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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
State of Ohio, :
Plaintiff-Appellee, :
v. : No. 16AP-719
(C.P.C. No. 16CR-81)
Angela A. Perez, :
(REGULAR CALENDAR)
Defendant-Appellant. :
D E C I S I O N
Rendered on June 20, 2017
On Brief: Ron O'Brien, Prosecuting Attorney, and
Michael P. Walton, for appellee.
On Brief: Yeura R. Venters, Public Defender, and David L.
Strait, for appellant.
APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
TYACK, P.J.
{¶ 1} Angela A. Perez is appealing from the awarding of restitution ordered in
conjunction with the sentencing in her criminal case. She assigns a single error of our
consideration:
The trial court committed reversible error by ordering
Defendant-Appellant to pay restitution without holding a
hearing to resolve the dispute as to the appropriate amount
of restitution and without determining Defendant-Appellant's ability to pay.
{¶ 2} At the time of her sentencing, Perez was ordered to pay restitution of
$8,065. She and her counsel had contested the amount and the trial court judge stated
that the amount of restitution would be whatever the prosecution said it was. The judge
No. 16AP-719 2
also indicated that the amount of restitution could be changed later if Perez and her
counsel provided proof of a different amount of restitution being appropriate.
{¶ 3} The trial court did not carefully follow R.C. 2929.18(A)(1) which reads:
Except as otherwise provided in this division and in addition
to imposing court costs pursuant to section 2947.23 of the
Revised Code, the court imposing a sentence upon an
offender for a felony may sentence the offender to any
financial sanction or combination of financial sanctions
authorized under this section or, in the circumstances
specified in section 2929.32 of the Revised Code, may
impose upon the offender a fine in accordance with that
section. Financial sanctions that may be imposed pursuant to
this section include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Restitution by the offender to the victim of the offender's
crime or any survivor of the victim, in an amount based on
the victim's economic loss. If the court imposes restitution,
the court shall order that the restitution be made to the
victim in open court, to the adult probation department that
serves the county on behalf of the victim, to the clerk of
courts, or to another agency designated by the court. If the
court imposes restitution, at sentencing, the court shall
determine the amount of restitution to be made by the
offender. If the court imposes restitution, the court may base
the amount of restitution it orders on an amount
recommended by the victim, the offender, a presentence
investigation report, estimates or receipts indicating the cost
of repairing or replacing property, and other information,
provided that the amount the court orders as restitution shall
not exceed the amount of the economic loss suffered by the
victim as a direct and proximate result of the commission of
the offense. If the court decides to impose restitution, the
court shall hold a hearing on restitution if the offender,
victim, or survivor disputes the amount. All restitution
payments shall be credited against any recovery of economic
loss in a civil action brought by the victim or any survivor of
the victim against the offender.
If the court imposes restitution, the court may order that the
offender pay a surcharge of not more than five per cent of the
amount of the restitution otherwise ordered to the entity
responsible for collecting and processing restitution
payments.
No. 16AP-719 3
The victim or survivor may request that the prosecutor in the
case file a motion, or the offender may file a motion, for
modification of the payment terms of any restitution
ordered. If the court grants the motion, it may modify the
payment terms as it determines appropriate.
{¶ 4} The State of Ohio, in its appellate brief, has submitted the following
response to the assignment of error:
The trial court committed error in ordering restitution
without conduc[t]ing a full hearing, once defendant objected
to the amount.
{¶ 5} We agree with the parties. The trial court did not conduct a full hearing on
the amount of restitution. We, therefore, sustain the assignment of error and vacate the
judgment of the trial court as to restitution. We remand the case for a full hearing on the
issues related to restitution.
Judgment vacated and remanded as to restitution.
SADLER and BRUNNER, JJ., concur.
