[Cite as State v. Sow, 2018-Ohio-4186.] IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT State of Ohio, : Plaintiff-Appellee, : No. 17AP-772 v. : (C.P.C. No. 16CR-3087) Alassane Sow, : (REGULAR CALENDAR) Defendant-Appellant. : D E C I S I O N Rendered on October 16, 2018 On brief: Ron O'Brien, Prosecuting Attorney, and Sheryl L. Prichard, for appellee. On brief: April F. Campbell, for appellant. APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas KLATT, J. {¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Alassane Sow, appeals from the October 12, 2017 decision of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas denying his motion to withdraw guilty plea. For the following reasons, we affirm. I. Factual Background {¶ 2} On June 8, 2016, a Franklin County Grand Jury indicted Sow on two counts of vehicular assault, in violation of R.C. 2903.08, and one count of failure to stop after an accident, in violation of R.C. 4549.02. Sow initially entered a not guilty plea. On July 31, 2017, he withdrew his not guilty plea and entered guilty pleas to the stipulated lesser- included offense of attempted vehicular assault for Counts 1 and 2, and a guilty plea to No. 17AP-772 2 Count 3 as charged in the indictment. The trial court accepted his guilty plea, found him guilty, and delayed sentencing for the preparation of a presentence investigation report. {¶ 3} On September 12, 2017, two days before his sentencing hearing, Sow filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea pursuant to Crim.R. 32.1. In his motion, he argued that the state would not be prejudiced, that he had legitimate grounds to challenge the charges and that he did not understand the immigration consequences until after the plea hearing. The motion was supported by Sow's affidavit. The trial court continued the sentencing hearing to allow the state to oppose the motion. The state filed its memorandum in opposition on October 6, 2017. {¶ 4} On October 12, 2017 the trial court held a hearing on the motion to withdraw and the only witness was Sow. He testified that he is from Senegal but has lived in the United States since March 20, 2014. Sow then read a prepared statement to the trial court. In it, he made a new claim that was not included in his motion to withdraw. He alleged that his attorney "really didn't explain to me and understand the choice I was making [or] what effect it would have." (Oct. 12, 2017 Tr. at 7.) He also expounded on the reasons stated in his motion. Sow indicated that he tried to get a job but was told he had to wait for at least seven years. He also would not be able to help with his father's trucking company because a conviction would preclude him from obtaining a commercial driver's license. Sow's attorney asked the trial court whether he should continue as counsel due to Sow's statement that counsel had not properly explained something to him about the consequences of ...
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