State v. Eggeman

2015 Ohio 5177
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 14, 2015
Docket14CA0085-M
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2015 Ohio 5177 (State v. Eggeman) 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. Eggeman, 2015 Ohio 5177 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Eggeman, 2015-Ohio-5177.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF MEDINA )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 14CA0085-M

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE DANIEL J. EGGEMAN WADSWORTH MUNICIPAL COURT COUNTY OF MEDINA, OHIO Appellant CASE No. 14CRB00097 (A-C)

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: December 14, 2015

MOORE, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-Appellant, Daniel J. Eggeman, appeals pro se from the judgment of the

Wadsworth Municipal Court. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

I.

{¶2} On December 6, 2013, Mr. Eggeman contacted the police to report that he was

receiving unwanted emails and phone calls from his ex-wife, Becky Workman. Officer Keith

Studer of the Wadsworth Police Department responded to Mr. Eggeman’s residence on Chestnut

Street. Pamela Wingate, Mr. Eggeman’s fiancée, indicated that she was receiving threatening

phone calls from Ms. Workman and Mr. Eggeman showed Officer Studer emails sent from the

email address becky.workmam@gmail.com to his email address. Notably, the email address

contained a misspelling of Ms. Workman’s last name. The emails expressed a desire for

reconciliation and were critical of Ms. Wingate. Officer Studer had Mr. Eggeman, in Officer

Studer’s presence, send an email to becky.workmam@gmail.com, requesting that the contact 2

cease. Several days later, Mr. Eggeman again contacted Officer Studer to report that Mr.

Eggeman had received more emails and wanted Officer Studer to pursue charges against Ms.

Workman.

{¶3} Officer Studer then went to Ms. Workman’s house to interview her. Ms.

Workman denied any involvement and claimed that she had not had contact with Mr. Eggeman

since the summer. She indicated that the last time she saw Mr. Eggeman, he asked her to

complete a statement and have it notarized. When she refused, Mr. Eggeman became very upset

and told her she would be hearing from his lawyer.

{¶4} A few days later, Mr. Eggeman forwarded Officer Studer another email sent from

the becky.workmam@gmail.com. That email included references that the sender and Mr.

Eggeman had previously discussed ways to kill Ms. Wingate so the two could be together.

Given the content, subpoenas were issued to Google for the Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses of

the Chestnut street address and the becky.workmam Gmail account for the period from

December 6, 2013 through December 23, 2013. Records revealed that the Gmail account was

created July 25, 2013, and was accessed from two IP addresses during the December time frame.

Police then sent a subpoena to Frontier Communications, which is the cable internet provider

associated with the IP addresses. The sum of the records indicated that the account was

accessed, during the relevant time period, from Chestnut Street; specifically the address where

Mr. Eggeman and Ms. Wingate lived. Laptop computers were seized from the Chestnut Street

address and were analyzed by Officer Joshua Cooper, who specializes in computer forensics.

{¶5} Ultimately, complaints were filed against Mr. Eggeman on February 3, 2014, for

two counts of falsification and one count of obstructing official business. While Mr. Eggeman

initially was subject to a $5,000 cash or surety bond, it was subsequently modified and Mr. 3

Eggeman was released on bond. The Medina County Public Defender’s Office initially

represented Mr. Eggeman, but later withdrew after Mr. Eggeman retained private counsel.

Shortly thereafter, that counsel withdrew and Mr. Eggeman retained another attorney. The

matter proceeded to a jury trial, during which Mr. Eggeman was represented by the third

attorney. The jury found Mr. Eggeman guilty of the charges. Mr. Eggeman represented himself

at sentencing and his sentence was stayed pending appeal.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

{¶6} Mr. Eggeman’s single assignment of error consists of a score of paragraphs of

rambling and disjointed complaints detailing his disagreement, in no particular order, with the

trial court’s decision, his encounters with the police, the sheriff, and the local prosecutor, the

ineffectiveness of his attorney, the bond on which he was held, his improper arraignment,

prosecutorial misconduct, presentation of false evidence, and the denial of self-representation.

The assignment of error violates both the letter and the spirit of App.R. 16, and severely limits

our ability to respond to the arguments made in the brief. With respect to pro se litigants, this

Court has held that:

[P]ro se litigants should be granted reasonable leeway such that their motions and pleadings should be liberally construed so as to decide the issues on the merits, as opposed to technicalities. However, a pro se litigant is presumed to have knowledge of the law and correct legal procedures so that he remains subject to the same rules and procedures to which represented litigants are bound. He is not given greater rights than represented parties, and must bear the consequences of his mistakes. This Court, therefore, must hold [pro se appellants] to the same standard as any represented party.

State v. Klingensmith, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 13CA010514, 2015-Ohio-807, ¶ 6, quoting State v.

Taylor, 9th Dist. Lorain No. 14CA010549, 2014-Ohio-5738, ¶ 5, quoting Sherlock v. Myers, 9th

Dist. Summit No. 22071, 2014-Ohio-5178, ¶ 3. 4

{¶7} Many of Mr. Eggeman’s arguments are not developed in his brief, see App.R.

16(A)(7), rely on evidence that was not before the trial court at the time (such as the affidavit of

disqualification), or rely on video or audio testimony that Mr. Eggeman asserts does not appear

in the transcribed copy. To the extent the foregoing applies, his arguments will not be

considered.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

{¶8} Mr. Eggeman suggests that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the guilty

verdicts.

{¶9} The issue of whether a conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a question

of law, which we review de novo. State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997).

An appellate court’s function when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, would convince the average mind of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.

{¶10} Mr. Eggeman was found guilty of violating R.C. 2921.13(A)(2) and (A)(3) and

R.C. 2921.31.

{¶11} R.C. 2921.13(A) provides in relevant part that:

No person shall knowingly make a false statement, or knowingly swear or affirm the truth of a false statement previously made, when any of the following applies:

***

(2) The statement is made with purpose to incriminate another.

(3) The statement is made with purpose to mislead a public official in performing the public official’s official function. 5

{¶12} “A person acts knowingly, regardless of his purpose, when he is aware that his

conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A person has

knowledge of circumstances when he is aware that such circumstances probably exist.” Former

R.C. 2901.22(B).

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

Related

State v. Barron
2024 Ohio 5836 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)
State v. Higgins
2018 Ohio 476 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Zeber
2017 Ohio 8987 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
State v. Kuhar
2016 Ohio 5280 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Eggeman
2016 Ohio 2761 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2015 Ohio 5177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-eggeman-ohioctapp-2015.