Case Title: Gunnell v. Lazaroff

Citation: 2000-Ohio-26

Docket Number: 20000740

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2000-09-20T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Cite as Gunnell v. Lazaroff, 90 Ohio St.3d 76, 2000-Ohio-26.] 
 
 
 
 
 
GUNNELL, APPELLANT,  v. LAZAROFF, WARDEN, APPELLEE. 
[Cite as Gunnell v. Lazaroff (2000), 90 Ohio St.3d 76.] 
Habeas corpus relief sought to compel release from Orient Correctional 
Institution — Court of appeals’ dismissal of petition affirmed. 
(No. 00-740 — Submitted August 22, 2000 — Decided September 20, 2000.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Pickaway County, No. 00CA14. 
 
In June 1992, appellant, Kevin B. Gunnell, was indicted on one count of 
aggravated murder and one count of aggravated robbery with accompanying 
firearm specifications.  Gunnell pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, which had 
been stipulated to be a lesser included offense of the aggravated murder charge.  In 
July 1992, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas convicted Gunnell of 
involuntary manslaughter and sentenced him to a prison term of six to twenty-five 
years. 
 
In May 1999, Gunnell filed a postsentence motion to withdraw his guilty 
plea.  Gunnell claimed that he should be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea 
because the state presented evidence of an uncharged offense, i.e., complicity or 
“co-defendant/joint offender” under Crim.R. 8(B).  The common pleas court 
denied Gunnell’s motion. 
 
 
2
 
In February 2000, Gunnell filed a petition in the Court of Appeals for 
Pickaway County for a writ of habeas corpus to compel appellee, Orient 
Correctional Institution Warden Alan Lazaroff, to release Gunnell from prison.  
Gunnell claims entitlement to the writ because his indictment failed to charge the 
offense for which he was convicted and thus rendered his conviction and sentence 
void.  The court of appeals dismissed the petition. 
 
This cause is now before the court upon an appeal as of right. 
__________________ 
 
Kevin B. Gunnell, pro se. 
 
Betty D. Montgomery, Attorney General, and Diane Mallory, Assistant 
Attorney General, for appellee. 
__________________ 
 
Per Curiam.  We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.  Gunnell’s 
claims challenge the validity and sufficiency of his indictment and should have 
been raised by an alternative remedy in the ordinary course of law, e.g., appeal, 
rather than by extraordinary writ.  See Orr v. Mack (1998), 83 Ohio St.3d 429, 430, 
700 N.E.2d 590, 591; Wilkerson v. Mitchell (1999), 87 Ohio St.3d 52, 716 N.E.2d 
1157, 1158.  Further, the indictment did charge Taylor with aggravated murder and 
aggravated robbery, and he entered a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter, 
which is a lesser included offense of the charged offense of aggravated murder.  
 
 
3
State v. Thomas (1988), 40 Ohio St.3d 213, 533 N.E.2d 286, paragraph one of the 
syllabus.  An accused can properly plead guilty to a lesser included offense of the 
charge for which he was indicted, and habeas corpus will not lie to challenge a 
conviction on this plea.  Crockett v. Haskins (1965), 2 Ohio St.2d 322, 31 O.O.2d 
580, 208 N.E.2d 744.  Therefore, Gunnell was not convicted and sentenced upon 
an uncharged offense. 
Judgment affirmed. 
 
MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and 
LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.