Title: State v. Reed

State: ohio

Issuer: Ohio Supreme Court

Document:

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as State 
v. Reed, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-4255.] 
 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an 
advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested to 
promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 
South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other 
formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before 
the opinion is published. 
 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2020-OHIO-4255 
THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLANT, v. REED, APPELLEE. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it 
may be cited as State v. Reed, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-4255.] 
Criminal law—R.C. 2967.191(A)—Jail-time credit—Postconviction house arrest 
and electronic monitoring—Jail-time credit is given for confinement in a 
public or private facility, not in a residence—A defendant is not entitled to 
jail-time credit for days he spent in postconviction house arrest. 
(No. 2019-0631—Submitted April 7, 2020—Decided September 1, 2020.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Erie County, 
No. E-17-037, 2019-Ohio-1266. 
_________________ 
KENNEDY, J. 
{¶ 1} In this discretionary appeal from the Sixth District Court of Appeals, 
we are asked to determine whether a defendant is entitled to jail-time credit for the 
days he was on postconviction house arrest and postconviction electronic 
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monitoring.  Before we can make that determination, we must first establish which 
statute applies to appellee Eric Reed’s request for jail-time credit. 
{¶ 2} The state’s proposition of law and both parties’ arguments cite R.C. 
2949.08(C)(1).  However, R.C. 2949.08(C)(1) applies to the reduction of a sentence 
when a person is sentenced to jail for a felony or misdemeanor.  Reed’s sentence 
was to be served in prison, not jail.  R.C. 2967.191(A), which guides the reduction 
of a sentence for a person sentenced to a term in prison, applies to the determination 
whether Reed is entitled to jail-time credit for the time he spent on postconviction 
house arrest.  Because the relevant language is the same in both R.C. 2967.191(A) 
and 2949.08(C)(1), the parties’ arguments apply with equal force to an 
interpretation of R.C. 2967.191(A). 
{¶ 3} Based on the plain and unambiguous language of R.C. 2967.191(A), 
we conclude that a defendant is not entitled to jail-time credit for those days.  
Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals, which reversed the trial 
court’s judgment denying credit for the days the defendant was on house arrest and 
electronic monitoring, and we reinstate the judgment of the trial court. 
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 
{¶ 4} The Erie County Grand Jury returned a three-count indictment against 
Reed for (1) promoting or engaging in criminal conduct while actively participating 
in a criminal gang, in violation of R.C. 2923.42, (2) aggravated rioting, in violation 
of R.C. 2917.02(A)(2), and (3) assault, in violation of R.C. 2903.13(A).  On July 
14, 2015, Reed pleaded guilty to the charge involving criminal-gang activity.  The 
remaining charges—aggravated rioting and assault—were dismissed.  The trial 
court sentenced him to community-control sanctions for a period of five years, 
beginning on August 25, 2015, and stated that if he failed to comply with those 
sanctions, he would serve a term of imprisonment of five years. 
{¶ 5} Reed acknowledged the conditions of his release in a form issued by 
the Erie County Adult Probation Department.  The form noted that Reed was 
January Term, 2020 
 
