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State v. Fields4/3/2000
O P I N I O N
Defendant-appellant, Gregory G. Fields, appeals his convictions by the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under suspension.
On January 10, 1999, appellant was arrested in Clermont County for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs ("DUI") in violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1), a first-degree misdemeanor, and for driving under suspension ("DUS") in violation of R.C. 4507.02, a first-degree misdemeanor. The officer issued appellant a summons requiring him to appear in the Clermont County Municipal Court on January 14, 1999. The officer also arrested appellant on outstanding warrants in Hamilton County which were the initial basis for the stop. Thereafter, the officer turned appellant over to Hamilton County authorities who placed appellant in jail at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
Although appellant's summons ordered him to appear in the Clermont County Municipal Court on January 14, 1999, appellant did not appear, since at that time, appellant was in jail in Hamilton County. That day, the trial court issued a bench warrant that was lodged as a holder against appellant in Hamilton County.
Upon further investigation, the state discovered that appellant had three prior DUI convictions. On March 17, 1999, the Clermont County Grand Jury indicted appellant on a fourth-degree felony DUI charge and on a misdemeanor DUS. The indictment was based upon the same facts and circumstances surrounding the January 10, 1999 charges with the addition of a reference to appellant's three prior DUIs.
Appellant was returned to Clermont County on March 27, 1999, and the bench warrant was canceled on March 29, 1999. That day, appellant appeared in the Clermont County Municipal Court on a bond hearing where the state dismissed the January 10, 1999 charges and served appellant with a copy of the indictment charging a felony DUI and misdemeanor DUS. In lieu of posting bail, appellant chose to remain in jail until his trial.
On April 21, 1999, appellant made an oral motion to suppress evidence. At an April 27, 1999 hearing, appellant notified the court that he wished to withdraw his motion to avoid any tolling of the speedy trial statute. By its April 30, 1999 entry, the trial court dismissed the motion to suppress and stated that the speedy trial statute had been tolled between April 21 to April 27, 1999. At that time, the trial court set the trial for May 26, 1999.
On May 6, 1999, appellant filed a pro se motion to dismiss the case or reduce the felony DUI to a misdemeanor DUI on the grounds that there was not a conviction on the third DUI. Prior to trial on May 26, 1999, the state amended the indictment from a felony DUI to a misdemeanor DUI after discovering that one of the three prior DUIs had not been properly journalized. Afterwards, appellant objected to proceeding with his trial based upon the state's failure to bring him to trial on misdemeanors under the time requirements of R.C. 2945.71(B)(2). The trial court overruled appellant's motion for discharge and the case proceeded to trial.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty on both charges and by its June 2, 1999 entry the trial court found appellant guilty of both charges. In a June 29, 1999 judgment entry, the trial court sentenced appellant to six months in the Clermont County jail on each charge to be served consecutively. In addition, the trial court fined appellant $1,000 and suspended his driver's license for three years.
Appellant timely appeals, raising the following assignment of error:
THE COURT COMMITTED ERROR IN OVERRULING DEFENDANT APPELLANT'S MOTION TO
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