Man gets 1-year prison term for fleeing police in stolen vehicle in Clinton County

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WILMINGTON — A Columbus man, found guilty in Clinton County of fleeing police in a stolen rental car, received a 12-month prison sentence.

Rigoberto Ramirez, 23, of Columbus, was transported to the Clinton County Common Pleas Courtroom for his sentencing hearing there from the Lebanon Correctional Institution where he already was serving a prison term for Franklin County.

The 12-month prison term in the Clinton County case will be served consecutively to the prison term Ramirez already was serving. The length of the prison term and its consecutive nature were recommended by both parties in a negotiated resolution of the case.

Sitting Judge William B. McCracken (retired) independently found the recommended and agreed prison term appropriate as well, and accordingly ordered the defendant to serve a 12-month consecutive term.

In the negotiated plea agreement, Ramirez agreed to enter pleas of guilty to failure to comply and to receiving stolen property. A charge of vehicular assault was dropped by prosecution as part of the plea agreement.

In an unrelated case, a Wilmington man was given a nine-month prison term after he was unsuccessfully discharged from the STAR Community Justice Center facility.

Getting discharged from STAR is a violation of the terms of community controls for Jarrod A. Davis, 34, of Wilmington. He was placed on community controls for a two-year term in November 2017 after he was found guilty of felony domestic violence.

According to a court paper in the case file, Davis was unsuccessfully discharged from STAR “for making inappropriate sexual remarks and lying during the PREA investigation.” PREA stands for the Prison Rape Elimination Act, passed in 2003, which was created to eliminate sexual abuse in confinement.

An earlier violation of community controls occurred in October 2018 when Davis tested positive for meth and for amphetamine.

The original domestic violence charge stemmed from the defendant throwing an apple at a young child, leaving a welt, stated a court paper. Davis claimed to have mental health issues that need addressing, a September 2017 court document stated.

Davis previously was convicted of domestic violence in a Clinton County Municipal Court case.

In this later common pleas case, he was granted time credit toward the nine-month prison term for the 158 days he had spent in incarceration.

Frank A. Moore, 47, of Wilmington, who was found guilty of aggravated trafficking in drugs (a third-degree felony), was placed on community control sanctions for two years. In the sentencing document, Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck gave his reasons for the non-prison sanctions:

“This crime, typically resulting in imposition of a prison term, occurred on Oct. 23, 2017. The state of Ohio filed the indictment over nine months later on July 30, 2018. In the interim period, the court imposed upon defendant a 15-month prison term on Feb. 7, 2018 involving separate crimes committed by defendant in this county.

“Had the court been aware of the current crime at the time of sentencing, sanctions would have been imposed at that time,” the judge wrote.

Rudduck continued, “Defendant fully served that definite stated prison term imposed on Feb. 7, 2018 and been compliant with terms of bond in the present case before the court after an initial violation. The Chief Supervision Officer for this court has written a positive report regarding the defendant. The state of Ohio takes no position on sentencing standing silent when offered an opportunity to make a recommendation.”

The judge added, “The community control sanctions are commensurate with and do not demean the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct in committing the offense given the delay in prosecution and the prison term defendant has already served for this court.”

In the indictment against him, Moore is alleged to have engaged in trafficking of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

If Moore violates community controls, he could be sentenced to prison for 18 months, the sentencing document warns.

Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.

Davis
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/05/web1_davis_p.jpgDavis

Ramirez
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/05/web1_ramirez_p.jpgRamirez

By Gary Huffenberger

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