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required to obey all state laws and that the probation department had the authority 
to revoke or modify the conditions of his community-control sanctions. 
{¶ 6} In December 2015, Reed was placed on house arrest after he violated 
terms of his community control, and in March 2016, he was placed on electronic 
monitoring after new charges were brought against him. 
{¶ 7} On October 25, 2016, Reed made an initial appearance before the trial 
court for violating the terms and conditions of his community-control sanctions.  
After a series of continuances, a hearing was held on July 7, 2017.  Reed admitted 
that he had violated the terms and conditions of his community control.  He asserted 
during the hearing that he was entitled to jail-time credit for the time he was on 
standard house arrest and electronic monitoring.  The trial court denied Reed’s 
motion for jail-time credit, found that he had violated the terms of his community-
control sanctions,  and imposed a “definite sentence for the term of five (5) years.”  
Reed appealed to the Sixth District Court of Appeals. 
{¶ 8} The appellate court reversed, stating that as used in R.C. 
2949.08(C)(1), the term “confinement” is “synonymous with the term ‘detention’ 
as defined in R.C. 2921.01(E).”  2019-Ohio-1266, 133 N.E.3d 1068, ¶ 11, citing 
State v. Holmes, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-08-1127, 2008-Ohio-6804, ¶ 12, and State 
v. Sutton, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-03-1104, 2004-Ohio-2679, ¶ 13.  The court of 
appeals explained that R.C. 2921.01(E) had at one time excluded “ ‘supervision and 
restraint incidental to probation, parole and release on bail,’ ” id. at ¶ 12, quoting 
Holmes  at ¶ 15, but that the current statute did not contain that exclusion.  The 
court held that Reed was entitled to jail-time credit for the time he was on house 
arrest and electronic monitoring.  Id. at ¶ 18. 
{¶ 9} The state appealed, and we accepted one proposition of law: 
 
A criminal defendant is not entitled to detention-time credit 
for time spent on postconviction house arrest, as the term 
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“confinement” used in R.C. 2949.08(C)(1) is not synonymous with 
the terms “detention” as defined in R.C. 2921.01(E), a defendant’s 
freedom of movement during house arrest is not restrained such that 
he or she could not leave his or her own home of his and her own 
volition, and the fact a defendant may face consequences for 
choosing to violate house arrest does not transform house arrest into 
confinement and should not be considered by a court. 
 
See 156 Ohio St.3d 1463, 2019-Ohio-2892, 126 N.E.3d 1175.  As stated above, we 
modify the state’s proposition of law to address R.C. 2967.191(A). 
POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES 
{¶ 10} The state contends that the Sixth District erred in using the definition 
of “detention” from R.C. 2921.01(E), which by its express terms applies only to 
R.C. 2921.01 through 2921.45, to define the word “confinement” in R.C. 
2949.08(C)(1).  For this reason, the state maintains that the court of appeals 
improperly relied on its precedent holding that postconviction house arrest is 
detention for the purpose of awarding jail-time credit.  Further, the state argues that 
house arrest does not fall under the definition of “detention,” because an offender’s 
home is not a “public or private facility for custody of persons charged with or 
convicted of crime,” R.C. 2921.01(E).  According to the state, house arrest is not 
“confinement,” because a defendant’s freedom of movement is not severely 
restrained while on house arrest and a defendant can leave his home of his own 
accord. 
{¶ 11} Reed points out that R.C. Chapter 2949 does not define the word 
“confinement,” and he argues that it was reasonable for the Sixth District, in giving 
the word its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning, to use “the next closest term 
for which a Revised Code definition existed—the analogous term of ‘detention’ 
under R.C. 2921.01(E).”  He contends that the word “confinement” is ambiguous 
January Term, 2020 
 
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and therefore that the rule of lenity should apply to construe its meaning in favor of 
reducing his sentence.  Reed maintains that he could have been prosecuted for 
escape if he had walked away from his house without authorization, just as if he 
had escaped from prison.  He notes that he was not free to come and go as he wished 
but that his schedule was set by his probation officer in advance, and he argues that 
therefore, his house arrest was a detention in a private facility for the custody of a 
person convicted of a crime. 
LAW AND ANALYSIS 
{¶ 12} Because the issue raised by the proposition of law involves “the 
interpretation of a statute, which is a question of law, we review the court of 
appeals’ judgment de novo.”  State v. Pariag, 137 Ohio St.3d 81, 2013-Ohio-4010, 
998 N.E.2d 401, ¶ 9, citing Med. Mut. of Ohio v. Schlotterer, 122 Ohio St.3d 181, 
2009-Ohio-2496, 909 N.E.2d 1237, ¶ 13. 
{¶ 13} “When the statutory language is plain and unambiguous, and 
conveys a clear and definite meaning, we must rely on what the General Assembly 
has said.”  Jones v. Action Coupling & Equip., Inc., 98 Ohio St.3d 330, 2003-Ohio-
1099, 784 N.E.2d 1172, ¶ 12, citing Symmes Twp. Bd. of Trustees v. Smyth, 87 Ohio 
St.3d 549, 553, 721 N.E.2d 1057 (2000). 
 
