State v. Caldwell

2019 Ohio 3015
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided July 25, 2019·No. 18AP-814·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO TENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

State of Ohio, :

Plaintiff-Appellee, :

No.18AP-814

v. : (M.C. No. 2018CRB-19200)

Walter Caldwell, : (ACCELERATED CALENDAR)

Defendant-Appellant. :

D E C I S I O N

Rendered on July 25, 2019

On brief: Zachary M. Klein, City Attorney, Bill R. Hedrick, and Orly Ahroni, for appellee. Argued: Orly Ahroni.

On brief: Campbell Law, LLC, and April F. Campbell, for appellant.

APPEAL from the Franklin County Municipal Court BEATTY BLUNT, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Walter Caldwell, presently appeals from a portion of a Franklin County Municipal Court judgment entry sentencing him to a six-month sentence as the result of the jury's finding him guilty of assaulting S.S., his former girlfriend. He presents three assignments of error for our consideration, and after due consideration of each, we affirm the municipal court's entry in its entirety. I. FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY

{¶ 2} Plaintiff-appellee, State of Ohio, complaint filed on September 16, 2018, charges Caldwell with "knowingly caus[ing] physical harm to another, to wit: S.S. by

No.18AP-814 2

punching her with a closed fist in the face at least three times" in violation of Columbus City Code 2303.13(A). See Compl.

{¶ 3} Testimony at Caldwell's resultant October 17, 2018 trial revealed as follows.

On the noted date, around 3:00 p.m., Caldwell and S.S., one of his girlfriends at the time, loudly argued outside the north side branch of the Columbus Public Library at 1423 North High Street. (Oct. 15 & 16, 2018, Tr. Vol. II at 261, 269; Oct. 17 & 18, 2018, Tr. Vol. III at 508-9.) Their disagreement continued as they entered the facility. (Tr. Vol. II at 269.) Library employee Daniel Wilkens was at the front desk near the entrance when Caldwell and S.S. entered. Wilkens asked them to leave, describing their "shouting," profane-laced interaction as a "violent argument." Caldwell declined to leave, opting instead to unsuccessfully attempt to hit Wilkens with an object.

{¶ 4} Caldwell then chased S.S. across the library. Robert Parrish, the security guard on duty, instructed Caldwell to leave the premises. Caldwell obliged, although he told Parrish he would "kick his ass" on his way out.

{¶ 5} Caldwell and S.S. exited the building. Caldwell then threw a box at S.S. but missed. She returned to the library's entrance. Caldwell attempted to follow her in, but Parrish exited the library in front of S.S. While Parrish's back was turned, Caldwell lunged toward S.S. and pushed her to the ground. She freed herself. At that point, Parrish walked in front of Caldwell. Words were exchanged, and then S.S., who was standing behind Parrish, sprayed Caldwell with a substance. Caldwell retreated, but then secured the box he had thrown at S.S. earlier and hit Parrish with the box while Parrish was standing in the doorway. During a scuffle, Caldwell punched Parrish, who then returned to the inside of the library. Caldwell proceeded to enter and exit the library twice before finally leaving the premises. Library officials then locked the doors. (Tr. Vol. II at 294.)

{¶ 6} S.S. began walking towards Newport Music Hall. Caldwell followed and began hitting her. She escaped, and headed toward a Subway restaurant. She screamed for someone to call the police. While that call was being made, Caldwell found her and punched her in the face. She entered Subway and locked herself in the restaurant's bathroom. Caldwell fled, but thanks to descriptions provided by the five separate individuals who called 911, Columbus Police Officers Steven Baird and Matthew Brown captured and arrested him. The foregoing course of events occurred in less than one hour and within one- half mile of the library's location. (Tr. Vol III at 407-39.)

{¶ 7} S.S. did not testify. Caldwell did. Caldwell stated that S.S. was one of his girlfriends at the time of the attack. (Tr. Vol III at 508-9.) He admitted to being with S.S. all day on September 16, 2018. Id. at 503. He acknowledged following her into the library, yelling at her, and calling her profane names. Id. at 503, 517. He acknowledged hitting Parrish. Id. at 506, 526. He said he threw a box containing a wooden gun at S.S. Id. at 503. He admitted to pushing her, but denied hitting her. Id. at 504, 507. He could not remember if he went to Subway. Id. at 525.

{¶ 8} The state charged Caldwell with two counts of assault as to S.S. and Parrish.

See Sept. 16, 2018 Compl. The state additionally levied a domestic violence charge under Columbus City Code 2919.25 against Caldwell for his alleged punching of S.S., reasoning that S.S. was his live-in girlfriend on the date in focus. Id.

{¶ 9} The jury returned a guilty verdict on both assault charges involving S.S. and Parrish. (See Oct. 19, 2018 Guilty Verdicts). The municipal court granted Caldwell's Crim.R. 29 motion as to the domestic violence count. The trial judge imposed two consecutive six-month sentences—one for the assault on Parrish and one for the assault on S.S.—and this appeal followed as to the latter sentence only.

II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

{¶ 10} Caldwell presents three claimed errors for our review. Those include the following:

[1.] Caldwell's conviction for assault on [S.S.] should be reversed: the trial court changed the identity of this offense by constructively amending the complaint, which undermined confidence in the jury's unanimous verdict.

[2.] Caldwell's convictions should be reversed because Caldwell's Due Process right to a fair trial was denied.

[3.] Caldwell's convictions should be reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct in closing arguments, which prejudicially affected Caldwell.

III. THE TRIAL COURT DID NOT AMEND THE COMPLAINT

{¶ 11} Under the first assignment of error, Caldwell contends he was prosecuted for three separate incidents of assault, although he was only charged with one, in violation of Crim.R. 3 and Crim.R. 7. He further argues the trial court's inclusion of evidence regarding Caldwell's altercations with S.S. at the Newport Music Hall and Subway violated his right to a unanimous verdict under Crim.R. 31. The state responds that the complaint satisfies both Crim.R. 3 and Crim.R. 7 such that reversal is not proper under this assignment. The state also counters that Caldwell's verdict was unanimous because his actions constituted a single course of conduct. After due review, we conclude that the state's contentions prove more persuasive.

{¶ 12} We modify the order of Caldwell's arguments for ease of analysis.

A. Crim.R. 3

{¶ 13} Caldwell argues the complaint charged him only with assaulting S.S. at the library. Yet, Caldwell argues, the municipal court allowed the admission of evidence at trial regarding the events at Newport Music Hall and Subway, instead of limiting the evidence

No.18AP-814 5

to that involving the library interaction. Accordingly, Caldwell contends those admissions violated Crim.R. 3 by allowing the jury to consider non-essential facts that were not "made upon oath." (Caldwell's Brief. at 7.) The state counters the Complaint properly encompasses the Newport Music Hall and Subway encounters, and does so under oath.

{¶ 14} Crim.R. 3 states "[t]he complaint is a written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. It shall also state the numerical designation of the applicable statute or ordinance. It shall be made upon oath before any person authorized by law to administer oaths." Hence, a plain reading of the rule requires complaints to contain essential facts, reference applicable statutes or ordinances and be sworn.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Caldwell, 2019 Ohio 3015 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

2019 Ohio 3015 (State v. Caldwell) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. C.D.S.
2021 Ohio 4492 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
State v. Hill
2021 Ohio 132 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)