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State v. Dunham6/10/2004
JUDGMENT: Affirmed.
. Defendant-appellant Ray E. Dunham appeals the sentences imposed upon him by the Jefferson County Common Pleas Court after he pled guilty to three offenses. This court must determine whether the trial court properly imposed non-minimum and consecutive sentences. For the following reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
. On July 8, 2001, appellant was driving a pick-up truck and pulling a trailer with a bass boat. A witness followed him for some distance and watched him drive erratically and aggressively. Appellant then approached three motorcycles, each of which had a driver and a passenger. He pulled up next to them and then swerved into their lane, hitting one motorcycle and causing another to crash. Appellant was indicted on four counts of aggravated vehicular assault while driving under the influence in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(1); these counts were raised to second degree felonies under R.C. 2903.08(B)(1)(a) due to a driving under suspension specification. He was also indicted on four counts of aggravated vehicular assault for reckless driving in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(2); these counts were raised to third degree felonies under R.C. 2908.02(C) due to a driving under suspension specification. He was also indicted for failure to stop after an accident, driving under the influence, and driving under suspension.
. On September 25, 2001, appellant pled guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular assault while driving under the influence and under suspension, one count of aggravated vehicular assault while driving reckless and under suspension, and one count of driving under the influence. In exchange, the state dismissed the remaining charges.
. A sentencing hearing was conducted on September 28, 2001. Three of the four injured victims testified. The first victim testified that she was transported by helicopter due to a concussion. She also suffered a broken shoulder, a broken bone in her face, and multiple scrapes and bruises. (Tr. 3).
. Her husband, the second victim, testified to the experience of seeing his wife lying in a pool of blood. (Tr. 5). He explained that he suffered a broken rib, a broken foot bone, and road rash. (Tr. 5-6). He noted that appellant had a suspended driver's license, no insurance, and no license plate on the trailer he was pulling. He railed against appellant's act of fleeing the scene and leaving injured people lying in the middle of the road. He opined that appellant showed no remorse. He concluded that appellant wounded him and his wife physically, financially, and mentally. (Tr. 5). He stated that his wife's medical bills were $21,000 and his were $1,100; he also had to pay a deductible before his insurance company paid for the $6,600 worth of damages to his motorcycle. (Tr. 6). He disclosed that his son, who was on the third motorcycle with his wife, was traumatized by the accident and will never ride a motorcycle again. (Tr. 6).
. The third victim testified that he suffered road rash and exposed tendons. He explained that his wife could not attend the sentencing hearing due to her emotional state and the fact that she was only recently released from the hospital, more than two months after the accident. He testified that his wife suffered a broken arm, three blood clots in her head, and an open fracture to the back of her skull. She had surgery to remove two of the clots and endured exploratory surgery for internal bleeding. She was unconscious for sixteen days and could not talk until recently. (Tr. 7-8). This victim complained that appellant had been without a license for twelve years and that he had no rem
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