Appeals court upholds Garcia's sentence
Jul. 18—The 11th District Court of Appeals rejected Phil Garcia's attempt to vacate his plea agreement and sentence.
The court found that Garcia's plea agreement did not specifically preclude prosecutors from arguing for a specific prison sentence.
Garcia pleaded guilty to four counts of compelling prostitution, a fourth-degree felony, and seven counts of sexual imposition, third-degree misdemeanors in May of 2020. He was initially sentenced to 18 years in prison before the 11th District Court of Appeals found the court exceeded the statutory maximum sentence, and ordered a new sentencing hearing in the case.
Garcia was sentenced again, this time to 10.5 years in prison. At that hearing, a prosecutor newly appointed to the case argued for a maximum sentence for Garcia. Garcia's attorney, Reid Yoder, objected to the argument, claiming that the prosecution's argument violated the plea agreement.
Garcia's appeal brief claimed that prosecutors making that argument violated Garcia's plea agreement.
The court's opinion states that the agreement is not ambiguous, and the prosecutor's argument for a maximum sentence did not violate Garcia's plea agreement, and nothing in the plea agreement precludes the state from arguing for maximum prison sentences.
The opinion cites another Ashtabula County case, State v Muhammad, in which a prosecutor said at a plea hearing that the state would not be making a sentencing recommendation, then argued for prison at sentencing. However, the plea agreement did not specifically state that, so the verbal statement at the plea hearing was not grounds to overturn the sentence.
Garcia was previously a Conneaut Council member, caterer, and high school sports official. Prosecutors said Garcia groomed young employees of his catering business and targeted young black boys.
Garcia will be eligible for release in January of 2031.
