State v. Vaughn, 2006 Ohio 6577 (Ohio App. 12/14/2006)
| Decision Date | 14 December 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 87245.,87245. |
| Parties | State of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee. v. Deondre Vaughn, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
William D. Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, BY: Mark J. Mahoney, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, The Justice Center, 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113, Attorney for Appellee.
Leif B. Christman, 1370 Ontario Street, 2000 Standard Building, Cleveland, Ohio 44113, Attorney for Appellant.
BEFORE: Karpinski, P.J., McMonagle, J., and Blackmon, J.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
{¶ 1} In this case, Defendant-Appellant Deondre Vaughn pleaded guilty and
was convicted on one count of rape, one count of abduction and, in a separate case, one count of permitting drug abuse. He now appeals the orders of the trial court denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and refusing his counsel's request to withdraw. He also challenges the sufficiency of his plea hearing and argues that the trial court erred in classifying him as a sexual predator. We find that the trial court committed no error warranting reversal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in all respects.
{¶ 2} In Case No. 455113, the state charged Vaughn with two counts of rape, felonies of the first degree, in violation of R.C. 2907.02, with sexually violent predator specifications under R.C. 2941.148; two counts of kidnapping, felonies of the first degree, in violation of R.C. 2905.01, with sexually violent predator specifications and sexual motivation specifications under R.C. 2941.147; and one count of attempted rape, a felony of the second degree, in violation of R.C. 2923.02/2907.02, also with a sexually violent predator specification. This indictment arose from an incident in which Vaughn allegedly abducted a thirteen-year-old girl as she rode a bicycle or walked1 near his home, brought her inside his home, locked the home's front door to prevent her escape and forcibly raped her.
{¶ 3} In Case No. 455203, the state charged Vaughn with one count of
permitting drug abuse, in violation of R.C. 2925.13; one count of possessing criminal tools, in violation of R.C. 2923.24; and one count of having a weapon while under a disability, in violation of R.C. 2923.13. All three counts were felonies of the fifth degree. This indictment arose from an incident in which Vaughn allegedly drove a companion (and future co-defendant) around in his car as the companion sold or attempted to sell drugs.
{¶ 4} Both cases were transferred to the same common pleas judge for disposition. Vaughn initially retained private defense counsel, but he terminated that relationship in August 2004, and counsel withdrew. The County Public Defender's office then assumed representation of Vaughn for both of his pending cases. Defense counsel appeared for twelve pretrial conferences, engaged in appropriate discovery, and unsuccessfully opposed the state's motion to compel the submission of Vaughn's saliva sample to be used in DNA testing.2 Counsel for the parties discussed the possibility of a plea agreement on several occasions. The parties appeared for a scheduled trial date of April 6, 2005, and the state requested a continuance until May 2, 2005, due to the victim's unavailability. On the record, Vaughn requested that the trial court appoint him new counsel. Vaughn claimed he wanted to proceed to trial, whereas his counsel was attempting to negotiate a plea deal against his wishes. Denying Vaughn's request, the trial court found that his
lawyer was representing him competently and Vaughn had stated no justifiable cause for the appointment of new counsel.
{¶ 5} The case came for trial on the rescheduled date, and the parties selected a jury. The next day, with trial about to begin, the state outlined its final plea offer: in Case No. 455113, Vaughn would plead guilty to one count of rape, a first-degree felony, and one count of abduction, a third-degree felony, which was a charge reduced from one of the kidnapping counts in the indictment. All other counts and specifications in Case No. 455113 would be nolled, and the matter would be set for sentencing and a hearing to determine Vaughn's sexual offender classification. In addition, the state would require Vaughn to plead guilty to one count of permitting drug abuse, a fifth-degree felony, in Case No. 455203; all other counts of that indictment would be nolled. Vaughn ultimately agreed, and the trial court took the pleas accordingly.
