Trio of unrelated appeals rejected by 11th district
Oct. 3—The 11th District Court of Appeals affirmed the judgement of the trial court in a trio of Ashtabula County cases on Friday.
In the first case, State v. Javaun Anthony Whitted, the court reviewed claims that the trial court abused its discretion by denying a motion to withdraw Whitted's guilty plea before he was sentenced.
Whitted was initially indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, one count of corrupting another with drugs, a second-degree felony, and one count of trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony.
After initially pleading not guilty to all charges, Whitted later pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, after which he moved to withdraw his guilty plea, according to the 11th District Court of Appeals' opinion. The trial court rejected the motion, forming the grounds for Whitted's appeal.
The appeal claims that the rejection of Whitted's motion deprived him of a trial and due process of law.
The appeals court found that Whitted was represented by competent counsel, that he received a full plea hearing as required by criminal rules, that Whitted received a full hearing on his motion to withdraw his plea, and the court gave full and fair consideration to the request, the four required factors to reject the withdrawal of a guilty plea before sentencing, according to the opinion.
According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, Whitted will be eligible for release in August of 2026.
In an unrelated case, State v. David M. Kaufmann, the court reviewed claims that the the trial court improperly denied a motion for post-conviction relief without a hearing.
Kaufmann was indicted on four counts of gross sexual imposition, three fourth-degree felonies and one third-degree misdemeanor. He eventually pleaded guilty to two fourth-degree felony counts of gross sexual imposition. During the plea hearing, Kaufmann's attorney stated that the behavior alleged by prosecutors took place.
He was sentenced to three years in prison.
After being sentenced, Kaufmann filed a motion claiming that his attorney admitted conduct beyond what he was charged with, which he claimed rendered the attorney ineffective.
The appeal also claimed that the trial court erred when it failed to explain the denial of Kaufmann's petition.
Kaufmann had filed previous appeals in this case, and the appeals court found that the both of grounds for appeal lacked merit.
According to the ODRC, Kaufmann will be eligible for release in February of 2025.
In an unrelated case, Brandon Robert Swope appealed his sentence on a count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony.
Swope pleaded guilty, and the court imposed a stipulated sentence of 18 months imprisonment.
A defense attorney sought to withdraw from the case, and filed a motion and submitted a brief stating he was unable to find any errors in the trial court proceeding. The only possible grounds for appeal in this case would be compliance with criminal rules, and it appears the rule was complied with, according to the brief.
Because no issues were found, the court's judgement was affirmed.
Swople will be eligible for release in May of next year.
