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Rivas v. State

The Court found that the defendant entered his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily, despite his contention that he was not aware that his mother would have testified that he did not commit an aggravated assault against her in front of his daughter and did not point a firearm at her neighbor.

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Ford Paul Rivas appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his negotiated guilty plea to aggravated assault1 and cruelty to children in the third degree.2 Rivas contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion because his plea counsel failed to inform him that one of the witnesses against him would not have testified to the facts necessary to convict him of the crimes, and therefore, his plea was not knowing or voluntary. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Rivas was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of terroristic threats, one count of cruelty to children in the third degree, and one count of obstruction of an officer based on a May 6, 2010 incident, during which Rivas, after arguing with his mother, Charlotte Rivas, inside of her home, exited the house and pointed a firearm at Charlotte’s neighbor, Wanda Simpson, who had earlier called police after hearing what she believed to be gunshots and screaming. Simpson stated that Rivas threatened to shoot her, and Charlotte told officers that Rivas had likewise threatened her inside the house, which incident took place in front of Rivas’s minor child.

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