State v. Cox

2019 Ohio 4476
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in State v. Cox. Read the opinion of the Court — 2017 Ohio 5550
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided November 1, 2019·No. 2018-CA-43·Published

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Cox, 2019-Ohio-4476.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO : : Plaintiff-Appellee : Appellate Case No. 2018-CA-43 : v. : Trial Court Case No. 2017-CR-197 : BRIAN MICHAEL TODD COX : (Criminal Appeal from : Common Pleas Court) Defendant-Appellant : :

...........

OPINION

Rendered on the 1st day of November, 2019.

SAMANTHA B. WHETHERHOLT, Atty. Reg. No. 0092010, Champaign County Prosecutor’s Office, Appellate Division, 200 North Main Street, Urbana, Ohio 43078 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

MICHAEL R. PENTECOST, Atty. Reg. No. 0036803, 117 South Main Street, Suite 400, Dayton, Ohio 45422 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

............. -2-

DONOVAN, J.

{¶ 1} Brian Michael Todd Cox appeals from his conviction, following a jury trial, of

trafficking in marijuana (Count I), possession of marijuana (Count II), illegal use or

possession of marijuana drug paraphernalia (Count III), and domestic violence (Count

IV). He was sentenced to seven months in prison for trafficking and to 18 months for

domestic violence, to be served consecutively, for an aggregate term of 25 months; the

court did not impose jail time on the other offenses.1 Cox’s trafficking offense is the sole

issue in this appeal. We hereby affirm the judgment of the trial court.

{¶ 2} Cox was indicted on September 7, 2017 on one count of trafficking in

marijuana, in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(1)(C)(3)(a), a felony of the fifth degree; one

count of possession of marijuana, in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A)(C)(3)(a), a minor

misdemeanor; one count of illegal use or possession of marijuana drug paraphernalia, in

violation of R.C. 2925.141(C)(F), a minor misdemeanor, with a specification for forfeiture

of property; and one count of domestic violence, in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A)(D)(3), a

felony of the fourth degree. He pled not guilty on August 29, 2018.

{¶ 3} On October 10, 2018, the Court found that Cox had failed to comply with the

pretrial services program by failing to appear on September 19 and October 5, 2018,

which Cox admitted. Cox also admitted, and the trial court found, that he had used

marijuana on October 2-3, 2018. The court scheduled a pretrial admissibility hearing at

the State’s request.

1 Cox was fined $100 each on Counts I and IV and $50 each on Counts II and III. The judgment entry also provides that, pursuant to the forfeiture specification related to Count III, glass marijuana pipes, a digital scale, plastic baggies, a glass tray, a grinder, and utility knife/razor were forfeited to the Urbana Police Department. -3-

{¶ 4} On October 18, 2018, the State filed a notice of its intent to use other acts

evidence at trial. Specifically, the State indicated that it would elicit testimony from B.S.,

the victim of Cox’s prior domestic violence conviction in Champaign M.C. No. 2017 CRB

540.2 The State indicated that this witness would also provide testimony regarding Cox’s

trafficking in marijuana. On the same day, an agreed stipulation regarding Cox’s criminal

history (in Case No. 2017 CRB 540) was filed.

{¶ 5} After a hearing, on October 23, 2018, the court ruled on the admissibility of

other acts evidence. The court admitted eight exhibits for the State, and the parties

stipulated that items recovered from Cox contained “vegetative matter found to be

marijuana.” The court also accepted the following agreed stipulations by the parties:

State’s Exhibit 1 was “cigarette butts and ashes from a glass container with a metal lid,”

with the marijuana weighing 2.54 grams; State’s Exhibit 4 was a plastic lid containing

marijuana weighing .11 grams; State’s Exhibit 8 was a glass marijuana bong “with

scrapings from slider from marijuana pipe” containing marijuana weighing .24 grams;

State’s Exhibit 9 was a glass marijuana pipe that had not been tested; State’s Exhibit 10

was a portable digital scale containing marijuana residue with a weight of .01 grams;

State’s Exhibit 11 was a metal grinder containing marijuana with a weight of .09 grams;

State’s Exhibit 14 contained two glass jars with marijuana weighing .02 grams; and

State’s Exhibit 15 contained two Ziploc bags with .06 grams of marijuana. The parties

also stipulated that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance pursuant to R.C.

3719.41(C).

2 As a victim of domestic violence, we use B.S.’s initials to protect her privacy. Where other witnesses or people discussed at trial share a last name, we will use first names for clarity. -4-

{¶ 6} On October 25, 2018, Cox filed a motion in limine in which he asked to court

for a pretrial ruling on the admissibility of the following: “Any hearsay by a third party not

made in the presence of the Defendant or speculation as to the purpose of the transaction

alleged to be a sale of illegal drugs on August 25, 2017.” The State responded to the

motion on October 29, 2018. No pretrial ruling was made. Trial commenced on

October 30, 2018.

{¶ 7} At trial, B.S. testified that on September 5, 2017, she resided in Urbana with

Cox, who was her boyfriend, and her son. On that date, she reported to the police that

Cox had physically assaulted her that morning. “He had choked me and punched me in

the side that morning and hit me in the face as well.” B.S. identified photographs of the

left and right sides of her neck reflecting scratches and red marks from the incident. She

stated that, after reporting the incident, an officer accompanied her to her home to arrest

Cox.

{¶ 8} B.S. further testified that Cox was not present when she and the officer

arrived at the home and that some of Cox’s clothing was missing; his marijuana was

missing as well. B.S. stated that, in their bedroom, there “was marijuana paraphernalia

placed on top of the dresser. And that wasn’t there when I left that morning.” B.S.

stated that Cox “normally kept” those items in a shoebox that “was normally hidden in

various places.” She testified that she and Cox had used marijuana together on

September 3, 2017, and that she believed the shoebox had contained 2 or 3 ounces of

the drug in a Ziploc bag at that time.

{¶ 9} B.S. identified State’s Exhibit 3 as “various pieces of glass that went to * * *

a bong” she and Cox used. She identified other exhibits as follows: State’s Exhibit 5 as -5-

a “cigarette roller” she and Cox used to “roll marijuana”; State’s Exhibit 8 as a bong she

and Cox used; State’s Exhibit 9 as “a marijuana bowl” that was removed from her home

by law enforcement; State’s Exhibit 10 as a digital scale she and Cox used to weigh

marijuana; State’s Exhibit 11 as a marijuana “grinder” used by Cox; and State’s Exhibit

13 as a photo of Cox’s shoebox containing small baggies inside a larger baggie, along

with multiple small star-shaped stickers. She stated that the above items, as well as

marijuana and “maybe a couple other paraphernalia items,” were normally all stored in

the shoebox. When asked what the baggies were used for, B.S. responded, “[t]o sell

other people marijuana” after packaging smaller quantities for sale. She further identified

State’s Exhibit 14 as two large empty mason jars from her home that were used by her

and Cox to store marijuana, and State’s Exhibit 15 as an empty gallon-size Ziplock bag

that was used to store marijuana.

{¶ 10} The following exchange occurred on direct examination:

Q.

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

State v. Cox, 2019 Ohio 4476 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

2019 Ohio 4476 (State v. Cox) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Ayers
2012 Ohio 3175 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Martin
485 N.E.2d 717 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1983)
State v. Price
2019 Ohio 3201 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Dehass
227 N.E.2d 212 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Jenks
574 N.E.2d 492 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1991)