“In the case of such unambiguity, it is the established policy of the 
courts to regard the statute as meaning what it says, and to avoid 
giving it any other construction than that which its words demand.  
The plain and obvious meaning of the language used is not only the 
safest guide to follow in construing it, but it has been presumed 
conclusively that the clear and explicit terms of a statute expresses 
[sic] the legislative intention, so that such plain and obvious 
provisions must control.  A plain and unambiguous statute is to be 
applied, and not interpreted, since such a statute speaks for itself, 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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and any attempt to make it clearer is a vain labor and tends only to 
obscurity.” 
 
(Bracketed material added in Jasinsky.)  Jasinsky v. Potts, 153 Ohio St. 529, 534, 
92 N.E.2d 809 (1950), quoting 50 American Jurisprudence 2d, Section 22, at 205-
207 (1944). 
{¶ 14} The General Assembly provides for jail-time credit in R.C. 
2967.191(A) for those sentenced to prison.  While both the state and Reed focus on 
the meaning of the word “confinement,” we focus instead on the language 
describing the types of confinement that entitle a defendant to jail-time credit.  The 
statute provides: 
 
The department of rehabilitation and correction shall reduce 
the prison term of a prisoner, as described in division (B) of this 
section, by the total number of days that the prisoner was confined 
for any reason arising out of the offense for which the prisoner was 
convicted and sentenced, including confinement in lieu of bail while 
awaiting trial, confinement for examination to determine the 
prisoner’s competence to stand trial or sanity, confinement while 
awaiting transportation to the place where the prisoner is to serve 
the prisoner’s prison term, as determined by the sentencing court 
under division (B)(2)(g)(i) of section 2929.19 of the Revised Code, 
and confinement in a juvenile facility.  The department of 
rehabilitation and correction also shall reduce the stated prison term 
of a prisoner or, if the prisoner is serving a term for which there is 
parole eligibility, the minimum and maximum term or the parole 
eligibility date of the prisoner by the total number of days, if any, 
that the prisoner previously served in the custody of the department 
January Term, 2020 
 
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of rehabilitation and correction arising out of the offense for which 
the prisoner was convicted and sentenced. 
 
