Appeals court orders resentencing in Trumbull criminal case

WARREN — The Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals has reversed the sentencing of a defendant by a Trumbull County judge and ordered him to conduct a new hearing to correct two errors.

The decision stems from an April 17, 2014, sentencing hearing for Joseph D. Daniel Jr. on two misdemeanor charges – aggravated trespass and obstructing official business. Daniel had been indicted on two felony charges but pleaded guilty later to charges reduced to misdemeanors.

Judge Ronald Rice of common pleas court ordered that Daniel, 25, formerly of Brier Street Southeast, serve five years of probation with no jail time, but if he violated the terms of his probation, the court could impose a sentence of six months in jail for the aggravated trespass and four months for the obstructing official business.

In his appeal, however, Daniel’s attorney said the potential jail sentence for obstructing official business is three months instead of four. Judge Rice agrees it was an error.