State v. Hohenberger

938 N.E.2d 419, 189 Ohio App. 3d 346
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 27, 2010
DocketNo. WD-10-17
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 938 N.E.2d 419 (State v. Hohenberger) 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. Hohenberger, 938 N.E.2d 419, 189 Ohio App. 3d 346 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Rogers, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Reggie H. Hohenberger, appeals the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Wood County convicting him of vehicular assault. On appeal, Hohenberger argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the charge of vehicular assault for failure to provide a speedy trial; that the trial court erred in allowing the state to dismiss the only African-American juror without a race-neutral reason; that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial after two witnesses gave improper opinion testimony; and that the trial court erred in convicting him of vehicular assault when he was originally indicted for aggravated vehicular assault. Based upon the following, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

{¶ 2} In September 2008, Hohenberger was indicted for Count One: aggravated vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(1)(a), a felony of the third degree; Count Two: failing to stop after an accident involving injury to persons or property in violation of R.C. 4549.021, a felony of the fifth degree; and Count Three: domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A), a misdemeanor of the first degree. The indictment stemmed from an incident in May 2008 during which Hohenberger allegedly argued with his wife, Kathleen Hohenberger, at a bar, struck her in the face, drove off in his SUV, returned to the bar parking lot, drove over a concrete curb, struck Kathleen with the SUV, and then drove off again.

{¶ 3} On September 16, 2008, Hohenberger filed a request for discovery.

[350]*350{¶ 4} On September 18, 2008, Hohenberger waived the statutory time limitations “to the conclusion of this case.”

{¶ 5} On September 19, 2008, Hohenberger entered pleas of not guilty to all counts in the indictment. Additionally, the trial court’s entry ordered that “[discovery is to be completed following the request by opposing counsel within fourteen (14) days if Defendant is not incarcerated.”

{¶ 6} On November 12, 2008, the state responded to Hohenberger’s discovery request.

{¶ 7} On February 12, 2009, Hohenberger moved the trial court to reschedule the trial date of April 8, 2009, due to his desire to obtain an expert witness for accident-reconstruction purposes, and the trial court granted the motion on February 27, 2009. The trial court thereafter set a new trial date of September 16, 2009.

{¶ 8} On September 14, 2009, the state filed a motion to continue the trial date because the state had been unaware that an accident-reconstruction report was being prepared until September 11, 2009, just days before trial. On September 17, 2009, the trial court granted the state’s motion and set a new trial date of October 21, 2009. On the same day, Hohenberger was indicted for vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(2)(b),1 a felony of the fourth degree.

{¶ 9} On October 6, 2009, Hohenberger entered a plea of not guilty to the new count of vehicular assault. Several days later, on October 9, 2009, the state filed a motion to dismiss Count One, aggravated vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(1)(a), in light of the fact that in November 2008, Hohenberger had entered a plea in Perrysburg Municipal Court of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation of R.C. 4511.19. The state asserted that dismissal was necessary because under State v. Zima, 102 Ohio St.3d 61, 2004-Ohio-1807, 806 N.E.2d 542, jeopardy would attach as to the aggravated-vehicular-assault charge and bar prosecution.

{¶ 10} Shortly thereafter, on October 19, 2009, Hohenberger filed a motion to dismiss the newly indicted charge of vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(2)(b), claiming that his speedy-trial rights had been violated. On October 21, 2009, the trial court denied Hohenberger’s motion to dismiss, finding that he would be brought to trial within the statutory period. Additionally, the trial court stated that in lieu of dismissing the first charge of aggravated vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(1)(a), it would grant the state’s [351]*351oral motion to amend the first indictment to reflect the language of the new charge of vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(2)(b).

{¶ 11} Thereafter, on October 21, 2009, the case proceeded to trial, at which the following testimony was heard.

{¶ 12} Kathleen Hohenberger testified that she had been married to Reggie Hohenberger for 28 years; that on Sunday, May 18, 2008, she and Hohenberger went out to celebrate the anniversary of their first date, driving their Lincoln Navigator SUV; that at approximately 7:00 p.m., they went to the Village Idiot Bar in Maumee, Ohio, for dinner; that she believed she had consumed four beers at the Village Idiot and was unsure how many beverages Hohenberger had consumed; that Hohenberger had struck up a conversation with several men in town on business; that the couple had left the Village Idiot and Hohenberger had offered three of the men a ride to another bar, Jed’s; that the couple had consumed more alcoholic beverages at Jed’s; that the couple and the three men went to another bar, Quarters, located in Wood County, at approximately 10:00 p.m.; that she had consumed a beer while Hohenberger had played pool with the men; that she had begun to feel ill and had gone into the restroom; that she did not remember a man being in the restroom with her; that she could not remember how long she had been in the restroom; that her lack of recollection had been not unusual because she was intoxicated; that the next thing she remembered was walking out the front door of Quarters; that she did not recall seeing Hohenberger or hearing him say anything prior to her walking out the door; that she had realized that their SUV was not in the parking lot, so she decided to walk home because she and Hohenberger did not live far from Quarters; that she then saw the SUV. She said, “He came in fast and I stopped, raised my hand and then that was that”; that she did not remember much after the accident except someone picking up her head and kissing her on the forehead; that she remembered being transported in an ambulance; and that as a result of the incident, she had sustained a fractured femur requiring placement of a rod, a scratched lip, bruising to her forehead and chin, and a scrape near her eye.

{¶ 13} On cross-examination, Kathleen testified that she knew that Hohenberger was the person driving the SUV when it struck her because “[w]ho else would kiss [her] on [her] forehead”; that she later learned that her blood-alcohol level had been .26 on the evening of the incident; that she did not believe she had ever consumed so much alcohol; and that Reggie had never struck her during their entire relationship.

{¶ 14} Mackenzie Reyes testified that she had been 15 years old at the time of trial; that on May 18, 2008, she had gone to Quarters with her mother, Bernadette Reyes-Pickett, and a family friend, John Lohmeyer; that eventually, she had gone into the restroom; that while sitting in a stall, she had seen four [352]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
938 N.E.2d 419, 189 Ohio App. 3d 346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hohenberger-ohioctapp-2010.