Youngstown Daily Legal News

Woman who cultivated 'bus load of drugs' loses appeal

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 14, 2014

The convictions and sentence of a Portage County woman who manufactured enough drugs to fill an entire bus were affirmed last week when the 11th District Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court made the proper findings before imposing consecutive sentences.

The defendant, Margo Koeser was indicted by the Portage County Grand Jury on eight counts that stemmed from her illegal cultivation of marijuana and psilocin mushrooms, also known as psychedelic mushrooms.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to case summary, between December 2001 and February 2012, the Portage County Drug Task Force received information that Koeser and her live-in boyfriend were engaging in illegal drug activity in Koeser’s residence located in Hiram, Ohio.

The police also had information that Koeser’s 4-year-old daughter was living in the home.

On Dec. 27, 2011, a Job and Family Services caseworker made an unannounced visit to Koeser’s residence and detected an overwhelming odor of marijuana coming from the house.

When Koeser refused to cooperate, the caseworker called a Task Force detective for assistance.

However, Koeser denied him access to the home and told him he would need a warrant to enter.

On Feb. 3, 2012, an informant advised the task force that he had lived in Koeser’s garage for about six months.

He said that during that time Koeser and her boyfriend were cultivating marijuana at the residence.

The informant also told police that he had purchased a half pound of marijuana from the boyfriend for $1,200.

Then, on Feb. 15, 2012, the task force obtained and executed a search warrant on the property.

The investigators found Koeser, her boyfriend and her daughter inside the home.

According to the police report, Koeser was argumentative, uncooperative, volatile and disrespectful to the officers.

The investigators found a psilocin mushroom cultivation in the garage and a marijuana cultivation in the basement.

Also found in the basement was a hole that had been cut into the ceiling, allowing access into the child’s bedroom so that the marijuana could be accessed without using the outside entrance, which was boarded up in order to conceal the operation.

The police report noted that the house was in “deplorable condition with rotten food” and mushrooms strewn about the kitchen.

The police seized a total of 14 mature marijuana plants and 22 psilocin mushrooms that were set out for drying.

The police report stated that the amount of drugs seized from the residence was so large that it filled a bus that was brought to the property to remove the contraband.

Officers also seized drug paraphernalia, including fans, electric lights, mason jars containing mushroom spores and growing equipment.

Koeser subsequently entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to the illegal manufacture of marijuana, illegal manufacture of psilocin mushrooms and endangering children.

The court ordered a pre-sentence investigation report which revealed that Koeser had an extensive criminal history including convictions for obstructing official business, OVI, felony attempted assault on a police officer and criminal mischief.

The trial court then sentenced Koeser to two years in prison on each count to be served consecutively for a total of six years in prison.

Upon appeal, Koeser asserted only one assignment of error in which she claimed that the court erred by imposing consecutive sentences without making the requisite findings pursuant to R.C. 2929.14.

The 11th District’s three-judge appellate panel, however, disagreed.

“A sentencing court is not statutorily required to give reasons for a consecutive sentence,” wrote Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice on behalf of the court of appeals. “Further, when making findings regarding consecutive sentencing, ‘a verbatim recitation of the statutory language is not required by the trial court.’”

The appellate panel held that if the trial court made statements during the sentencing hearing showing that the decision to impose consecutive prison terms was predicated upon the statute, that would be sufficient to rule that it made the required findings.

Under the statute, the trial court was required to make two findings.

First, it was to find that at least two of the offenses were committed as part of a course of conduct.

The court of appeals ruled that Koeser essentially admitted to taking part in a course of conduct because she entered pleas of guilty and because of the “bus load” of drugs.

The trial court was also required to find that “the harm caused by two of more of the offenses was so great or unusual that no one prison term for any of the offenses adequately reflected the seriousness of appellant’s conduct.”

Rice noted the trial court’s statements during the sentencing hearing: “I am amazed that the prosecutor is only recommending six years. I think there has to be a clear message sent that this is not going to be tolerated, especially around children, this cannot be tolerated.”

“The court found that appellant’s involvement in drugs on the scale involved here in the presence of her child required the court to send a message that appellant’s conduct would not be tolerated,” wrote Judge Rice. “The court thus found the harm appellant caused was so great, no one sentence was adequate to address the seriousness of her conduct.”

Although the court did not use the exact statutory language, Judge Rice concluded that its statements were sufficient to support the fact that it made the required findings.

Judge Thomas Wright joined Judge Rice to form the majority, affirming the judgment and sentence imposed in the portage County Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Colleen Mary O’Toole dissented, stating that she would remand the case for the trial court to make distinct and explicit findings rather than those the majority “inferred from the record.”

The case is cited State v. Koeser, 2013-Ohio-5838.

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