Id. 
{¶ 15} This statute uses the word “including,” and “use of the word 
‘include’ can signal that the list that follows is meant to be illustrative rather than 
exhaustive,” Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305, 317, 130 S.Ct. 2278, 176 L.Ed.2d 
1047 (2010).  In these circumstances, “the general or unstated terms in the 
definition should be determined with reference to the terms expressly included.”  
Henley v. Youngstown Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 90 Ohio St.3d 142, 150-151, 735 
N.E.2d 433 (2000).  By providing an illustrative list of the types of confinement 
that qualify for a jail-time credit, the General Assembly has demonstrated that it 
intends that credit should not be given for all types of confinement.  Otherwise, the 
General Assembly would not have included the illustrative list.  But the list was 
included.  It must be given effect; if not, it would be superfluous.  But we are 
obligated to give effect to every word in a statute and avoid a construction that 
would render any provision superfluous.  Rhodes v. New Philadelphia, 129 Ohio 
St.3d 304, 2011-Ohio-3279, 951 N.E.2d 782, ¶ 23. 
{¶ 16} The list sets out the types of confinement that entitle a defendant to 
jail-time credit.  A defendant imprisoned for a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to 
a credit if he was confined while waiting for trial, for a determination of 
competency or sanity, or for transportation to the place where the sentence is to be 
served or if he was confined in a juvenile facility.  See R.C. 2152.04 (permitting a 
juvenile to be confined in a juvenile detention facility for up to 90 days prior to 
disposition of charges against the juvenile).  Each of these situations involves a 
public or private facility intended for penal confinement.  The legislature has 
expressed the intent that credit is to be given only for the time the defendant is 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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confined in a public or private facility.  Confinement in a personal residence, 
therefore, does not qualify under the statute. 
{¶ 17} “The words of a governing text are of paramount concern, and what 
they convey, in their context, is what the text means.”  Scalia and Garner, Reading 
Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts, 56 (2012).  “Judges have no inherent power 
to create sentences.”  State v. Fischer, 128 Ohio St.3d 92, 2010-Ohio-6238, 942 
N.E.2d 332, ¶ 22, citing Griffin & Katz, Ohio Felony Sentencing Law, Section 1:3, 
at 4 (2008), fn. 1.  “Rather, judges are duty bound to apply sentencing laws as they 
are written.”  Id.  R.C. 2967.191(A) therefore does not provide a credit for 
postconviction confinement in a personal residence. 
{¶ 18} In this case, after violating the terms and conditions of his 
community-control sanctions, Reed was placed on standard house arrest and 
electronic monitoring.  Because the General Assembly does not provide a credit for 
postconviction house arrest and electronic monitoring to be applied against the 
sentence imposed for a violation of the conditions of community control, the trial 
court did not err in denying Reed’s motion for jail-time credit. 
CONCLUSION 
{¶ 19} R.C. 2967.191(A) is plain and unambiguous and limits a jail-time 
credit to specific types of confinement, those in which the defendant is confined in 
a public or private facility.  The statute does not provide for a reduction in sentence 
for a term of postconviction house arrest or electronic monitoring imposed for 
violating community-control sanctions. 
Judgment reversed. 
FRENCH, FISCHER, and DEWINE, JJ., concur. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., concurs in judgment only. 
DONNELLY, J., dissents, with an opinion joined by STEWART, J. 
_________________ 
 
DONNELLY, J., dissenting. 
January Term, 2020 
 
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{¶ 20} According to the majority, jail-time credit for confinement is earned 
by defendants who have been sentenced to serve time in a public or private facility 
but not by defendants sentenced to serve time on house arrest with electronic 
monitoring.  But the majority’s distinction is not supported by statutory law and is 
inconsistent with statutory history.  Because I believe the Sixth District Court of 
Appeals reached the right result, I respectfully disagree with the majority’s decision 
to reverse that court’s judgment. 
{¶ 21} The record here reflects that appellee, Eric Reed, entered a plea of 
guilty to one count of criminal-gang activity in violation of R.C. 2923.42.  The trial 
court sentenced him to the maximum five years of community control, beginning 
on August 25, 2015, stating that a failure to comply with those sanctions could 
result in a five-year prison term.  See R.C. 2929.15(A)(1).  After Reed violated the 
terms of community control, the trial court imposed more restrictive sanctions 
pursuant to R.C. 2929.15(B)(1)(b) and 2929.17(B), consisting of a term of house 
arrest with electronic monitoring.  Reed was charged several months later with 
violating the terms and conditions of his community-control sanctions, and the trial 
court ultimately revoked Reed’s sanctions, sentenced him to serve a five-year 
prison term, and denied his motion for jail-time credit. 
{¶ 22} The majority says Reed’s house arrest with electronic monitoring 
does not qualify as “confinement” that would make him eligible for jail-time credit 
under R.C. 2967.191(A).  For the reasons that follow, I respectfully disagree. 
{¶ 23} R.C. 2967.191(A) reads as follows: 
 
The department of rehabilitation shall reduce the prison term of a 
prisoner, as described in division (B) of this section, by the total 
number of days that the prisoner was confined for any reason arising 
out of the offense for which the prisoner was convicted and 
sentenced, including confinement in lieu of bail while awaiting trial, 
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10 
confinement for examination to determine the prisoner’s 
competence to stand trial or sanity, confinement while awaiting 
transportation to the place where the prisoner is to serve the 
prisoner’s prison term, as determined by the sentencing court under 
division [(B)(2)(g)(i)] of section 2929.19 of the Revised Code, and 
confinement in a juvenile facility. 
 
