State v. Webb

[Cite as State v. Webb, 2021-Ohio-2637.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
CRAWFORD COUNTY
STATE OF OHIO,
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, CASE NO. 3-20-17
v.
ALEC VERNON WEBB, OPINION
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Appeal from Crawford County Common Pleas Court
Trial Court No. 19-CR-0276
Judgment Affirmed
Date of Decision: August 2, 2021
APPEARANCES:
Edwin M. Bibler for Appellant
Matthew E. Crall for Appellee
Case No. 3-20-17
MILLER, J.
{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Alec V. Webb, appeals the October 27, 2020
judgment of sentence of the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas. For the
reasons that follow, we affirm.
Background
{¶2} On July 9, 2019, the Crawford County Grand Jury indicted Webb on
one count of burglary in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A)(2), a second-degree felony.
On July 24, 2019, Webb appeared for arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
{¶3} On August 29, 2019, Webb appeared for a change of plea hearing.
Under a negotiated plea agreement, the State orally moved to amend the charge
contained in the indictment to burglary in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A)(3), a third-
degree felony. The trial court granted the State’s motion to amend the charge in the
indictment. Thereafter, Webb withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a guilty
plea to the amended charge. The trial court accepted Webb’s guilty plea and found
him guilty of the reduced charge. The trial court then proceeded directly to
sentencing and sentenced Webb to 36 months in prison. As part of the plea
negotiations, the State agreed to not oppose judicial release after Webb served 24
months in prison. (Appellant’s Brief at 2).
{¶4} On January 29, 2020, Webb filed a motion for judicial release pursuant
to R.C. 2929.20(K). The State filed a response stating that it would remain silent as
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to Webb’s motion for judicial release. The trial court held a hearing the motion on
April 22, 2020, after which, the court granted Webb’s motion for judicial release
and placed him under community control supervised by the court’s probation
department.
{¶5} On May 11, 2020, a notice was filed alleging that Webb had violated
the terms of his judicial release by damaging property and having a drug test which
showed his use of marijuana and buprenorphine. The notice required Webb show
cause as to why his judicial release should not be revoked. At a hearing on June 24,
2020, Webb admitted to violating the conditions imposed upon him. Thereafter, the
trial court found Webb in violation and ordered that Webb serve 100 days of local
incarceration as an additional condition of his judicial release. On July 13, 2020,
the trial court sua sponte reviewed the matter and determined that, due to the current
jail population, the remainder of Webb’s 100-day-sentence be suspended, and he
was released from custody.
{¶6} On October 6, 2020, a notice was filed alleging that Webb had again
violated the terms of his judicial release by being arrested for disorderly conduct
and having a drug test that showed his use of amphetamine and methamphetamine.
At a hearing on October 26, 2020, the trial court found Webb had violated the
conditions imposed upon him. Thereafter, the trial court revoked Webb’s judicial
release and reimposed the balance of his original 36-month prison term. The
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following day, the trial court filed its judgment entry of sentence reflecting the
sentence pronounced at the hearing.
{¶7} Webb filed his notice of appeal on November 24, 2020. He raises one
assignment of error for our review.
Assignment of Error
The record does not support the trial court’s decision to reimpose
thirty-six (36) months in prison as a result of Appellant’s
Community Control Violations.
{¶8} In his assignment of error, Webb argues that the record does not support
the trial court’s decision to reimpose the balance of his 36-month prison term for his
violation of the terms of his judicial release. Webb contends that, due to his history
of substance abuse, the trial court should have placed him in a drug-treatment
program rather than reimpose the balance of his prison term. For the reasons that
follow, we find no error by the trial court.
Relevant Law and Analysis
{¶9} A trial court’s decision to revoke a defendant’s judicial release based
on a violation of the conditions of his judicial release will not be disturbed absent
an abuse of discretion. State v. Arm, 3d Dist. Union Nos. 14-14-03 and 14-14-04,
2014-Ohio-3771, ¶ 22. An abuse of discretion implies that the trial court acted
unreasonably, arbitrarily, or unconscionably. State v. Adams, 62 Ohio St.2d 151,
157-158 (1980).
