State v. Adkins, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2003)

2003 Ohio 7250
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 31, 2003
DocketCourt of Appeals No. L-02-1190, Trial Court No. CR-02-1029.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2003 Ohio 7250 (State v. Adkins, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2003)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Adkins, Unpublished Decision (12-31-2003), 2003 Ohio 7250 (Ohio Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
{¶ 1} This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction and sentence entered by the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas after a jury found defendant-appellant, David Adkins, guilty of two counts of aggravated robbery with the specifications that appellant had a firearm about his person during the commission of those offenses. From that judgment, appellant now raises the following assignments of error:

{¶ 2} "Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 3} "The trial court erred in not granting objections to statements by state's witness Jerome Renzhohfer [sic] that he and his family were threatened by Mr. Adkins.

{¶ 4} "Assignment of Error No. 2:

{¶ 5} "The trial court committed error in not granting a continuance to permit return of defense witness Dennis Duhart from custody in Mississippi or to permit Mr. Duhart's testimony by deposition.

{¶ 6} "Assignment of Error No. 3:

{¶ 7} "The trial court committed error in imposing consecutive sentences."

{¶ 8} On January 7, 2002, appellant, Jerome Renzhofer and George Hughes were indicted and charged with the aggravated robberies of two convenience stores on December 22 and 27, 2001. Both counts of the indictment included firearm specifications. Prior to trial, appellant filed a motion to admit the hearsay testimony of Dennis Duhart, a witness appellant had intended to call. Appellant asserted that because Duhart had recently been arrested and transported to Mississippi to face charges there, he was no longer available to testify at appellant's trial. On the first day of the trial below, the court heard arguments on the outstanding motions and denied appellant's motion to admit the hearsay testimony of Duhart. Appellant then moved for a continuance so that he could attempt to bring Duhart back from Mississippi. The court denied the motion and determined that the trial should proceed. The following evidence was then presented to the jury.

{¶ 9} On December 22, 2001, Sharon Laraby was working at the Buckeye Carryout in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Several minutes before 8:00 p.m., Laraby noticed two men standing outside of the store. One man wore a mask that looked like a baseball and the second man, whom Laraby described as African-American, did not wear a mask. Laraby also noticed that the masked man had a handgun, which Laraby described as being approximately six inches in length. Laraby testified that the two men then entered the store, the masked man put the gun in his waistband and came towards her demanding money. While Laraby was emptying the cash drawer, the masked robber grabbed the drawer from her hand and pulled out the money while the African-American robber grabbed money from her hand The two then exited the store. Laraby told another employee to call 911 and then exited the store herself. Outside of the store, Laraby saw a small red car in the middle of Ontario Street with the passenger's side door open and a white man getting into the car. Laraby described the man as older with blondish-gray collar-length hair. She then identified a photograph of appellant as looking like the man she saw standing outside of the red car. She further stated that in comparing the photograph to appellant in court, appellant's hair was shorter than it was in the photograph. She admitted, however, that she never saw the face of the man she saw getting into the red car and that she could not say with 100 percent certainty that appellant was the man she saw getting into the red car. She also stated that a photograph of appellant's red Ford Probe looked like the car she saw exiting the scene but that the license plate was different. Laraby testified that the robbers took approximately $900 from her that night.

{¶ 10} On December 27, 2001, Dennis McVicker, Jr., was working at the Stop Go Carryout on Arlington in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Sometime after 4:00 p.m., two men entered the store with pantyhose over their faces and proceeded to rob the store. McVicker stated that one of the robbers was African-American and that the second robber could have been Hispanic, white or a light skinned African-American. The light skinned man cornered a customer while the African-American approached McVicker who was standing behind the counter. As McVicker reached for his cell phone, the African-American robber said "He has a gun," referring to the light-skinned robber, although McVicker testified that he never actually saw a gun. The light-skinned robber then directed the African-American robber to get the money. The African-American man then removed the pantyhose from his head, reached into the register drawer and removed money. The robbers then exited the store and ran to a red Ford Probe that was approximately one block away. McVicker ran out of the store after the robbers and got part of the car's license plate number. McVicker described the African-American robber as shorter and heavier than the light-skinned robber and stated that the light-skinned man was clearly directing the robbery.

{¶ 11} On December 27, 2001, between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m., Jessica Burkett drove to the Stop Go Carryout on Arlington to purchase cigarettes. As she approached the front door, she noticed two men who were standing by the front door pull masks over their faces and enter the store. She immediately feared that the store was being robbed and got back in her car to leave. As she was driving away, she saw the same two men run out of the carryout and toward a red Ford Probe. She then saw the two men climb into the Ford Probe and drive off. Because her car was running, Burkett followed the Probe and obtained a full license plate number from it. She then relayed that information to the police. The following day, police asked her to look at a red Ford Probe that was parked in a driveway at a home off of Glendale. Although Burkett positively identified the car as the one involved in the robbery, she noted that the license plate was different from the one on the car she saw leaving the scene of the Stop Go.

{¶ 12} Randy Neubert was a customer of the Stop Go when it was robbed on December 27, 2001. Neubert testified that as he began to leave the Stop Go, two men entered the store with nylons covering their faces. Neubert stated that one man, whom he described as African-American, approached the counter and removed his mask while the other man, whom he described as white, directed the African-American man to get the money. Neubert also testified that the white man placed his hand on the handle of what appeared to be a gun tucked into his waistband and said "Don't make me do it." The African-American robber then took the money out of the cash register and the two men fled the store. Neubert stated that after the two men left, he ran out of the store and saw them get into a red Ford Probe. Neubert further stated, however, that a third person was driving the Probe because the white man got into the passenger's seat and the African-American man got into the back seat.

{¶ 13} Kelly Boerst testified that on December 27, 2001, she was the owner of a red Ford Probe when she noticed that the rear license plate was missing. She stated that she first noticed it when she was home on her lunch hour but later that day she was notified that there were a number of police officers at her home. Because it had snowed and the car had not been moved in two days, however, it was clear that the car was not involved in the robbery but that its plate was simply missing.

{¶ 14}

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Bluebook (online)
2003 Ohio 7250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-adkins-unpublished-decision-12-31-2003-ohioctapp-2003.