(Emphasis added.) 
{¶ 24} “ ‘[I]ncluding’ implies that that which follows is a partial, not an 
exhaustive listing of all that is subsumed within the stated category.  ‘Including’ is 
a word of expansion rather than one of limitation or restriction.”  In re Hartman, 2 
Ohio St.3d 154, 156, 433 N.E.2d 516 (1983).  The General Assembly’s use of the 
word “including” thus signifies that what follows is intended to be illustrative but 
not exhaustive.  See, e.g., Trans Rail Am., Inc. v. Enyeart, 123 Ohio St.3d 1, 2009-
Ohio-3624, 913 N.E.2d 948, ¶ 28 (“The statute says that ‘action’ or ‘act’ includes 
certain things, thus showing the General Assembly’s intent to illustrate the types of 
actions that may be appealable, rather than to set out an exhaustive list” [emphasis 
sic]). 
{¶ 25} R.C. 2967.191(A) unequivocally permits jail-time credit for the total 
number of days that the defendant “was confined for any reason arising out of the 
offense for which the [defendant] was convicted and sentenced.”  R.C. 2967.191(A) 
does not on its face limit or restrict the form of confinement for which jail-time 
credit shall be given.  And the General Assembly has made clear that house arrest 
is confinement. 
{¶ 26} Specifically, R.C. 2929.01(P) provides: 
 
“House arrest” means a period of confinement of an offender 
that is in the offender’s home or in other premises specified by the 
January Term, 2020 
 
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sentencing court or by the parole board pursuant to section 2967.28 
of the Revised Code and during which all of the following apply: 
(1) The offender is required to remain in the offender’s home 
or other specified premises for the specified period of confinement, 
except for periods of time during which the offender is at the 
offender’s place of employment or at other premises as authorized 
by the sentencing court or by the parole board. 
(2) The offender is required to report periodically to a person 
designated by the court or parole board. 
(3) The offender is subject to any other restrictions and 
requirements that may be imposed by the sentencing court or by the 
parole board. 
 
(Emphasis added.) 
{¶ 27} Thus, by the express terms of R.C. 2929.01(P), house arrest that 
contains the three elements set forth is “confinement.” 
{¶ 28} In this case, Reed was sentenced to house arrest with electronic 
monitoring under R.C. 2929.17(B).  His ability to leave his residence was restricted 
and subject to stringent conditions imposed by his probation officer.  To the extent 
his house arrest met the test of R.C. 2929.01(P), it was confinement.  And because 
he was confined for a reason arising out of the offense for which he was convicted 
and sentenced, the time he served under house arrest qualifies for jail-time credit 
under R.C. 2967.191(A). 
{¶ 29} According to the majority, however, “[t]he legislature has expressed 
the intent that credit is to be given only for the time the defendant is confined in a 
public or private facility.  Confinement in a personal residence, therefore, does not 
qualify under the statute.”  Majority opinion at ¶ 16.  But the text of R.C. 
2967.191(A) does not limit or restrict jail-time credit to time served in a “public or 
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private facility.”  To reach its result, the majority effectively adds those words to 
the text of R.C. 2967.191(A) to justify its newfound limitation.  That is improper, 
for in matters of statutory construction, our duty is to give effect to the words used, 
not to delete words that were used or insert words that were not used.  See Cleveland 
Elec. Illum. Co. v. Cleveland, 37 Ohio St.3d 50, 524 N.E.2d 441 (1988), paragraph 
three of the syllabus.  See also Griffith v. Aultman Hosp., 146 Ohio St.3d 196, 2016-
Ohio-1138, 54 N.E.3d 1196, ¶ 18 (“We apply the statute as written * * * and we 
refrain from adding or deleting words when the statute’s meaning is clear and 
unambiguous”). 
{¶ 30} The majority cites Henley v. Youngstown Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 90 
Ohio St.3d 142, 735 N.E.2d 433 (2000), in which the court, when reviewing a 
zoning ordinance, applied the canon of ejusdem generis to determine the general or 
unstated terms by referring to the terms expressly included in the ordinance’s 
definition of an “accessory building.”  But R.C. 2967.191(A) is not definitional, 
and the mere fact that it lists examples of confinement does not by any means 
suggest a legislative intent to restrict the allowance of jail-time credit to only those 
days a person was confined in a public or private facility. 
{¶ 31} If it were the General Assembly’s intent to deny jail-time credit for 
the time an offender served on electronically monitored house arrest, it certainly 
knew how to do so because it had done so previously.  Former R.C. 2929.23(B)(2), 
148 Ohio Laws, Part IV, 8353, 8386,  provided as follows: 
 