{¶ 6} On July 13, 2005, Vaughn's lawyer filed a motion to permit Vaughn to withdraw his previously entered guilty pleas and to assign him new counsel. On the previously scheduled date of July 22, 2005, the court heard, and denied, the motion on the record and then proceeded to the sexual offender classification hearing and sentencing. The court designated Vaughn as a sexual predator and sentenced him to eight years imprisonment on the rape charge, one year on the abduction charge and six months on the permitting drug abuse charge, all sentences to run concurrently. He now appeals in four assignments of error.
{¶ 7} In his first assignment of error, Vaughn states:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT PERMITTING MR. VAUGHN TO WITHDRAWAL (sic) HIS PRIOR GUILTY PLEA PRIOR TO SENTENCING.
{¶ 8} Crim.R. 32.1 provides:
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.
{¶ 9} Generally, a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea is to be freely and liberally granted. State v. Xie (1992), 62 Ohio St.3d 521, 526, 584 N.E.2d 715. However, a defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea prior to sentencing. Id. at paragraph one of the syllabus. Rather, "[a] trial court must conduct a hearing to determine whether there is a reasonable and legitimate basis for the withdrawal of the plea." Id. The Xie court further held that "[t]he decision to grant or deny a presentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea is within the sound discretion of the trial court." Id. at paragraph two of the syllabus. Accordingly, in order to find that the trial court abused its discretion, a reviewing court must find that the court's ruling was "unreasonable, arbitrary or unconscionable." Id. at 527.
{¶ 10} In State v. Fish (1995), 104 Ohio App.3d 236, 661 N.E.2d 788, the First Appellate District set forth a non-exhaustive list of factors to weigh in considering a motion to withdraw a plea:
(1) whether the prosecution would be prejudiced if the plea was vacated; (2) whether the accused was represented by highly competent counsel; (3) whether the accused was given a full Crim.R. 11 hearing;
(4) whether a full hearing was held on the motion; (5) whether the trial court gave full and fair consideration to the motion; (6) whether the motion was made within a reasonable time; (7) whether the motion set forth specific reasons for the withdrawal; (8) whether the accused understood the nature of the charges and possible penalties; and (9) whether the accused was perhaps not guilty or had a complete defense to the crime.
{¶ 11} A change of heart or mistaken belief about pleading guilty is not a reasonable basis for requiring a trial court to permit the defendant to withdraw his guilty plea. State v. Lambros (1988), 44 Ohio App.3d 102, 103, 541 N.E.2d 632. Every motion to withdraw a guilty plea necessarily includes a "change of heart"; a mere change of heart, therefore, without some additional justification, is not a sufficient ground for the withdrawal of a guilty plea, especially when the defendant has become aware that the sentence is likely to be greater than was anticipated at the time of the plea. Id.
{¶ 12} At hearing, Vaughn's counsel stated that Vaughn wished to withdraw his guilty pleas because he misunderstood or counsel misled him regarding the penalties he would face in pleading guilty. The plea hearing, however, was a model of clarity, in that the judge discussed in detail with Vaughn, on the record, the possible penalties for each of the charges he was to plead to. She also made it unmistakably clear that it was within the range of possible penalties that she would make her decision. Furthermore, there was no agreement or promise regarding how
much prison time he would ultimately receive.3
{¶ 13} Counsel also argued that after entering his plea, Vaughn decided that his admissions of guilt did not accurately reflect his perceived level of culpability in the events underlying his indictments. The level of culpability, however, is an intrinsic part of the level of felony of each crime to which he pleaded guilty. His argument, therefore, must be deemed a "change of heart," which is no basis for allowing a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea. State v. Lambros, supra.
{¶ 14} Finally, counsel asserted that Vaughn wished to withdraw his guilty plea because he might have felt pressured or coerced into making the pleas, with trial looming, by his father or stepfather, or by counsel's urging to take the plea. Specifically, defense counsel argued:
I think that more than likely what happened in this case is that after he took the plea, which was a long time in the making—I know the Court was generous enough to allow his father and stepfather to have time to talk him into this at length about what he was going to do. I think that in retrospect he felt that he was pressured and coerced either by them or by me or by both because of the severity of the situation. And once he got back to his cell, and upon reflection, realized that he's looking at
anywhere between 3 and 15 years for something that he doesn't feel accurately...
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