State v. Angelen

2025 Ohio 1453
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 24, 2025
Docket114181
StatusPublished

This text of 2025 Ohio 1453 (State v. Angelen) 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. Angelen, 2025 Ohio 1453 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Angelen, 2025-Ohio-1453.]

COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

STATE OF OHIO, :

Plaintiff-Appellee, : No. 114181 v. :

JAMARI ANGELEN, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION

JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: April 24, 2025

Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Case No. CR-24-689397-A

Appearances:

Michael C. O’Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and John D. R-R. Kirkland, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Russell S. Bensing, for appellant.

ANITA LASTER MAYS, J.:

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Jamari Angelen (“Angelen”) appeals his

aggravated murder conviction and sentence and asks this court to vacate his

conviction and sentences. We affirm Angelen’s conviction. However, we reverse his sentences and remand to the trial court for resentencing in accordance with

this opinion.

{¶2} Angelen was found guilty of one count of aggravated murder, a

violation of R.C. 2903.01(A); three counts of murder, violations of R.C. 2903.02(A)

and (B); two counts of felonious assault, violations of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1) and (2);

and two counts of aggravated robbery, in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(1) and (2).

One- and three-year firearm specifications were attached to all counts.

{¶3} Before trial, the State dismissed two counts of having weapons while

under disability. During trial, after the State rested its case, the trial court granted

Angelen’s Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal on two counts of aggravated robbery,

two counts of felonious assault, and one count of aggravated theft.

{¶4} After the finding of guilt by the jury, on the aggravated murder count,

the trial court sentenced Angelen to life imprisonment with eligibility of parole

after 25 years and three years on the firearm specification to be served

consecutively. On the remaining counts, the trial court sentenced Angelen to eight

years’ imprisonment for each count to be served concurrently to each other and to

the aggravated murder sentence. The trial court also sentenced Angelen to an

additional three years for the firearm specification on one of the aggravated

robbery counts to be served consecutively to the firearm specification and life

sentence associated with the aggravated murder, for a total sentence of life

imprisonment with parole eligibility after 31 years.

I. Facts and Procedural History {¶5} On May 25, 2023, David McCray (“McCray”) was shot and killed at a

car wash while in his vehicle. Police obtained surveillance video from the scene

and observed two men at the scene who ran up to McCray and shot him. One of

the men exited a white Ford Fusion and was wearing all black, had a gun with an

extended magazine, and was heavy set. Tr. 309. The other man was wearing a blue

Covid mask, Adidas black and white sweatpants, and red and white Jordan

sneakers and had a smaller frame then the first man. He also had an extended gun

magazine. Tr. 310 and 358. Both men fled the scene in the Ford. After arriving at

the scene, police recovered a gun belonging to McCray. Tr. 311. They also found

and collected several bullet casings and observed where bullets had struck areas

around the car wash as well as McCray’s vehicle. Tr. 327-328.

{¶6} The manager of the car wash told police that he heard gunshots while

outside of the car wash. Tr. 350. When he looked to see where the shots were

coming from, he noticed a person shooting and then getting into a white Ford

Fusion, and the car driving off. The person he observed matched the description

of the heavier set man wearing all black. The surveillance videos taken from the

scene confirm the manager’s account of the event. The videos also show a white

Jeep Cherokee, with the license plate HHL4513 pulling into the vacuum line.

Tr. 357. McCray’s vehicle pulled in next to the Jeep a few seconds later, and the

Jeep leaves four minutes later. Tr. 358. One of the men, later identified as

Angelen, exited the Jeep. Tr. 359. Eight minutes later, the white Ford Fusion entered the line. Id. Angelen and the other man from the Ford shot McCray.

Tr. 360.

{¶7} On May 26, 2023, the next day, police located the Jeep from the car

wash and started a pursuit but had to terminate. They located the vehicle, again,

and engaged in pursuit, but lost visual of the Jeep. Tr. 331. That same evening, a

witness, while sitting in his car, observed the Jeep pulling next to him in a parking

lot. Tr. 373. Four men jumped out of the Jeep and started wiping the handles of

the doors and then ran away. Id. The witness described four young men with

braids with hoods on their heads. Tr. 374.

{¶8} The police entered both the Jeep and Ford into their computer system

as felony vehicles to alert other officers that these vehicles were wanted in

connection with a homicide. Tr. 1156. The Jeep and the Ford license plates were

matches to other cars, so the police deemed them “fictitious” plates, because both

vehicles were stolen. Id. The Ford was later located in a field and had been

damaged by fire. Tr. 1158. The police recovered gun casings from the windshield

area and logged them into evidence. The police also recovered a Five Guys

restaurant receipt that was dated May 25, 2023, and one hour before the murder

took place.

{¶9} The police retrieved the surveillance video from Five Guys of their

parking lot to observe the time frame from the receipt. Tr. 1186. On the video, the

police observed the Ford pulling into the parking lot. They identified the man

exiting the Ford as Frank Goodwin (“Goodwin”). Goodwin was dressed in the same shoes and clothes as the driver of the Ford seen on the car wash surveillance

video. Tr. 1188.

{¶10} Once Goodwin was identified, the police searched for Goodwin’s

Instagram account to see if he posted anything related to the incident. Tr. 463.

The police found a picture of Goodwin, Markeise Billups (“Billups”), and Angelen.

Tr. 466. Goodwin’s Instagram account led police to Billups, Angelen, and a fourth

suspect, Stafonze Robinson (“Robinson”). Tr. 1263. Upon further investigation,

the police discovered that Goodwin, Billups, Angelen, and Robinson were

connected to a robbery and shooting that occurred in the City of Euclid on

May 5, 2023. Tr. 1116. The men discussed the robbery and what they stole in a

group chat on Instagram. Tr. 1241. Goodwin, Billups, and Angelen’s cell phones

were also in the area of the robbery at the same time, during the time of the

robbery. Tr. 1283.

{¶11} The Instagram accounts also led the police to the cell phone numbers

of the men. Cell phone records demonstrated that all four men were at the car

wash on the day of the murder. Tr. 1120. Additionally, photos posted on Instagram

of Angelen showed him wearing clothing that matched the second man in the

surveillance video at the car wash. Tr. 1257.

{¶12} The police also reviewed license plate readers at intersections to see

if they could create a timeline of the Jeep’s and Ford’s movements leading up to

and after the murder. They were able to observe the Jeep at a liquor store prior to

the first police pursuit. Tr. 1196. After creating a timeline, they requested timing advance records from T-Mobile to analyze the cell phone data associated with the

locations of the Jeep. Tr.

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2025 Ohio 1453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-angelen-ohioctapp-2025.