A state supreme court has upheld a 65-year prison sentence for a former senior living worker who pleaded guilty to stealing more than 3,000 items from residents at 13 communities where she worked.
By a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court last week reversed its previous decision to reverse an appeals court decision about Susan Gwynne’s sentence, reinstating her 65-year prison term. Gwynne pleaded guilty in 2016 to 46 felony burglary and theft charges for stealing from 46 residents of 13 senior living communities in two Ohio counties in the Columbus, OH, area.
Ohio Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy wrote the majority opinion and said the appellate courts must uphold trial court findings unless clear and convincing evidence suggests that the record did not support the trial court’s consecutive-sentence findings.
“Gwynne’s actions deprived the victims of their sense of security and their ability to trust their caregivers,” the majority opinion read. “She also deprived the victims and their family members of heirlooms and the ability to continue their shared familial heritage.”
The Delaware County Court of Common Pleas originally delivered multiple sentences, ranging from one to three years each, to run consecutively, for a combined 65-year prison term. The 5th District Court of Appeals found that although Gwynne’s conduct was serious, the sentence was “excessive” and “shocking” for a nonviolent, first-time offender, and it imposed a 15-year prison sentence instead, in 2019.
But the state high court remanded the case back to the appeals court to consider Gwynne’s consecutive-sentencing challenge, finding the appellate court used the wrong standards in reducing the sentence.
As a result, the appellate court in 2021 deferred to the original 65-year sentence, concluding that it did not have the authority to vacate some of Gwynne’s consecutive sentences.
In a Dec. 23, 2022, ruling, however, the Ohio Supreme Court again reversed the appellate court decision, ruling that the trial courts must consider the total combined prison term when imposing stacked sentences to run consecutively. The high court also found the appellate court erred in its decision that it had no authority to vacate the 65-year sentence, remanding the case back to the 5th District Court of Appeals.
The state of Ohio, supported by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, filed a motion for reconsideration with the high court, which reverted to the 65-year stance Wednesday.
Gwynne initially was indicted on 101 counts in 2016 — the result of an investigation into missing items reported by a resident at the Inn at Olentangy Trail, an assisted living and memory care community in Delaware, OH. Other senior living communities reporting thefts were Abbington of Arlington, Abbington of Powell, Brookdale Trillium Crossing and another unspecified Brookdale Senior Living community, Danbury of Columbus, Danbury at Parkside Village, Forum at Knightsbridge, Friendship Village of Dublin, Friendship Village of Columbus, a National Church Residences community, Sunrise of Dublin and the Village at Westerville.
