Sheffield v. State

The defendant rammed an occupied police vehicle after leading officers on a high speed chase in a stolen truck.

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The Lowndes County grand jury indicted Scott Sheffield for theft by bringing a stolen automobile into the State of Georgia, theft by taking a truck, being a habitual violator, attempting to elude a police officer, aggravated assault on an officer, driving under the influence of alcohol, and giving a false name and birth-date to an officer. On March 22, 2004, Sheffield, with the assistance of counsel, pled guilty in Lowndes County Superior Court to theft by bringing a stolen automobile into the state and aggravated assault on an officer. The state moved the court to allow it not to prosecute the remaining charges, and the trial court granted the motion. The court imposed a ten-year probated sentence for the theft and a 16-year sentence for the aggravated assault, ordering Sheffield to serve seven years in confinement and the remaining nine years on probation. On July 19, 2004, Sheffield filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea as to the offense of aggravated assault on an officer. The sole ground asserted in the motion is that the evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing shows that he did not in fact commit an aggravated assault. The trial court denied Sheffield’s motion to withdraw the guilty plea. Sheffield appeals from that order of denial.

1. We note that since Sheffield pled guilty on March 22, 2004, and then moved to withdraw that plea on July 19, 2004, his motion to withdraw was filed within the same term of court as the entry of the plea.1 Because the plea and the motion to withdraw were filed during the same term of court, the trial court had jurisdiction to rule upon the motion.2 As for our standard of review, a ruling on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed absent a manifest abuse of that discretion.3

Sheffield v. State

The defendant rammed an occupied police vehicle after leading officers on a high speed chase in a stolen truck.

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