[Cite as State v. Isse, 2018-Ohio-799.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO 

FAYETTE COUNTY 

STATE OF OHIO, : 

 CASE NO. CA2017-06-012 

 Plaintiff-Appellee, : 

 O P I N I O N 

 : 3/5/2018 

 - vs - 

 : 

MOHAMED ISSE a.k.a. : 

ISSE MOHAMED, 

 : 

 Defendant-Appellant. 

 : 

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM FAYETTE COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS 

Case No. CRI20150087 

Jess C. Weade, Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney, Fayette County Courthouse, 110 

East Court Street, Washington C.H., Ohio 43160, for plaintiff-appellee 

Victoria Bader, 250 East Broad Street, Suite 1400, Columbus, Ohio 43215, for defendantappellant 

 S. POWELL, P.J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Mohamed Isse a.k.a. Isse Mohamed ("Isse"), appeals 

from his conviction in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas after he pled guilty to 

single counts of failure to comply and receiving stolen property. For the reasons outlined 

below, we affirm. 
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Summary of the Case 

{¶ 2} It is undisputed that Isse was born in a refugee camp in the Republic of Kenya 

during the 1990s. What is in dispute, however, is Isse's exact date of birth. On the one 

hand, the state claims the evidence properly before the trial court indicates Isse was born 

on January 1, 1996, thus making him subject to the trial court's jurisdiction over adult 

criminal defendants. On the other hand, Isse claims he presented evidence indicating he 

was actually born on February 26, 1998, thereby making him a juvenile subject to the 

exclusive subject matter jurisdiction of the juvenile court over any child alleged to be 

delinquent. 

Facts and Procedural History 

{¶ 3} On April 24, 2015, the Fayette County Grand Jury returned an indictment 

charging Isse with failure to comply, a third-degree felony, improperly handling firearms in 

a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, receiving stolen property, also a fourth-degree 

felony, and two counts of endangering children, both first-degree misdemeanors. According 

to the bill of particulars, the charges arose after Isse operated a motor vehicle in an attempt 

to elude police while he had a stolen firearm and two minors in the vehicle. Shortly 

thereafter, on May 11, 2015, Isse appeared at his arraignment hearing and entered a plea 

of not guilty to all charges. After entering his not guilty plea, Isse was then transferred to 

the Fayette County jail awaiting a jury trial. 

{¶ 4} On September 23, 2015, Isse entered into a plea agreement, wherein he 

agreed to plead guilty to the single counts of failure to comply and receiving stolen property 

in exchange for the remaining charges against him being dismissed. The trial court 

accepted Isse's guilty plea and thereafter sentenced him to serve a total of three years in 

prison. The trial court also ordered Isse's driver's license suspended for ten years and 

notified Isse that he would be subject to a mandatory three-year term of postrelease control. 
Fayette CA2017-06-012 

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{¶ 5} Two months later Isse filed a motion to vacate his conviction. In support of 

his motion, Isse argued his conviction was "void because he was a child at the time of the 

alleged offenses; therefore, this Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter the 

conviction." Attached to this motion was an apparent birth certificate indicating Isse had 

been born in a refugee camp in the Republic of Kenya on February 26, 1998, not January 

1, 1996 as stated in the trial court's records. Upon receiving Isse's motion, the trial court 

scheduled a hearing on the matter, which, after a number of continuances, ultimately took 

place on September 6, 2016. At this hearing, the state presented two witnesses, both 

officers with the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, whereas Isse presented seven witnesses, 

including Isse's mother, father, sister, and Isse himself. 

{¶ 6} On June 1, 2017, the trial court issued its decision denying Isse's motion to 

vacate his conviction. In so holding, the trial court noted that Isse had never disputed that 

his date of birth was January 1, 1996 prior to entering his guilty plea in this case. The trial 

court also noted that the state had submitted a computer printout of Isse's driving record 

from Kentucky, which showed Isse's social security number and his date of birth as January 

1, 1996. The record also contains an affidavit of indigency, wherein Isse listed his date of 

birth as January 1, 1996. Prior to signing this affidavit, the record indicates Isse notified the 

notary who certified his signature that everything on the document was true and accurate. 

{¶ 7} In addition to this evidence, and as it relates to defendant's evidence in 

support of his motion to vacate his conviction, the trial court stated: 

The defendant called seven witnesses including the Defendant. 

