State v. Harrison

2022 Ohio 2537
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided July 25, 2022·No. 8-22-05·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT

LOGAN COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, CASE NO. 8-22-05 v.

KANDALE L. HARRISON, OPINION

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal from Logan County Common Pleas Court Trial Court No. CR 20 12 0290

Judgment Affirmed

Date of Decision: July 25, 2022

APPEARANCES:

Kenneth J. Rexford for Appellant Eric C. Stewart for Appellee

WILLAMOWSKI, J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Kandale L. Harrison (“Harrison”) brings this appeal from the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Logan County finding him guilty of one count of aggravated possession of drugs with a firearm specification and a major drug offender specification and one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer. On appeal, Harrison challenges 1) the denial of his motion to suppress, 2) the failure to dismiss the firearm specification, and 3) the imposition of an indeterminate sentence. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment is affirmed.

{¶2} On November 3, 2020, Deputy Coleton Piatt (“Piatt”) of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office was watching traffic on US 68 from a parking lot. Doc. 19. Piatt saw a car pass his car and aggressively brake for no observable reason. Doc. 19. Piatt then pulled out and followed the car as it turned down Tanglewood Drive. Doc. 19. The car quickly turned into a driveway and turned off its lights. Doc. 19. A couple minutes later, the car turned back on its lights and resumed traveling on US 68. Doc. 19. Piatt then initiated an investigatory stop near Tracemore Lane. Doc. 19. The car was slow to stop, turned on its hazard lights, and continued slowly moving. Doc. 19. The vehicle eventually stopped and Piatt asked Harrison to step out of the vehicle. Doc. 19. Harrison opened the door to the car, but refused to exit the car. Doc. 19. Piatt warned Harrison that if he did not get out of the car, he

would release the canine. Doc. 19. Harrison replied that he did not feel safe, closed his door and drove northbound at 55-60 mph with his hazard lights on. Doc. 19. For 39 minutes, Harrison continued to evade Piatt and officers from multiple other agencies. Doc. 19. During the pursuit, Harrison ran multiple stop signs, exceeded the speed limit, attempted to pass a police cruiser in front of him by crossing a double yellow line, and narrowly missed hitting oncoming vehicles. Doc. 19. At times, Harrison’s speed reached 90 mph on single lane roads. Doc. 19. The Champaign County Sheriff’s Office deployed stop sticks, flattening both driver side tires. Doc. 19. Harrison continued to drive on the rims until Piatt struck Harrison’s vehicle several times, causing Harrison to lose control of the vehicle and stop. Doc. 19. Upon securing Harrison, they searched him and found a plastic container containing .21grams of cocaine. Doc. 19.

{¶3} Additionally, during the chase, Piatt saw Harrison throw an object out of the window at the intersection of US 68 and SR 507. Doc. 19. Officers recovered a Ruger P89 handgun from this location. Piatt also saw Harrison throw an object out of the window near the corner of US 68 and Sidney Street in West Liberty. Doc. 19. Officers recovered a bag with a large amount of methamphetamine at that location. A third item was tossed from the window near an alley intersecting with Reynolds Street in West Liberty. Officers recovered a second bag with methamphetamines at that location. Piatt’s dash camera recorded all of these objects

being tossed from the car. Doc. 19. After Harrison was arrested, the vehicle was towed to the Logan County Impound. Doc. 19. A search warrant was obtained and more methamphetamines were found in the vehicle. Doc. 19.

{¶4} On December 8, 2020, the Logan County Grand Jury indicted Harrison on the following counts: 1) Aggravated Possession of Drugs in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), (C)(1)(e), a felony of the first degree; 2) Possession of Cocaine in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), (C)(4)(a), a felony of the fifth degree; 3) Failure to Comply with an Order or Signal of a Police Officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B), (C)(5)(a)(ii), a felony of the third degree; 4) Having Weapons While Under Disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(3), (B), a felony of the third degree; and 5) Tampering with Evidence in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), (B), a felony of the third degree. Doc. 2. Count 1 included a firearm specification and a major drug offender specification (“MDO”). Doc. 2. Harrison entered pleas of not guilty to all counts. Doc. 9.

{¶5} On April 7, 2021, Harrison filed a motion to suppress claiming the initial stop was not based upon a reasonable, articulable suspicion. Doc. 46. On July 21, 2021, Harrison filed a motion to dismiss the firearm specification alleging that it violated his Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution. A new motion to suppress was filed by Harrison’s new attorney on August 2, 2021. Doc. 74. A hearing on all outstanding motions was held on August 25, 2021. Doc. 81.

On September 16, 2021, the trial court denied the motion to dismiss the firearm specification and the motion to suppress. Doc. 92-93

{¶6} On December 13, 2021, a final pretrial was held. Doc. 157. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Harrison agreed to enter pleas of no contest Count 1- Aggravated Possession of Drugs along with the firearm specification and the major drug offender specification and Count 3-Failure to Comply. The State agreed in exchange to dismiss Counts 2, 4, and 5. Doc. 157. After conducting a dialogue with Harrison, the trial court accepted the no contest plea and found Harrison guilty of Counts 1 and 3 along with the two specifications. Doc. 157. The remaining counts were dismissed. Doc. 157. A sentencing hearing was held on January 11, 2022. Doc. 165. The trial court ordered a prison term of 11 to 16 ½ years on Count 1, with one more year added for the firearm specification. Doc. 165. The trial court ordered a prison term of three years for Count 3 and ordered that all terms be served consecutively for an aggregate sentence of 15-20½ years in prison. Harrison appealed from this judgment. Doc. 180. On appeal Harrison raises the following assignments of error.

First Assignment of Error The trial court erred in denying the defense motion to suppress.

Second Assignment of Error

The trial court erred by not dismissing the unconstitutional firearm specification.

Third Assignment of Error

The trial court erred by imposing an indeterminate sentence as to Count 1.

Motion to Suppress

{¶7} Harrison claims in his first assignment of error that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. The basis for the argument is that the initial traffic stop was not based upon reasonable, articulable suspicion.

An appellate review of the trial court’s decision on a motion to suppress involves a mixed question of law and fact. State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152, 2003-Ohio-5372, 797 N.E.2d 71, ¶ 8; State v. Norman, 136 Ohio App.3d 46, 51, 735 N.E.2d 953 (3d Dist.1999). We will accept the trial court’s factual findings if they are supported by competent, credible evidence, because the “evaluation of evidence and the credibility of witnesses” at the suppression hearing are issues for the trier of fact. State v. Mills, 62 Ohio St.3d 357, 366, 582 N.E.2d 972 (1992); Norman at 51, 735 N.E.2d 953; Burnside at ¶ 8. But we must independently determine, without deference to the trial court, whether these factual findings satisfy the legal standard as a matter of law because “the application of the law to the trial court's findings of fact is subject to a de novo standard of review.” Norman at 52, 735 N.E.2d 953; Burnside at ¶ 8.

State v. Urdiales, 3d Dist. Henry No. 7-15-03, 2015-Ohio-3632, ¶ 12, 38 N.E.3d 907.

{¶8} A “police stop of a motor vehicle and the resulting detention of its occupants has been held to be a seizure under the Fourth Amendment.” State v. Kerr, 3d Dist. Allen No. 1-17-01, 2017-Ohio-8516, ¶ 13. “Under the Fourth

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

State v. Harrison, 2022 Ohio 2537 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

2022 Ohio 2537 (State v. Harrison) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Newcomb
2024 Ohio 805 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)
State v. Hathorn
2023 Ohio 3936 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Bolin
2022 Ohio 3777 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)