In May 2013, Chad Colburn was selling coupon books door to door when he
burglarized a house in Wadsworth. On June 5, 2013, the Medina County Grand Jury indicted
Colburn on one count of burglary, a felony of the third degree. After initially pleading not guilty
at arraignment, Colburn subsequently entered a plea of no contest to the sole charge in the
indictment. The trial court found Colburn guilty and ordered a presentence investigation report
(“PSI”). After reviewing the PSI, the trial court sentenced Colburn to 36 months in prison. The
trial court ran the prison term concurrently with a separate prison sentence imposed in the
Richland County Court of Common Pleas.
{¶3} On appeal, Colburn raises one assignment of error.
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II.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY SENTENCING DEFENDANT TO THE
MAXIMUM SENTENCE.
{¶4} In his sole assignment of error, Colburn asserts that the trial court erred by
sentencing him to a maximum sentence. This Court disagrees.
{¶5} Colburn does not dispute that his sentence is within the lawful statutory range.
Rather, Colburn contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it sentenced him to a
maximum 36-month sentence. Colburn notes that the trial court never made a finding pursuant
to R.C. 2929.11 pertaining to whether the sentence was the minimum sanction available to
protect the public and punish the offender without unnecessarily burdening government
resources. Colburn further contends that his conduct in this case did not constitute the worst
form of the offense and the record is devoid of any evidence that the trial court considered the
factors set forth in R.C. 2929.12(B).
{¶6} This Court utilizes a two-step approach when reviewing criminal sentences. See
State v. Thomas, 9th Dist. Medina No. 14CA0042-M, 2015-Ohio-2195, ¶ 9.
First, [we] must examine the sentencing court’s compliance with all applicable
rules and statutes in imposing the sentence to determine whether the sentence is
clearly and convincingly contrary to law. If this first prong is satisfied, the trial
court’s decision in imposing the term of imprisonment is reviewed under the
abuse-of-discretion standard.
State v. Kalish, 120 Ohio St. 3d 23, 2008-Ohio-4912, at ¶ 26.
{¶7} The Supreme Court of Ohio has held that “[t]rial courts have full discretion to
impose a prison sentence within the [applicable] statutory range[.]” State v. Foster, 109 Ohio
St.3d 1, 2006-Ohio-856, paragraph seven of the syllabus. In exercising that discretion, “‘[a]
court must carefully consider the statutes that apply to every felony case[,] * * * includ[ing] R.C.
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2929.11, which specifies the purposes of sentencing, and R.C. 2929.12, which provides guidance
in considering factors relating to the seriousness of the offense and recidivism of the offender.’”
State v. Davison, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 10CA009803, 2011-Ohio-1528, ¶ 12, quoting State v.
Mathis, 109 Ohio St. 3d 54, 2006-Ohio-855, ¶ 38.
{¶8} “Although a sentencing judge must consider the principles and purposes of
sentencing in imposing a sentence, he or she is not required to make findings or give their
reasons before imposing a maximum sentence.” State v. Linde, 9th Dist. Summit No. 26714,
2013-Ohio-3503, ¶ 21, citing Mathis at paragraph three of the syllabus. “[W]here the trial court
does not put on the record its consideration of [R.C.] 2929.11 and R.C. 2929.12, it is presumed
that the trial court gave proper consideration to those statutes.” State v. Thrasher, 9th Dist.
Summit No. 27547, 2015-Ohio-2504, ¶ 4, citing State v. Steidl, 9th Dist. Medina No. 10CA0025-
M, 2011-Ohio-2320, ¶ 13, quoting Kalish at ¶ 18, fn. 4. “Unless the record shows that the court
failed to consider the factors, or that the sentence is strikingly inconsistent with the factors, the
court is presumed to have considered the statutory factors if the sentence is within the statutory
range.” (Internal quotations and citations omitted.) Thrasher at ¶ 4, quoting State v. Fernandez,
9th Dist. Medina No. 13CA0054-M, 2014-Ohio-3651, ¶ 8.
{¶9} In this case, the trial court sentenced Colburn to a 36-month prison term for his
burglary conviction, the maximum sentence for a third degree felony of this nature. See R.C.
2929.14(A)(3)(b).
{¶10} A thorough review of the record reveals that the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in sentencing Colburn to a maximum sentence. The trial court found that a 36-month
prison term was necessary to adequately punish Colburn and to protect the public from future
crime. While the trial court did not make any additional findings in its judgment entry, the court
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noted that its sentencing decision was made with the benefit of a presentence investigation
report. “[A] PSI report provides the trial court with valuable information to be considered in
determining the type and duration of sentence to impose.” State v. Berkenstock, 9th Dist.
Summit Nos. 26721, 26815, 2013-Ohio-4576, ¶ 16. Here, the trial court reviewed the PSI and
took particular note of Colburn’s extensive criminal history, which dated back to 1989 and
spanned across multiple Ohio counties. In addition to several drug and alcohol-related offenses,
Colburn’s adult history includes a bevy of theft convictions. Colburn also has felony convictions
for burglary, grand theft, and forgery. During the presentence investigation, Colburn admitted
that he committed the burglary to support his drug habit. The PSI further stated that the Ohio
Risk Assessment System scored Colburn as a “Very High Risk Offender.” While defense
counsel zealously advocated for a shorter sentence, he acknowledged before the trial court that
“part of the sentencing statute [] would encourage you to give him a longer sentence[.]” Given
the pattern of criminal behavior that preceded the commission of the burglary in this case, we
cannot say that Colburn’s 36-month prison sentence was strikingly inconsistent with the
sentencing factors. Thrasher at ¶ 4, citing Fernandez, 2014-Ohio-3651, at ¶ 8.
{¶11} The assignment of error is overruled.
III.
{¶12} Colburn’s assignment of error is overruled. The judgment of the Medina County
Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
There were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
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We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Court of Common
Pleas, County of Medina, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A certified copy
of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27.
Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of
judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the
period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(C). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is
instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the
mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30.
Costs taxed to Appellant.
DONNA J. CARR
FOR THE COURT
MOORE, J.
SCHAFER, J.
CONCUR.
APPEARANCES:
SEAN BUCHANAN, Attorney at Law, for Appellant.
DEAN HOLMAN, Prosecuting Attorney, and MATTHEW A. KERN, Assistant Prosecuting
Attorney, for Appellee.