Ohio Supreme Court accepts Erie County house arrest case

SANDUSKY — An Erie County court case could determine whether time spent under house arrest can be counted as time already served at sentencing.In April, the sixth district court of appeals ruled the Erie County Common Pleas Court should have counted the time Eric Reed, 22, spent on house arrest when sentencing him in 2017.But the Erie County Prosecutor's Office appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court arguing the sixth district's decision differed from other court findings.The prosecutor's office claimed in its motion that if Ohio's highest court didn't take jurisdiction in the case then it would lead to disproportionate sentences for similar crimes."Such disparity in applying dentition-time credit leads to longer prison sentences for defendants outside the sixth appellate district who are denied such credit, and a windfall for defendants in the district who will be released from prison earlier," the motion reads.Reed's attorney, Brian Smith, argued the case wouldn't affect all of Ohio because of the "differing nature of house arrest" in the state and the discretion trial judges have when imposing probation terms.On Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction in the case to decide how house arrest will be considered at sentencing for courts across the state.Case historyIn 2014, Reed and other members of the criminal gang he was part of allegedly assaulted a worker at a restaurant. He pleaded guilty to participating in a criminal gang and was sentenced to five years of probationHe allegedly violated his probation multiple times and was charged with committing new crimes. The court placed him on house arrest and then electronically monitored house arrest in 2015 and 2016.After he was convicted of a felony charge of burglary, the court revoked his probation and sentenced him to five years in prison with 316 days of credit for time spent in the county jail.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterEric Reed