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State v. Lanier

COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OTTAWA COUNTY
Nov 13, 2020
2020 Ohio 5289 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)

Opinion

Court of Appeals No. OT-20-002

11-13-2020

State of Ohio Appellee v. Jareel Lanier Appellant

James J. VanEerten, Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney, and Barbara Gallé Rivas, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. Howard C. Whitcomb, III, for appellant.


Trial Court No. 2019 CRI 180A DECISION AND JUDGMENT James J. VanEerten, Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney, and Barbara Gallé Rivas, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. Howard C. Whitcomb, III, for appellant. SINGER, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, Jareel A. Lanier, appeals from the January 10, 2020 judgment of the Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas convicting him of trafficking in marijuana, a felony of the fifth degree (R.C. 2925.03(A)(2) and (C)(3)(a)), following acceptance of his guilty plea, and sentencing him to a community control sanction. For the reasons which follow, we find appellant's appeal is moot.

{¶ 2} On appeal, appellant asserts a single assignment of error:

THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN IMPOSING A MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 180 DAYS OF LOCAL TIME UPON DEFENDANT-APPELLANT AS IT WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

{¶ 3} On June 6, 2019, in Ottawa Court of Common Pleas case No. 2019 CRI 112A, appellant was indicted in a two-count indictment alleging two counts of theft, one a felony of the fifth degree and one a misdemeanor of the first degree. On August 1, 2019, appellant was indicted in Ottawa Court of Common Pleas case No. 2019 CRI 180A, in a five-count indictment alleging two counts of trafficking in marijuana, both felonies of the fifth degree, one count of underage purchase of a handgun, a misdemeanor of the second degree, and two counts of possession of marijuana paraphernalia, both minor misdemeanors. In exchange for dismissing all of the other counts in both cases, appellant entered a guilty plea to one count of trafficking in marijuana in case No. 2019 CRI 180A. Appellant was sentenced to a community control sanction including non-residential and residential sanctions (180 days in the Ottawa County Detention Facility), the cost of prosecution, and restitution. On March 27, 2020, the trial court released appellant from the custody of the detention facility and placed him on GPS/House arrest until June 30, 2020, when his community control would terminate. Appellant did not request a stay of execution of this order. Therefore, he has fully served his sentence.

{¶ 4} On appeal, appellant's only argument is that the trial court erred by imposing the maximum term of incarceration. Because appellant has already served his sentence and is not challenging his conviction, we find this appeal is moot. State ex rel. Gordon v. Murphy, 112 Ohio St.3d 329, 2006-Ohio-6572, 859 N.E.2d 928, ¶ 6; State v. McCormick, 6th Dist. Wood No. WD-15-078, WD-15-079, 2016-Ohio-8009, ¶ 9; State v. Verdream, 7th Dist. Mahoning No. 02 CA 222, 2003-Ohio-7284, ¶ 13. Therefore, we sua sponte order this appeal dismissed at appellant's costs.

Appeal dismissed.

A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to App.R. 27. See also 6th Dist.Loc.App.R. 4.

Mark L. Pietrykowski, J.

Arlene Singer, J.

Gene A. Zmuda, P.J.
CONCUR. /s/_________

JUDGE /s/_________

JUDGE /s/_________

JUDGE

This decision is subject to further editing by the Supreme Court of

Ohio's Reporter of Decisions. Parties interested in viewing the final reported

version are advised to visit the Ohio Supreme Court's web site at:

http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/.


Summaries of

State v. Lanier

COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OTTAWA COUNTY
Nov 13, 2020
2020 Ohio 5289 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)
Case details for

State v. Lanier

Case Details

Full title:State of Ohio Appellee v. Jareel Lanier Appellant

Court:COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OTTAWA COUNTY

Date published: Nov 13, 2020

Citations

2020 Ohio 5289 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020)