11th District court denies two appeals in Trumbull County cases

A Newton Falls man who was sentenced in September 2023 to a term of 58 months in prison after pleading guilty to eight felony counts dealing with sex offenses with a minor had his appeal denied Monday by a panel of the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals.

Lawrence Vickers, 42, was found guilty of having unlawful sexual conduct with a 13-year-old girl who was the daughter of his girlfriend, sent her a nude photograph and was found to be in possession of a nude photograph of another minor.

In his appeal, Vickers argued the court “improperly imposed consecutive sentences contradicting the overriding purposes and principles of sentencing.”

However, in its decision, 11th District Court Judge Matt Lynch wrote that the sole assignment of error by Vickers is without merit. He was joined in affirming the prison sentence by fellow Judges Eugne A. Lucci and John J. Eklund.

Vickers will continue to serve his sentence at Belmont Correctional Institution.

Arguing for the state in the appeal was Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Sanders, while Vickers was represented by attorney Sean P. Martin of Jefferson.

In another decision released Monday, the court denied the appeal of Jeremiah Ulysses Jones, a Trumbull County man who was sentenced by now retired Trumbull County Judge W. Wyatt McKay to six years in a prison in a 2017 aggravated robbery, felonious assault and having weapons while under disability case.

Jones, 24, who is incarcerated in the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, had filed in June 2023, a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, which the trial court denied on July 11, 2023.

In his appeal to the 11th District Court, Jones claimed that the trial court erred in denying his motion stating a “manifest injustice had occurred.” Jones lawyer argued the guilty plea was not knowingly,

intelligently, and voluntarily made because he was not advised that he could appeal the trial court’s decision on competency. However, the 11th District court, led by Judge Robert J. Patton and joined by

Judges Eugene A. Lucci and Mary Jane Trapp, disagreed.

“Upon review of the record, appellant’s (Jones) claim does not amount to a manifest injustice warranting withdrawal of his plea. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied appellant’s post-sentencing motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. (The) sole assignment of error is meritless,” Patton wrote.

Sanders argued against the appeal on behalf of the state, while Jones was represented by attorney Michael A. Partlow of Stow.