If an eligible offender violates any of the restrictions or 
requirements imposed upon the eligible offender as part of the 
eligible offender’s period of electronically monitored house arrest, 
the eligible offender shall not receive credit for any time served on 
electronically monitored house arrest toward any prison term or 
sentence of imprisonment imposed upon the eligible offender for the 
January Term, 2020 
 
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offense for which the period of electronically monitored house arrest 
was imposed. 
 
{¶ 32} The General Assembly removed that language effective January 1, 
2004.  See 149 Ohio Laws, Part I, 9484, 9676.  I am not aware of any other provision 
of the current Revised Code that revived its provisions.  The removal of that 
language, coupled with the nonrestrictive language in R.C. 2967.191(A), shows 
that it is no longer the General Assembly’s intent to deny jail-time credit for time 
that offenders serve under electronically monitored house arrest. 
{¶ 33} I agree with the majority that “confinement” contemplates a restraint 
on a defendant’s ability to come and go without permission.  In my view, however, 
house arrest coupled with electronic monitoring imposes restraints on the 
defendant’s freedom to come and go as he pleases.  An electronic monitoring device 
tracks the defendant’s movements and registers any attempts to remove, alter, or 
tamper with its operation.  See R.C. 2929.01(UU). 
{¶ 34} The terms of Reed’s house arrest expressly define any permitted 
departures from the premises and by implication prohibit any unauthorized 
departures.  The electronic monitoring device operates in place of facility staff to 
regulate a defendant’s permitted actions.  All costs associated with the defendant’s 
house arrest are borne by a defendant or the owner of the residential premises rather 
than by the public through the costs of incarceration and staffing of the public or 
private facility. 
{¶ 35} Fundamentally, however, the relevant statutory law expressly 
authorizes jail-time credit for time spent in confinement for any reason arising out 
of the offense for which the defendant was convicted and sentenced.  R.C. 
2967.191(A).  To the extent there may be ambiguity in R.C. 2967.191(A), I would 
apply the rule of lenity, which requires that statutes defining offenses or penalties 
be strictly construed against the state and liberally construed in favor of an accused, 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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R.C. 2901.04(A); State v. Pendergrass, __ Ohio St.3d __, 2020-Ohio-3335, ___ 
N.E.3d ___, ¶ 25.  The rule of lenity must be applied to the interpretation of criminal 
statutes. 
{¶ 36} Because I believe the majority has misconstrued R.C. 2967.191(A) 
in a way that is contrary to its terms and legislative intent, I respectfully dissent and 
would affirm the judgment of the Sixth District Court of Appeals. 
 
STEWART, J., concurs in the foregoing opinion. 
_________________ 
 
Kevin J. Baxter, Erie County Prosecuting Attorney, and Anthony A. Battista 
III, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellant. 
Brian A. Smith Law Firm, L.L.C., and Brian A. Smith, for appellee. 
_________________