[Cite as Strongsville v. Jaeger, 2013-Ohio-4476.]

Court of Appeals of Ohio

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT 

COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA 

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION 

No. 99579

CITY OF STRONGSVILLE

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE 

vs. 

LAWRENCE G. JAEGER 

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT 

JUDGMENT: 

AFFIRMED

Criminal Appeal from the 

Berea Municipal Court 

Case No. 12 TRC 05853 

BEFORE: Keough, J., Boyle, P.J., and McCormack, J. 

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: October 10, 2013 
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Harvey B. Bruner 

Harvey B. Bruner Co., L.P.A. 

The Hoyt Block Building 

700 W. St. Clair Avenue, #110 

Cleveland, Ohio 44113 

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE

George F. Lonjak 

City of Strongsville Prosecutor 

614 Superior Avenue 

Suite 1310 

Cleveland, Ohio 44113 
KATHLEEN ANN KEOUGH, J.: 

{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Lawrence Jaeger, appeals his sentence following a no 

contest plea to the charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (“OVI”) in 

violation of R.C. 4511.19(A)(1)(a). For the reasons that follow, we affirm his sentence. 

{¶2} In October 2012, Jaeger was arrested and charged with two counts of OVI, 

failure to maintain lane of travel, and expired plates. He pled no contest to one count of 

OVI, and the remaining counts were nolled. At sentencing, the court sentenced Jaeger to 

33 days in jail, an $800 fine plus court costs, and one year of probation with random drug 

testing. He was ordered to complete a substance abuse treatment program, and his 

driver’s license was suspended for one year. Jaeger was permitted to substitute three 

days of jail for the 72-hour driver’s intervention program (“DIP”) and the remaining 30 

days could be served on house arrest at a rate of 3.6 days of house arrest for every day in 

jail. His sentence was stayed pending appeal. 

{¶3} Jaeger contends on appeal in his sole assignment of error that his “sentence 

was unnecessarily punitive in nature and does not comport with the purposes of 

misdemeanor sentencing.” 

{¶4} Courts have broad discretion in misdemeanor sentencing. State v. Hughley, 

8th Dist. Cuyahoga Nos. 92588 and 93070, 2009-Ohio-5824, ¶ 7, citing Cleveland v. 

Jurco, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 88702, 2007-Ohio-4305, ¶ 18. The guidelines for 

misdemeanor sentencing are substantially similar to those applied in felony sentencing. 
The court must be guided by the purposes of misdemeanor sentencing, which are “to 

protect the public from future crime by the offender and others and to punish the 

offender.” See R.C. 2929.21(A). When determining the appropriate sentence, the court 

must consider the factors listed in R.C. 2929.22(B), including the nature and 

circumstances of the offense or offenses and whether the circumstances indicate that the 

offender has a history of persistent criminal activity and poses a substantial risk of 

reoffending. See R.C. 2929.22(B)(1). There is no requirement that a trial court in 

sentencing on misdemeanor offenses specifically state its reasons on the record. State v. 

Harpster, 5th Dist. Ashland No. 04COA061, 2005-Ohio-1046, ¶ 20. 

{¶5} Jaeger was convicted of OVI, a misdemeanor of the first degree, which 

carries a maximum jail sentence of 180 days and a maximum fine of $1,075. See R.C. 

4511.19. The trial court imposed a fine of $800 and a jail sentence of 33 days; with the 

option to serve those days by attending a 72-hour DIP and house arrest. Accordingly, 

Jaeger’s overall sentence is within the statutory range for a first-degree OVI 

misdemeanor; thus, it is not contrary to law. 

{¶6} It appears that Jaeger is arguing that he should have been sentenced only to 

the mandatory minimum sentence because this was his first OVI in the relevant 

six-year-look-back period. Pursuant to R.C. 4511.19, a person convicted of OVI is 

subject to a mandatory minimum jail sentence, fine, and license suspension, depending on 

the number of prior OVI convictions. The relevant “look-back” period for OVI 

convictions is six years, with the possibility of looking back 20 years, depending on the 
number of prior convictions. See R.C. 4511.19(G)(1)(a)-(e). Therefore, because Jaeger 

had not been convicted of an OVI offense within the past six years, and the 20-year 

look-back period did not apply, Jaeger faced the maximum penalty of six months in jail 

and a $1,075 fine, but the mandatory minimum penalty required to be imposed was three 

days in jail or the DIP in lieu of jail and a $375 fine. 

{¶7} The record shows that although this offense may have been his first OVI 

offense within the applicable six-year statutory look-back period, Jaeger had four prior 

OVI convictions — 1983, 1988, 1991, and 2003. Therefore, while Jaeger may have been 

statutorily eligible to receive the mandatory minimum sentence, the court was not 

required to impose the minimum sentence. Nothing in the record before this court 

indicates that the sentence was punitive other than it is beyond the mandatory minimum 

sentence. Considering this is his fifth conviction for OVI in his lifetime, Jaeger’s 

sentence was not an abuse of discretion. The assignment of error is overruled. 

{¶8} Judgment affirmed. 

It is ordered that appellee recover from appellant costs herein taxed. 

The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. 

It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the Berea 

Municipal Court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant’s conviction 

having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial 

court for execution of sentence. 
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of 

the Rules of Appellate Procedure. 

KATHLEEN ANN KEOUGH, JUDGE 

MARY J. BOYLE, P.J., and 

TIM McCORMACK, J., CONCUR