State v. August

2019 Ohio 4126
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 7, 2019
DocketCA2018-12-136
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 2019 Ohio 4126 (State v. August) 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. August, 2019 Ohio 4126 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. August, 2019-Ohio-4126.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO

WARREN COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, :

Appellee, : CASE NO. CA2018-12-136

: OPINION - vs - 10/7/2019 :

LENCY D. AUGUST, :

Appellant. :

CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM WARREN COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Case No. 18CR33979

David P. Fornshell, Warren County Prosecuting Attorney, Kirsten A. Brandt, 520 Justice Drive, Lebanon, Ohio 45036, for appellee Timothy J. McKenna, 125 East Court Street, Suite 950, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202, for appellant

PIPER, J.

{¶ 1} Appellant, Lency D. August, appeals his conviction in the Warren County Court

of Common Pleas for rape.

{¶ 2} In December 2016, a woman (the "victim") met appellant through an online

dating website. The two eventually began living with each other in the victim's townhouse.

The victim would drive appellant in her minivan to and from her townhouse to his two jobs. Warren CA2018-12-136

On the night of February 22, 2017, the victim picked appellant up from one job to head home

for a short break before driving him to his second job. At some point on this trip, the two

began arguing and appellant repeatedly punched the victim in the head and about the body.

As they neared her townhouse, appellant ordered her to drive to Walmart. Before they made

it to Walmart, appellant changed his mind and commandeered the vehicle by grabbing the

steering wheel and using his foot on the pedals. Appellant then drove the vehicle into the

service entrance of a nearby shopping center. Appellant guided the vehicle behind the

shopping center and eventually to the side of the Kohl's building where the vehicle was

stopped. At this point, appellant demanded the victim perform fellatio. The victim, wary of

being beaten again and in fear of her safety, complied. Subsequently, appellant ordered the

victim to drive them back to her townhouse.

{¶ 3} After arriving at the victim's townhouse, appellant brandished a short-bladed

craft knife and told the victim he would hurt her and her three children if she did not comply

with him. The two went upstairs to her bedroom. Appellant closed the door and barricaded it

with a nearby dresser. Appellant then ordered the victim to have vaginal intercourse with

him. After the intercourse took place, the victim heard her seven-year-old daughter asking

for help outside the door. Appellant moved the dresser and the victim attended to her

daughter, closely supervised by appellant. The two then went back into the bedroom.

Appellant again barricaded the door and commanded the victim again perform oral and

vaginal intercourse with him.

{¶ 4} The next morning, appellant demanded the victim drive him to the bus station in

Dayton. A few miles from the residence, appellant changed his mind and told the victim to

drive back home because one of his family members had arranged for a taxi to pick him up at

the townhouse. The two came back and waited until the taxi arrived. Appellant left in the

taxi. A few hours after appellant's departure, the victim went to the Middletown police to

-2- Warren CA2018-12-136

report the offenses and then to the hospital where a medical examination and rape kit

collection were performed.

{¶ 5} Based on the foregoing, in February 2018, a Warren County Grand Jury

indicted appellant on five offenses: three counts of rape, all first-degree felonies in violation

of R.C. 2907.02(A)(2); and two counts of kidnapping with sexual motivation specifications,

both first-degree felonies in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(4) and 2941.147(A). Appellant filed

a pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment for preindictment delay. After conducting a

hearing on the matter, the trial court denied the motion.

{¶ 6} The case proceeded to a jury trial in November 2018. At the trial, the victim,

the sexual assault nurse examiner, the investigating police detective, and two Ohio Bureau of

Criminal Investigation ("BCI") laboratory analysts testified on behalf of the state. Appellant

presented testimony from the taxi company owner and a medical expert. At the conclusion of

the trial, the jury found appellant guilty of the rape that occurred in the victim's vehicle and not

guilty of the remaining charges which allegedly occurred later at the victim's residence. At

the end of November, the trial court sentenced appellant to a mandatory prison term of 10

years, designated him a Tier III sexual offender, and notified him of the requisite postrelease

control conditions.

{¶ 7} Appellant now appeals the conviction, raising five assignments of error for

review.

{¶ 8} Assignment of Error No. 1:

{¶ 9} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT DENIED THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION

TO DISMISS DUE TO PRE-INDICTMENT DELAY.

{¶ 10} In the first assignment of error, appellant argues that the trial court violated his

right to due process when it denied the motion to dismiss the indictment. Appellant asserts

that he suffered actual prejudice when the state waited more than a year from the date of the -3- Warren CA2018-12-136

offense to indict him.

{¶ 11} An unjustifiable delay between the commission of a criminal offense and an

indictment for that offense that causes actual prejudice violates an accused's right to due

process of law as provided by the United States and Ohio Constitutions. State v. Luck, 15

Ohio St.3d 150 (1984), paragraph two of the syllabus. Nevertheless, the primary protection

against stale charges is the applicable statute of limitations. United States v. Lovasco, 431

U.S. 783, 789, 97 S.Ct. 2044 (1977); State v. Jones, 148 Ohio St.3d 167, 2016-Ohio-5105, ¶

11. In reviewing a claim of preindictment delay, the court engages in a burden-shifting

framework. Initially, the accused bears the burden of establishing actual prejudice, then, the

burden shifts to the state to provide evidence to justify the delay. Jones at ¶ 13.

{¶ 12} Actual prejudice is determined by the circumstances of the case and evidence

is considered "as it exists when the indictment is filed" in relation to the prejudice the

defendant will suffer at trial due to the delay. State v. Walls, 96 Ohio St.3d 437, 2002-Ohio-

5059, ¶ 52. As explained by the Ohio Supreme Court,

[a]ctual prejudice exists when missing evidence or unavailable testimony, identified by the defendant and relevant to the defense, would minimize or eliminate the impact of the state's evidence and bolster the defense.

Jones at ¶ 28. The prejudice advanced must be more than merely speculative. Id. at ¶ 20;

See also State v. Heath, 12th Dist. Warren No. CA96-04-035, 1997 Ohio App. LEXIS 351, at

*5 (Feb. 3, 1997) (proof of actual prejudice must be specific, particularized and non-

speculative). Appellant must show an exculpatory value of the alleged missing evidence in

establishing actual prejudice. State v. Fox, 12th Dist. Fayette No. CA2008-03-009, 2009-

Ohio-556, ¶ 37. Any claim of prejudice by a defendant must be balanced against the other

evidence in order to determine whether actual prejudice will impact the defendant at trial.

Only if actual prejudice will occur at trial will the court then determine whether the reason for

-4- Warren CA2018-12-136

the delay is unjustified. Id. A court will not presume prejudice merely because the delay

exceeds a particular length of time. State v. Adams, 144 Ohio St.3d 429, 2015-Ohio-3954, ¶

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2019 Ohio 4126, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-august-ohioctapp-2019.