State v. Gill

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 2792

Syllabus

MOTION FOR A CONTINUANCE – CRIM.R. 8 – JOINDER – MOOTNESS – APP.R. 16 – APP.R. 12 – REAGAN TOKES – R.C. 2929.19 – R.C. 2929.14 – SENTENCING – CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES – TRAFFICKING IN DRUGS – POSSESSION OF DRUGS – ALLIED OFFENSES – MERGER – FIREARM SPECIFICATION – MAJOR-DRUG-OFFENDER SPECIFICATION – R.C. 2941.1410 – MOTION TO SUPPRESS – RIGHT TO COUNSEL – CONSENT – PROTECTIVE SWEEP – SEARCH AND SEIZURE: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's request for a continuance to obtain an independent lab test of the drugs recovered during a search of his apartment where defendant waited approximately two-and-a-half years after receiving a discovery report regarding the drugs to request the continuance, defendant had already been granted multiple continuances, and a jury was waiting to report to the courtroom. Defendant's assignment of error challenging the trial court's denial of his motion for relief from prejudicial joinder was moot where the court had effectively granted the motion and accorded defendant the relief requested by subsequently continuing for trial only the charges that defendant sought to bifurcate. Pursuant to App.R. 12(A)(2), an appellate court may disregard an assignment of error where an appellant fails to provide an argument in support of the assignment in the appellate brief as required by App.R. 16(A)(7). Where the trial court provided the Reagan Tokes notifications required by R.C. 2929.19(B)(2)(c) at the plea phase of a joint plea-and-sentencing hearing, the trial court complied with the requirement that it provide the required notifications to an offender at sentencing. The trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences without making the findings required by R.C. 2929.14(C). The trial court erred in imposing separate sentences on multiple groups of allied offenses of similar import, specifically trafficking in heroin and possession of heroin, trafficking in cocaine and possession of cocaine, trafficking in a fentanyl