Mark Dix pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children and was given a first offender sentence of ten years to be served on probation.1 He appeals from the trial court’s denial of his amended motion to withdraw his guilty plea.2 Finding no error, we affirm. In his sole enumeration of error, Dix contends he would not have entered his plea of guilty but for the erroneous advice and ineffective assistance of his counsel. He claims that counsel advised him that his residence did not fall within a restricted area in which sex offenders could not reside, and that he would not have pleaded guilty had he known that he would have to move. When the defendant challenges the validity of a guilty plea, the state bears the burden of proving affirmatively from the record that the defendant entered his plea knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. If the defendant bases his motion to withdraw on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, however, he bears the burden of showing that his attorney’s performance was deficient and that, but for counsel’s errors, there is a reasonable probability that he would have insisted on a trial instead of entering a plea. The trial court’s finding that plea counsel rendered effective assistance will be affirmed unless clearly erroneous. Moreover, in ruling on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, the trial court is the final arbiter of all factual disputes raised by the evidence. If evidence supports the trial court’s findings, we must affirm. Ultimately, the trial court’s ruling on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is a matter of sound discretion and will not be disturbed absent a manifest abuse of such discretion. Bearing these principles in mind, we address appellant’s claims. Citations, punctuation, and footnotes omitted. Skinner v. State , 297 Ga. App. 828, 829 678 SE2d 526 2009.
Here, after a lengthy hearing at which both Dix and his trial counsel testified, the trial court entered a thoughtful order considering Dix’s claims in detail. With respect to the ruling appealed here, the trial court concluded that trial counsel made a good faith effort to investigate whether Dix’s residence ran afoul of the state statute, and concluded that it did not, but also advised Dix that the sheriff’s office would make the final determination. The court noted that a probation officer also informed Dix that a final determination would be made by the sheriff’s office. The court concluded that while an unintentional misrepresentation was made, it did not result in incarceration or the loss of any property interest, since Dix was merely occupying rental property. The trial court also determined that, even if trial counsel’s performance was deficient, Dix had the burden of showing a reasonable probability that he would have insisted on a trial rather than pleading guilty, and Dix had failed to make that showing because he represented to the trial court that he pled guilty for other, unrelated reasons.
