State v. Avery

709 N.E.2d 875, 126 Ohio App. 3d 36
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 14, 1998
DocketNo. 14-97-30.
StatusPublished
Cited by76 cases

This text of 709 N.E.2d 875 (State v. Avery) 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. Avery, 709 N.E.2d 875, 126 Ohio App. 3d 36 (Ohio Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

*41 Evans, Judge.

This appeal is brought by Edward B. Avery, Sr., appellant, from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Union County, finding appellant guilty of first-degree rape, in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(2), second-degree robbery, in violation of R.C. 2911.02, first-degree aggravated burglary, in violation of R.C. 2911.11(B), and first-degree kidnapping, in violation of R.C. 2905.01. Appellant was sentenced to consecutive sentences of ten years in prison for the counts of rape, aggravated burglary, and kidnapping, and eight years in prison for the robbery offense, to be served concurrently with all other counts. Pursuant to R.C. 2950.09(B), appellant was also adjudicated a sexual predator by the trial court.

The facts leading to appellant’s conviction for the above crimes occurred on March 14, 1997. That morning appellant returned to an apartment complex in Marysville, Ohio, after a long night of drinking, to find himself locked out of the apartment where he was staying. While waiting for the other occupants of the apartment to return home, appellant sought refuge from the rain on an apartment patio belonging to Vicky Johnson, another tenant in the complex. From her patio, appellant watched Vicky Johnson and her boyfriend until they left the building. While they were gone, appellant entered the apartment through an unlocked door.

Meanwhile, Johnson drove her boyfriend to work and returned home shortly before 6:00 a.m. As Johnson entered her bedroom, she was attacked by appellant. A short struggle ensued as appellant covered Johnson’s head with a shirt and threw her down on the bed. Appellant proceeded to rape Johnson, using a blanket to further blind her and protect his anonymity. At one point, Johnson did catch a glimpse of appellant’s fingers and knew her attacker was black. After the rape, appellant led Johnson to the bathroom, her head still covered, and told her to shower. Although the door to the restroom did not lock, Johnson was able to brace her body between the sink and the door to keep appellant from reentering the bathroom. Appellant finally left Johnson’s apartment through the patio door, picking up $2 from a coffee table before leaving.

Appellant was subsequently arrested and confessed to the events surrounding the rape of Vicky Johnson on March 14, 1997. Appellant pled not guilty to the charges against him, and his case proceeded to trial. Appellant was subsequently found guilty by a jury of rape, aggravated burglary, robbery, and kidnapping, and was sentenced by the trial court as described above.

On appeal, appellant asserts four errors for review.

Assignment of Error No. 1

“Appellant was deprived of a fair trial and due process as guaranteed by the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions, by the state’s misleading bill of particulars regard *42 ing the kidnapping charge, as well as by the court’s abuse of discretion in permitting the state to constructively amend the indictment and bill of particulars at trial.”

Appellant first argues that the bill of particulars failed to be specific enough to alert the defense to the prosecution’s theory of the case regarding the charge of kidnapping. Appellant claims that since the indictment contained a sexual-motivation specification, he was misled to think that the prosecution would pursue the kidnaping charge as it was connected with the rape. Under this assumption, it was appellant’s trial strategy that even if he was convicted of kidnapping, he could prevail at sentencing by having the sentences for the rape and kidnapping merged on the theory of allied offenses of similar import. However, appellant claims that it was not until the close of trial that he learned of the prosecution’s argument that a kidnapping occurred after and separate from the conduct constituting the rape. Appellant claims that he was surprised by this argument and was deprived of the opportunity to argue a safe-release defense at trial and an allied-offenses theory at sentencing.

The record contains no motion filed by trial counsel objecting to the indictment or requesting a more specific bill of particulars. Apparently, trial counsel was satisfied with the information contained therein. Moreover, the failure to object also indicates a waiver of any defect in the indictment and the bill of particulars. State v. Biros (1997), 78 Ohio St.3d 426, 436, 678 N.E.2d 891, 901-902, citing State v. Joseph (1995), 73 Ohio St.3d 450, 455, 653 N.E.2d 285, 290-291; and State v. Mills (1992), 62 Ohio St.3d 357, 363, 582 N.E.2d 972, 980 (“Under Crim.R. 12[B] and 12[G], alleged defects in an indictment must be asserted before trial or they are waived”); see, also, State v. Williams (1977), 51 Ohio St.2d 112, 117, 5 O.O.3d 98, 101, 364 N.E.2d 1364, 1367-1368, death penalty vacated (1977), 438 U.S. 911, 98 S.Ct. 3137, 57 L.Ed.2d 1156. Counsel cannot now be heard to claim error when he failed to call that error to the trial court’s attention at a time when the error could have been corrected. Id. Accordingly, our review of the alleged error must proceed under the plain error rule of Crim.R. 52(B). Plain error does not exist unless it can be said that but for the error, the outcome of the trial would clearly have been otherwise. Joseph, 73 Ohio St.3d at 455, 653 N.E.2d at 290-291.

A review of the indictment and bill of particulars reveals that appellant was charged with kidnapping, in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(2), (3), and (4), 1 although these subsections were not explicitly cited. The indictment states:

*43 “COUNT TV: Edward B. Avery Sr. on or about March 14, 1997 in Union County, State of Ohio by force, threat, or deception by any means, did remove another from the place where the other person is found or restrain the liberty of the other person for the purpose of facilitating the commission of any felony or flight thereafter [R.C. 2905.01(A)(2) ] and/or to terrorize or to inflict serious physical harm on the victim or another [R.C. 2905.01(A)(3) ] and/or to engage in sexual activity, as defined in Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.01, with the victim against the victim’s will [R.C. 2905.01(A)(4) ]. This constitutes the offense of Kidnapping in violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2905.01, a felony of the first degree.
“SPECIFICATION: The Grand Jurors further find and specify that the offender; to-wit: Edward B. Avery Sr. committed the offense of kidnapping with a sexual motivation.”

Likewise, the bill of particulars which was submitted on the initiative of the prosecutor, before a defense request, reiterated the above language, adding:

“[T]o wit: on or about the above referenced date in the City of Marysville, Union County, Ohio Edward B. Avery Sr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
709 N.E.2d 875, 126 Ohio App. 3d 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-avery-ohioctapp-1998.