In re A.M.P.

2016 Ohio 3546
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 20, 2016·No. CA2016-01-020·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BUTLER COUNTY

IN THE MATTER OF: :

CASE NO. CA2016-01-020

A.M.P. :

OPINION

: 6/20/2016

:

:

APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION

Case No. JV2015-1988

Dell W. Grunenberg, 306 South Third Street, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for appellant

Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, Government Services Center, 315 High Street, 11th Floor, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for appellee

S. POWELL, P.J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, A.M.P., appeals from his adjudication as a delinquent child in the Warren County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, for having committed an act that if charged as an adult would constitute grand theft. A.M.P. also appeals from the dispositional decision issued by the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, ordering him to pay $15,000 in restitution. For the reasons outlined below, we affirm.

{¶ 2} On August 13, 2015, a detective with the Mason Police Department filed a

complaint with the Warren County Juvenile Court alleging A.M.P. was a delinquent child for having committed grand theft in violation of R.C. 2913.02(A)(1), a fourth-degree felony if committed by an adult. As stated in the complaint, the charge stemmed from allegations that on August 3, 2015 while in Warren County, Ohio, A.M.P. stole over $10,000 in cash and several pieces of jewelry and other property worth approximately $5,000 from P.A. The matter then proceeded to a two-day adjudication hearing before a Warren County Juvenile Court magistrate that ultimately concluded on October 19, 2015.

{¶ 3} At the adjudication hearing, P.A. and her husband F.A. testified that their home security system recorded three individuals breaking into two of their four vehicles parked outside in the driveway of their home in Mason during the early morning hours of August 3, 2015. Because P.A. and F.A. were in the process of moving, the vehicles contained two Louis Vuitton purses, a Louis Vuitton wallet, several pieces of jewelry, and over $10,000 in cash. As P.A. testified, "[t]here were movers and people delivering furniture and I just figured it would be safer * * * to keep it in one place where I know where it is." The recording was then provided to Mason Police Department and also played on a local news channel's "Crime Stoppers" report.

{¶ 4} In addition to this testimony, K.C., whose sister is dating one of A.M.P.'s close friends, T.L., testified his sister called T.L. and invited him to visit her while she was on vacation with her family in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While there, K.C. testified he saw T.L. and A.M.P., who he had known for approximately five years, as well as two other males, B.G. and D.S., in a brand new "blue Chrysler 300 with 30 day tags" from Butler County, Ohio. When asked if A.M.P. made any statements about where the car came from, K.C. testified A.M.P. told him "[he] and [B.G.] had hit a lick in Mason, that's why [the car] was theirs and they meant by hit a lick they meant robbed and they had paid for [the car] with that cash that they got." K.C. also testified A.M.P. told him "they had right around I believe ten to twelve

grand cash" and that "they were Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor." K.C. further testified that A.M.P. told him they "had hit the car" and bragged about the expensive clothes they were wearing. K.C. testified he later saw A.M.P. with a wad of cash in his sock "and it was like I've got two grand in my sock and was just like flaunting it."

{¶ 5} Still vacationing in Myrtle Beach, K.C. testified he saw the Crime Stoppers report on the Internet while scrolling through his Facebook feed and immediately recognized A.M.P. as one of the three individuals involved in the theft. After seeing the video, K.C. testified he called the Crime Stoppers number and the Mason Police Department. As K.C. testified, "I just knew right away I seen [A.M.P.]. He had just like a sluggish appearance. You could tell that was him." The video recording was then played and K.C. positively identified A.M.P. as one of the three individuals depicted in the video. Specifically, K.C. testified that A.M.P. was "[t]he first one that got into the passenger side of the black SUV" and that he was also the individual "with the bag at the end. A white bag. That was the last person I seen on the video." K.C. then made a positive in-court identification of A.M.P.

{¶ 6} In his defense, A.M.P. testified and acknowledged that he went to Myrtle Beach with T.L., B.G., D.S., and another male, C.H., on August 4, 2015 in the brand new Chrysler 300. However, A.M.P. testified that the car belonged to T.L. and that he was not present when T.L. purchased the car. A.M.P. also denied any involvement with the theft, that he was not one of the three individuals depicted in the video recording of the theft, and that he never had a conversation with K.C. regarding the theft. Rather, A.M.P. testified K.C., who he referred to as his "cousin's cousin," merely told him how to "dive into the waves" and invited him to a party at his house. Thereafter, when asked if there was any reason why he thought K.C. would make up this story, A.M.P. testified that "[t]he only thing that I could think of was to maybe cover up for somebody else."

{¶ 7} After both parties rested, the magistrate issued a decision adjudicating A.M.P. a

delinquent child. In so holding, the magistrate stated:

I think * * * the fact that * * * [K.C] was able to identify the defendant in the video, that he bragged that [K.C.] testified that defendant bragged to [K.C.] about his new clothes, * * * hitting a lick in Mason, * * * bragging that they took $12,000 which is pretty corroborative of the amount of money taken from [F.A. and P.A.], * * * defendant bragging that he was stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and [K.C.] observing defendant to have a large wad of cash on his person I think are all sufficient to find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant participated in this offense.

{¶ 8} After the adjudication hearing concluded, but prior to issuing any order adopting the magistrate's decision, the Warren County Juvenile Court issued an order transferring the matter to the Butler County Juvenile Court for purposes of disposition in accordance with R.C. 2151.271 and Juv.R. 11(C). As relevant here, pursuant to Juv.R. 11(C), "the adjudicatory hearing shall be held in the county wherein the complaint was filed. Thereafter the proceeding may be transferred to the county of the child's residence for disposition." It is undisputed that A.M.P. was a resident of Butler County at all times relevant.

{¶ 9} One week later, on October 26, 2015, the Butler County Juvenile Court held a hearing wherein the parties all agreed to postpone the disposition hearing until December 22, 2015 so that a restitution order could be established. A.M.P., for whom the Butler County Juvenile Court appointed different counsel for purposes of disposition, did not object to this continuance. Four days later, on October 30, 2015, A.M.P.'s original counsel who represented him at his adjudication hearing, filed objections to the magistrate's decision with the Warren County Juvenile Court. A.M.P. also requested the Warren County Juvenile Court provide him with a transcript of the adjudication hearing. Three days later, on November 2, 2015, the Warren County Juvenile Court issued an entry granting A.M.P.'s motion for a transcript of the adjudication hearing and further stated that "the portion(s) of the Magistrate's Decision objected to are STAYED pending this Court's disposition of the objections." A.M.P.

later supplemented his objections to the magistrate's decision on December 7, 2015.

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