Ohio Supreme Court overrules Elyria man who said his right to a speedy trial was violated

A unanimous Ohio Supreme Court has ruled against an Elyria man who appealed his 2018 aggravated vehicular homicide conviction, arguing his right to a speedy trial was violated. Justices ruled against Andre Sanford, 30, upholding his conviction. Attorney Giovanna Bremke, who has represented Sanford in his appeals, said Friday that she and her client were "disappointed with the outcome." Police knew at the time of Sanford's arrest that he had been smoking marijuana, Justice Patrick DeWine wrote, but didn't know if the marijuana metabolites in his blood were over the legal limit to drive until they got the results of a toxicology report some weeks later, the Court News Ohio news service reported Thursday. Ohio law generally requires people charged with felonies to be brought to trial within 270 days of their arrest, but the accused also gets three days of credit per day of incarceration, Court News Ohio reported. "Thus, a person held in jail on a felony charge must be brought to trial within 90 days of arrest," CNO reported. By the time Sanford was arraigned and released on bond, he had spent 95 days in jail. In a previous published summary of the case, the Ohio Supreme Court said prosecutors argued the so-called "speedy trial clock" got reset before the 90-day maximum "because two charges weren't filed until a toxicology report confirmed (Sanford) had enough marijuana in his system to be over the legal limit to operate a vehicle." A driver may admit to smoking marijuana but can't tell authorities how much is in his bloodstream and police can't see marijuana metabolites without scientific testing, the Ohio Supreme Court said. DeWine said the speedy trial clock doesn't restart each time a new charge is filed based on additional evidence and it can't be indefinitely extended by filing additional charges. However, DeWine said when prosecutors don't have enough information to charge a crime at the time of an arrest, the new speedy trial clock starts when that crime is charged, CNO reported. While the court didn't dismiss all four charges against Sanford, "we do respect the Supreme Court's decision that acknowledged that the trial court did err in failing to dismiss two of the four remaining counts," Bremke said Friday. Sanford was originally convicted of hitting and killing motorcyclist Jeffrey Johnson, 47, with his car as Johnson's motorcyle was stopped at a red light at state Route 57 and Schadden Road in Elyria shortly before 5 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2016. Sanford was going an estimated 60 mph when he hit Johnson, the Chronicle-Telegram previously reported. Johnson died at the scene. Sanford and his brother, who was a passenger in the car, fled but turned themselves in to Elyria police within two hours. Sanford admitted drinking whiskey and smoking marijuana before the crash and pleaded "no contest" to two felony aggravated vehicular homicide charges and two misdemeanor DUI charges in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in February 2018. Judge Mark Betleski sentenced Sanford to eight years in prison, and suspended his driver's license for life. The 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron ruled 2-1 in May 2021 that Betleski had violated Sanford's right to a speedy trial, and the case eventually ended up before the state's highest court. Sanford, his family and taxpayers all suffered while he was held without trial, Bremke said last year. Sanford's earliest release date from prison is in December 2025, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Andre Sanford's brother, Allen Sanford, eventually pleaded guilty to felony obstruction and got two years of probation in connection with the crash. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.