Cases | 2004-Ohio-6963(Ohio Ct. App. 2004) | 2018
The defendant pled no contest to aggravated vehicular homicide following a car accident in which one of his passengers was killed. The defendant was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $19,334 in restitution for funeral expenses and $354 and $640 to a towing company and sheriff’s department, respectively, for expenses associated with towing and storage of the defendant’s car after the accident. The amount of restitution was based solely on a list read by a victim advocate at the sentencing hearing. The defendant appealed, arguing: 1) the order of restitution was improper because no evidence was introduced to support the amount; and 2) the order for towing and storage expenses was improper because neither the towing company nor the sheriff’s department were victims of the defendant’s offense. The appellate court held: 1) the statement of the victim advocate without additional evidence to substantiate the amount was insufficient to support the determination; and 2) restitution is only authorized to reimburse victims of crimes for their economic loss and because neither the towing company nor the sheriff’s office were victims, the order of restitution for those expenses was improper. The order of restitution was vacated with respect to the towing and storage expenses and remanded for redetermination with respect to the funeral expenses.