The Defendant testified regarding a Kenyan birth certificate he 

had received postconviction. While this purported birth 

certificate is not in evidence, it was attached as an exhibit to the 

motion to vacate. Counsel for the Defendant filed a disclosure 

on November 7, 2016 indicating that the Embassy of the 

Republic of Kenya had received the original of the certificate and 

it had informed counsel that the certificate was not genuine. 
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Continuing, the trial court stated: 

Defendant's parents testified regarding the January 1 date of 

birth on several of their children's birth certificates and 

immigration "green" cards. The Court finds the parents' 

testimony self serving and not credible and reaches the same 

conclusion with respect to the testimony of the Defendant. The 

Defendant's sister also testified as to a change in the date of her 

birth. This testimony was based upon her receipt of a Kenyan 

birth certificate, to which the Court gives no evidentiary value. 

Concluding, the trial court determined that while the exact date of Isse's birth may never be 

known, "the Court finds the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the Defendant 

had reached the age of majority in the State of Ohio as of April 4, 2015." 

{¶ 8} Isse now appeals from the trial court's decision denying his motion to vacate 

his conviction, raising a single assignment of error for review. 

{¶ 9} THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION AND VIOLATED ISSE 

MOHAMED'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS OF LAW WHEN IT DETERMINED THAT THE 

STATE PROVED, BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, THAT ISSE MOHAMMED WAS AT 

LEAST 18 YEARS OLD WHEN HIS OFFENSES OCCURRED. 

{¶ 10} In his single assignment of error, Isse argues the trial court erred by denying 

his motion to vacate his conviction for lack of subject matter jurisdiction by finding the state 

proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he was at least 18 years old on April 4, 2015, the 

date that his criminal activity occurred. We disagree. 

Standard of Review 

{¶ 11} R.C. 2151.23 provides exclusive original subject matter jurisdiction to the 

juvenile court on matters concerning any "child" who, on or about the date specified in the 

complaint, indictment, or information, is alleged to be delinquent. Therefore, absent a 

proper bindover procedure, "the juvenile court has the exclusive subject matter jurisdiction 

over any case concerning a child who is alleged to be a delinquent" that "cannot be waived." 
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State v. Wilson, 73 Ohio St.3d 40 (1995), paragraphs one and two of the syllabus. A 

conviction is void where the court of common pleas lacks subject matter jurisdiction to 

convict the defendant due to the defendant's age at the time of the offense. Wells Fargo 

Bank, N.A. v. Horn, 142 Ohio St.3d 416, 2015-Ohio-1484, ¶ 8, fn. 1, citing id. at 44. 

Analysis 

{¶ 12} Here, Isse argues the trial court erred by denying the motion to vacate his 

conviction by failing to give credit to the testimony and evidence indicating his birthday was 

actually on February 26, 1998, rather than January 1, 1996. In support of this claim, Isse 

claims it was improper for the trial court to find his testimony, as well as the testimony of his 

mother, father, and sister, lacked credibility in that it was "self-serving." However, while it 

may be true that Isse and his family all testified that Isse was not born on January 1, 1996, 

but rather, on February 26, 1998, the trial court, as the trier of fact, is in a much better 

position than this court to review a witness' credibility. This is because "the demeanor and 

attitude of witnesses do not translate well into the written record." State v. Brown, 12th Dist. 

Butler No. CA2006-10-247, 2007-Ohio-7070, ¶ 49. 

{¶ 13} In this case, the state presented testimony and evidence indicating Isse was 

born on January 1, 1996. The trial court found that testimony and evidence credible. "It is 

not proper for an appellate court to reverse a trial court based on a difference of opinion 

concerning the credibility of witnesses." State v. Pewo, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 88AP-771, 

1989 Ohio App.LEXIS 375, *7 (Feb. 2, 1989). Therefore, because the record is devoid of 

any credible evidence indicating Isse's birthday was something other than January 1, 1996, 

the date Isse himself listed as his date of birth on an affidavit of indigency he filed with the 

trial court, the trial court did not err by finding the state had proven beyond a reasonable 

doubt that Isse was at least 18 years old on April 4, 2015, the date that his criminal activity 

occurred. Accordingly, because the trial court properly exercised jurisdiction over this case, 
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Isse's single assignment of error is overruled. 

{¶ 14} Judgment affirmed. 

 HENDRICKSON and M. POWELL, JJ., concur.