State v. Fields

646 N.E.2d 866, 97 Ohio App. 3d 337, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 4318
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 28, 1994
DocketNos. C-930638 and C-930652.
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 646 N.E.2d 866 (State v. Fields) 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. Fields, 646 N.E.2d 866, 97 Ohio App. 3d 337, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 4318 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

Gorman, Judge.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Defendants-appellants, Samuel Z. Fields and Joseph L. Adams, appeal convictions for aggravated robbery and robbery of a Burger King restaurant and robbery of a Burger King employee. In their assignments of error they raise, either individually or collectively, the following issues: (1) allied offenses of similar import, (2) ineffective assistance of trial counsel, (3) violations of the Fourth Amendment, (4) manifest weight and sufficiency of the evidence, (5) evidence improperly admitted at trial, and (6) violations of the R.C. 2945.71, speedy-trial provisions. As to the allied-offense assignments, the judgments entered are reversed in part and the cases remanded to the trial court solely for correction of the sentences imposed. On all other assignments of error presented by both parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

It is undisputed that at about 3:00 a.m. on October 2, 1992, Amberley Village police officer Joseph Fryman encountered Fields and Adams sitting in an unlit *343 automobile. In response to the officer’s questions, they said they were searching for Galbraith Road, which, the officer noted, was sixty to eighty feet from the parked vehicle. By a radio inquiry to headquarters, Fryman learned that Adams had outstanding arrest warrants for traffic violations. That prompted Fryman to take Fields and Adams into custody. Pursuant to the department’s re-cite policy, at approximately 3:20 a.m., the Amberley police released Fields and Adams with instructions that Adams appear in court for the tickets.

Shortly after Fields and Adams were released by the Amberley police, a robbery occurred at the Burger King restaurant at Reading and Galbraith roads. Kathy Kilpatrick, a Burger King assistant manager, was attending to accounting duties in her office when two men approached. One of the men grabbed her, pulled her to her feet, and hit her in the jaw. The other shoved a metal money box into her ribs before pulling it from her grasp. They both dragged Kilpatrick into the restaurant’s walk-in cooler and barricaded her and several other employees in the compartment. Before being closed in the cooler, Kilpatrick observed her assailants: a tall, African-American male wearing a dark ski mask and thick glasses accompanied by a shorter man wearing a glove.

At approximately 3:40 a.m., Officer Fryman heard a police radio broadcast identifying two suspects involved in the Burger King robbery. The description matched his recollection of Fields and Adams, whom he had just released. Fryman then put out a broadcast in which he included the names of Fields and Adams, a description of their automobile, and the vehicle’s license number. From these broadcasts, Cincinnati police officer Thomas Slade identified the wanted automobile traveling near the corner of North Bend and Daly roads. Slade .enlisted the assistance of another officer, and, within moments, they arrested Fields and Adams. In the automobile they found Kilpatrick’s purse, her prescription bottle, and $1,200 in coins and bills belonging to Burger King.

Fields and Adams were charged with robbery and aggravated robbery of Burger King and robbery of Burger King’s employee, Kilpatrick. The jury found them guilty of all charges. On count one, the Burger King aggravated robbery, the court sentenced them to fifteen to twenty-five years. On counts two and three, the Burger King robbery and the Kilpatrick robbery, the court sentenced them to twelve to fifteen years for each crime. The sentence for count one ran consecutively to the sentences for counts two and three. The sentences for counts two and three ran concurrently.

II. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

A. Allied Offenses of Similar Import

Fields and Adams first argue that they received multiple sentences in violation of R.C. 2941.25, which prohibits a trial court from imposing more than *344 one sentence for allied offenses of similar import. 1 Neither Fields nor Adams raised this issue when sentenced by the trial court. Therefore, it is waived. See, generally, State v. Comen (1990), 50 Ohio St.3d 206, 211, 553 N.E.2d 640, 646.

An error that is waived by failure to object will not be noticed by the court of appeals unless it is plain error. Crim.R. 52(B). Under plain error analysis, the court determines (1) whether there is an error, (2) whether it is plain error, and (3) whether the defendant was prejudiced. United States v. Olano (1992), 507 U.S.-,-, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 1777-1778, 123 L.Ed.2d 508, 519-520 (using “forfeiture” rather than waiver). In plain error analysis, the court determines prejudice by asking whether the error created a manifest injustice or seriously affected the “fairness, integrity or public reputation of [the] judicial proceedings.” Id. at-, 113 S.Ct. at 1779, 123 L.Ed.2d at 521-522; State v. Long (1978), 53 Ohio St.2d 91, 7 O.O.3d 178, 372 N.E.2d 804, paragraph three of the syllabus. The court will not reverse unless the outcome of the trial “clearly would have been otherwise.” Long at paragraph two of the syllabus; but see Olano, 507 U.S. at-, 113 S.Ct. at 1778, 123 L.Ed.2d at 520 (caveat on outcome determination).

The court’s power under Crim.R. 52(B) is discretionary. Id., 507 U.S. at-, 113 S.Ct. at 1778-1779, 123 L.Ed.2d at 520-522; Long, 53 Ohio St.2d at 95, 7 O.O.3d at 180, 372 N.E.2d at 807, fn. 5; State v. Craft (1977), 52 Ohio App.2d 1, 2, 6 O.O.3d 1,1-2, 367 N.E.2d 1221, 1223; Crim.R. 52(B). The court in Comen did not exercise its discretion to address plain error in the case of allied offenses. This court, however, previously has addressed allied-offense issues that were waived below. State v. Jennings (1987), 42 Ohio App.3d 179, 537 N.E.2d 685; State v. Gordon (Mar. 18, 1992), Hamilton App. No. C-910375, unreported, 1992 WL 52723; State v. Carter (Dec. 19, 1990), Hamilton App. No. C-890787, unreported, 1990 WL 209676; State v. Elyel (Mar. 21, 1984), Hamilton App. No. C-830403, unreported, 1984 WL 14107. 2 Also, since Comen, other courts of appeals have addressed waived allied-offense issues. See, generally, State v. Morgan (1992), 80 Ohio App.3d 150, 152-153, 608 N.E.2d 1114, 1115-1116; State v. Dehler (May 26, 1994), Cuyahoga App. Nos. 65006 and 66020, unreported, 1994 WL 236298; State v. Ventresca (Mar. 26, 1993), Lake App. No. 92-L-091, unreported, 1993 WL 130044. Therefore, under Crim.R. 52(B), it is within our discretion to address the merits of an allied-offense issue.

*345 1. Was the sentencing error?

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Bluebook (online)
646 N.E.2d 866, 97 Ohio App. 3d 337, 1994 Ohio App. LEXIS 4318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fields-ohioctapp-1994.