State v. Frank

127 N.E.3d 363, 2018 Ohio 5148
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth District, Muskingum County
DecidedDecember 14, 2018
DocketNo. CT2017-0102
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 127 N.E.3d 363 (State v. Frank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth District, Muskingum County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Frank, 127 N.E.3d 363, 2018 Ohio 5148 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

Delaney, J.

{¶1} Appellant Leah M. Frank appeals from the December 14, 2017 Entry of conviction and sentence of the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas. Appellee is the state of Ohio.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Collection

{¶2} Carol Bosson has collected American pottery since the late 1980s and owns a vast collection numbering between 2200 and 2500 pieces. Her collection includes cookie jars, banks, planters, lawn ornaments, and other decorative items. The collection includes items from a number of American makers, although one of Bosson's favorites is McCoy.

{¶3} Bosson was qualified at trial as an expert witness in pottery and described the process of collecting American pottery. Some of her cookie jars, for example, are rare and valuable. Although the items were mass-produced, they were hand-painted and hand-decorated, and many pieces did not survive. An item's value is therefore based upon its condition and its rarity. Bosson is a member of several cookie-jar collectors' clubs and some of her jars have been photographed for inclusion in cookie-jar guides. These guides illustrate the various decorative differences and state the approximate retail value of the jars, which range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

{¶4} Reproductions of pottery are common but distinguishable from genuine items. Bosson testified the dimensions of reproductions are smaller because producers don't have access to the original molds. Dimensions are therefore important to gauging the authenticity of pieces and are listed in the cookie-jar books. Only one of Bosson's jars was a reproduction and she bought it as a reproduction. She testified all of her jars are genuine, thus correlating to the high retail values. The overall value *367of Bosson's collection is also based in part on its completeness.

{¶5} Bosson sought rare items but also collected duplicates of items already in her collection, to trade to other collectors. Most of her jars were purchased at auction. Bosson and other collectors rely upon "pickers" who attend auctions with lists of items sought by collectors. These lists are known as "want lists." The "pickers" might not be knowledgeable about pottery, but if they come across an interesting piece they will photograph it and/or purchase it for the collectors.

{¶6} Bosson knows other cookie-jar collectors throughout the country, including Jamie Melton, a Virginia resident. Melton also collects McCoy pottery and has seen Bosson's collection. Generally, however, Bosson is hesitant to show her collection because she is concerned about security.

{¶7} Appellee's exhibits P-1 through P-14 illustrate Bosson's collection in the basement of a house she owned in New Concord, Muskingum County, Ohio. Countless pieces of pottery are arranged in rows on shelves. A defense witness described the basement as a "pottery museum." Some of Bosson's favorite pieces were also kept in the upstairs living area of the house.

The tenants

{¶8} Bosson worked at J.C. Penney's, where she became "best friends" with appellant. In 2013, Bosson no longer lived at the New Concord residence but didn't have the time or the space in her new home to move everything from the New Concord house. Appellant and her fiancé, Lee Goldsmith, needed a place to live and asked Bosson if they could live at her house in exchange for taking care of it and watching over her property. Bosson believed it would be safer to have someone living at the house, so she agreed to have appellant and Goldsmith move in for the rent of $400/month and electricity. Bosson trusted appellant and discussed the agreement at length with her. The house was heated by free natural gas from a well. Much of Bosson's property remained, including furniture, clothing, bedding, and the pottery collection in the basement.

{¶9} The house has three bedrooms, two of which were filled with Bosson's property and were thus unusable by the tenants. Appellant and Goldsmith had access to the master bedroom, both bathrooms, the living room, kitchen, and basement. Bosson explained she couldn't keep the basement locked because the "mechanicals" of the house were there, including the washer and dryer, furnace, and hot-water heater. The basement does not contain any living space and, as shown by appellee's photos, is full of shelves of pottery. Goldsmith testified the tenants were nervous upon doing laundry due to the risk of harming any of the pottery.

{¶10} Bosson and appellant discussed the pottery collection in the basement, with appellant under strict orders not to touch, clean, move, or disturb the shelves of pottery in any way. Bosson felt comfortable with the arrangement because appellant told her daily how much she "loved" her and that she was grateful that Bosson provided a place to live.

{¶11} At one point during the 3-year tenancy, Bosson encountered another co-worker who asked her about her huge pottery collection. Bosson was concerned to learn appellant had shown the co-worker the collection without permission to do so. Bosson was uneasy but appellant and Goldsmith remained in the residence. At another point, a basement wall crumbled due to water damage and Bosson boxed up some of the pottery and removed it. At that time, Bosson testified, several light *368bulbs in the basement didn't work and she couldn't readily see the entire collection.

{¶12} In late 2016, the natural gas was turned off. Appellant and Goldsmith complained that they didn't have any heat or hot water, and moved out on December 22, 2016. In checking the residence, Bosson went to the house on December 26 or 27 and found a key broken off in the door and a note stating the pair had moved out. Bosson replaced the light bulbs in the basement and discovered the pottery collection had been disturbed and many pieces were missing.1 The total value of the missing pieces is approximately $32,000.

Theft connected to Appellant and Renick

{¶13} Jeff Snyder is a local antiques dealer who handles pottery. Bosson told him key pieces of her collection were missing. She learned Jamie Melton had several of her most valuable pieces, including, e.g., a McCoy leprechaun, Apollo jar, and red squirrel. Bosson also learned Melton got the items from a "picker" who bought them from someone named Shawn.

{¶14} Bosson knew Shawn Renick was appellant's son, although she had never met him. On January 3, 2017, Bosson reported the theft to the Muskingum County Sheriff's Department and provided the names of three suspects: appellant, Lee Goldsmith, and Shawn Renick.

{¶15} Jane Doe is the minor daughter of Valerie Barker, Shawn Renick's ex-girlfriend. Deputy Howe questioned Doe about the missing pottery and Doe testified reluctantly on behalf of appellee at trial. Doe said she visited appellant's home several times with her mother and Renick. Doe was well aware of the large pottery collection in the basement: appellant showed it to her and told her it had belonged to her daughter, Shayla, who passed away. Doe had no reason to believe the pottery belonged to anyone else.

{¶16} Doe testified she was present when Renick took pottery from the house 3 or 4 times. She said Goldsmith was usually upstairs when this occurred, but she, her mother, Renick, and appellant would gather pottery in the basement, put it in boxes, and place it in Renick's car.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 N.E.3d 363, 2018 Ohio 5148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-frank-ohctapp5musking-2018.