The appeals court called the 20-year-old defendant’s assertion that consecutive sentences were contrary to law “frivolous.”
Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
“We see no non-frivilous argument as to whether the record clearly and convincingly fails to support the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences,” according to the opinion.
“To the contrary, the record before us clearly supports the trial court’s sentencing decision,” the ruling states.
Taulbee, 57, died after being struck by a Moraine police cruiser on Ohio 741 while an officer was pursuing a suspected stolen car driven by Irwin-Debraux, records show.
Credit: FILE
Credit: FILE
Irwin-Debraux pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to involuntary manslaughter, failure to comply with an order or signal or a police officer and grand theft of a motor vehicle in the Sept. 11, 2018, wreck.
Prior to that day, she had no criminal record, authorities said.
Appointed defense attorney Adam Arnold said he thought this appeal — the second in the case — was baseless and asked the court of appeals to review the issue, records show. Arnold later resigned and the defendant submitted her own filings.
The car driven by Taulbee, who was not involved in the chase, was hit by a cruiser which police records show reached 80 miles per hour.
Taulbee — who worked in Dayton, Englewood, Lebanon, Miamisburg, Springboro and Washington Twp. — died after the collision. A grand jury cleared the officer — Matt Barrie — of any criminal liability.
Irwin-Debraux said her sentence should be reduced, citing — in part — ineffective counsel and her “intoxification, and untreated mental illness” at the time of the crash, according to court documents.
Irwin-Debraux feels “like all of the facts weren’t stated in my case,” she said in a handwritten filing.
The defendant said she has diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, ODD, bi-polar disorder and depression, and those issues were not taken properly into account, court records state.
A previous sentencing appeal was upheld last year on procedural issues, but Judge Michael Krumholtz in January gave Irwin-Debraux the same sentence.
Minutes before the fatal wreck, Moraine police sought to pull over a Jeep driven by the defendant on Ohio 741 after hearing of a report of a theft which matched the vehicle. The Jeep fled, prompting the chase, records show.
Authorities said Barrie pursued the Jeep south into Miami Twp.
During the chase, a car heading north on Ohio 741 attempted to pull over into another lane to avoid being hit by the Jeep, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The northbound car hit the back of a Hyundai being driven by Taulbee at the Carnation Road intersection. The impact caused Taulbee to lose control of the car and spin in front of the Moraine cruiser, authorities said. The cruiser struck the Hyundai, killing Taulbee.
Irwin-Debraux continued south on Ohio 741, authorities said. The Jeep flipped over just south of the Ohio 725 intersection.
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