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{¶10} Although Webb uses the term “community control” in his assignment
of error, as the parties noted, community control under R.C. 2929.15 and judicial
release under R.C. 2929.20 are distinct legal concepts. “Under R.C. 2929.15, a
defendant’s original sentence is community control and he will not receive a term
of incarceration unless he violates the terms of his community control, * * *
whereas, when a defendant is granted judicial release under R.C. 2929.20, he ‘“has
already served a period of incarceration, and the remainder of that prison sentence
is suspended pending either the successful completion of a period of community
control or the defendant’s violation of a community control sanction.”’”1 (Internal
citations omitted.) State v. Jones, 3d Dist. Mercer Nos. 10-07-26 and 10-07-27,
2008-Ohio-2117, ¶ 12, quoting State v. Alexander, 3d Dist. Union No. 14-07-45,
2008-Ohio-1485, ¶ 7, quoting State v. Mann, 3d Dist. Crawford No. 3-03-42, 2004-
Ohio-4703, ¶ 8. Further, this court has held that “[i]t is error for a trial court, after
revoking judicial release, to impose a greater or lesser sentence than the original
sentence.” State v. Thompson, 3d Dist. Crawford No. 3-16-01 and 3-16-12, 2016-
Ohio-8401, ¶ 13. Accordingly, when the trial court found Webb to again be in
violation of the judicial release conditions, it had to reimpose the remainder of the
previously imposed sentence unless it elected to allow Webb to remain on judicial
1
We note that R.C. 2929.20(K) confusingly uses the term “community control” in reference to the status of
an offender granted judicial release. See R.C. 2929.20(K); State v. Jones, 3d Dist. Mercer Nos. 10-07-26 and
10-07-27, 2008-Ohio-2117, ¶ 12.
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release pending further violation. State v. Owens, 3d Dist. Crawford Nos. 3-19-16
and 3-19-17, 2020-Ohio-5573, ¶ 23. Thus, the trial court did not err by reimposing
the remainder of Webb’s original sentence upon its revocation of Webb’s judicial
release. Id.{¶11} To the extent Webb argues that the trial court abused its discretion by
electing to reimpose the remainder of his previously imposed sentence rather than
allow him to remain on judicial release pending further violation, we are
unpersuaded. Webb contends that, due to his history of substance abuse, the trial
court erred by not continuing his judicial release and ordering him to complete
substance abuse treatment. While the trial court could have imposed an additional
condition of judicial release requiring Webb to complete substance abuse treatment,
the court was not obligated to do so. As the trial court noted at the October 26,
2020 hearing, Webb’s present indiscretion marked his second violation since being
granted judicial release approximately six months prior. Further, at the hearing, the
trial court detailed its attempts at leniency in sentencing Webb, even in the face of
Webb’s repeated violations. The trial judge stated he had “given [Webb] breaks
that [he] hadn’t given to anybody before” and had “used up all [the trial court’s]
time and resources with [Webb].” (Oct. 26, 2020 Tr. at 9-10). The trial court
considered that this was the second occasion Webb violated the terms of his judicial
release and determined that reimposing the remaining portion of Webb’s prison
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sentence was appropriate. (Id.). Thus, the record indicates Webb was afforded
repeated opportunities for leniency and in order to demonstrate he was capable of
making positive changes and leading a law-abiding life, yet Webb did not seize the
opportunities. (Id.). We note, for example, the trial court agreed to the original plea
agreement reducing the degree of the offense, granted judicial release after Webb
served only eight months of his 36-month sentence, did not return him to prison
after the first violation, instead imposing a period of local incarceration, and then,
released him early from that sanction. Further, the trial court stated that, it would
not oppose a request to transfer Webb to a halfway house under transitional control.
(Id. at 10). Accordingly, we reject Webb’s argument that the trial court abused its
discretion by electing to reimpose his remaining prison term.
{¶12} Webb’s assignment of error is overruled.
{¶13} Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein in the
particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgment of the Crawford County
Court of Common Pleas.
Judgment Affirmed
WILLAMOWSKI, P.J. and ZIMMERMAN, J., concur.
/jlr
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