State v. Jackson, Unpublished Decision (11-6-2003)

2003 Ohio 5946
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 2003
DocketNo. 03AP-273, (REGULAR CALENDAR)
StatusUnpublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 2003 Ohio 5946 (State v. Jackson, Unpublished Decision (11-6-2003)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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State v. Jackson, Unpublished Decision (11-6-2003), 2003 Ohio 5946 (Ohio Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} This is an appeal by appellant, Carl K. Jackson, from a judgment of sentence and conviction entered by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, following a jury trial in which appellant was found guilty of aggravated robbery and felonious assault.

{¶ 2} On January 4, 2002, appellant was indicted on one count of aggravated robbery, in violation of R.C. 2911.01, two counts of robbery, in violation of R.C. 2911.02, and one count of felonious assault, in violation of R.C. 2903.11. Each of the counts carried a firearm specification.

{¶ 3} The indictment arose out of an incident on December 4, 2001, in which Joseph C. Craft was shot while sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Central Point Shopping Center, located at 612 Harrisburg Pike. The matter came for trial before a jury beginning February 7, 2003.

{¶ 4} Craft, the shooting victim, gave the following testimony at trial. In 2001, Craft was employed as a car salesman. In the latter part of that year, someone approached him about selling marijuana, and Craft agreed to do so because he needed additional money for his mortgage payment and to purchase Christmas gifts for his children. According to Craft, he had been selling marijuana for two weeks prior to the time he was shot.

{¶ 5} A few days before the shooting incident, Tyrone King, an acquaintance of Craft, called Craft and stated that he knew somebody who was looking for a "bag of weed." (Tr. 120.) As a result of that conversation, Craft met an individual, identified at trial as appellant, and appellant gave Craft his phone number. Appellant and Craft subsequently spoke by telephone, and appellant asked Craft to meet him at a particular location, but Craft felt uneasy about the situation and he declined.

{¶ 6} Craft and appellant eventually made arrangements to meet December 4, at 3 p.m., in the Big Bear parking lot at the Central Point Shopping Center. Shortly before the meeting, Craft obtained a handgun from his brother-in-law "because of the feeling I was having." (Tr. 127.) Craft drove to the parking lot and was in communication with appellant by cell phone; appellant indicated that he was parked in a maroon car. Craft parked next to appellant's vehicle, and Craft noticed that another individual was in the vehicle with appellant. Appellant walked over to the passenger door of Craft's truck, entered the vehicle, and asked Craft to show him the marijuana. Craft handed appellant a portion of the marijuana, and appellant stated that he wanted to show it to his cousin. Appellant got out of the truck and showed the other individual the marijuana. Appellant returned and stated that his cousin wanted the drugs.

{¶ 7} The man identified as appellant's cousin then came over and entered the passenger side of Craft's truck. Craft thought the man was reaching for money, but instead he pulled out a gun and stated, "nigger, I'll kill you in this truck if you don't give it to me." (Tr. 125.) The man began nudging Craft with the gun, and when the man put the gun near Craft's head, Craft "smacked the gun down and punched him." (Tr. 126.) The two men struggled for a brief period, and Craft eventually reached for his own weapon, but as he put his head down, the other man said, "lights out, nigger." (Tr. 126.) The man pulled the trigger, shooting Craft in the neck. The assailant then took a four-ounce bag of marijuana that Craft had brought to the meeting.

{¶ 8} Craft collapsed over the truck's console, and was momentarily unable to move. He was, however, able to see the clock on the dashboard, and he recalled that it displayed 3:24 p.m. when the shooting occurred. Eventually, Craft was able to reach up with his hand and activate the vehicle's horn, attracting someone's attention, and police officers and medical personnel were summoned a short time later. Craft provided the police officers with the name Tyrone King since King had set up the meeting and knew the individual Craft was supposed to meet; Craft did not state that King shot him.

{¶ 9} Craft's central nervous system was damaged as a result of the shot entering his neck and striking his vertebrae. For a number of weeks, he was a quadriplegic, and was hospitalized for almost five months. At trial, Craft was able to walk with a cane.

{¶ 10} On the date of the incident, Columbus Police Officer James Long and his partner were dispatched to the shooting scene. Upon arriving, Officer Long observed that the victim had been shot in the neck. The officers asked Craft who had shot him, and he responded, "Tyrone King." (Tr. 29.) Craft later mentioned another individual, and indicated that the man's phone number was in his truck. Craft stated that the men had left in a maroon Buick or an Oldsmobile. Officer Long observed marijuana outside the vehicle on the ground.

{¶ 11} Columbus Police Detective Marilyn Seamans interviewed Craft in a hospital emergency room on the date of the incident. Detective Seamans noticed a stippling effect on appellant's skin, indicating that he had been shot at close range. Craft told the detective that Tyrone King had set up a drug deal, but Craft did not know the name of the individual who shot him.

{¶ 12} Robert Lawson, a latent fingerprint examiner, examined prints recovered from the crime scene, and he identified a fingerprint lift taken from Craft's truck as matching appellant's fingerprint. Lawson also identified a fingerprint lift taken from the truck as matching the fingerprint of an individual named Roosevelt Bradford.

{¶ 13} Columbus Police Officer Steve Eppert created photographic arrays as part of the investigation. On December 12, 2001, detectives showed Craft an array, and he stated that photograph No. 3, depicting an individual named Lance Green, looked the most like the person driving the getaway car, but Craft was not completely certain of the identification. Officer Eppert created a second photographic array that included appellant's picture, and detectives showed the array to Craft on December 13, 2001. Craft chose appellant's photograph as one of the individuals involved in the incident; while Craft was certain of his identification, he indicated that appellant was not the shooter. On December 28, 2001, a third photographic array, which included Roosevelt Bradford's photograph, was shown to Craft, and he identified Bradford as the individual who shot him.

{¶ 14} Appellant was arrested on December 27, 2001, and Columbus Police Detectives John Weis and Edward Kallay conducted an interview of the suspect. During the interview, appellant acknowledged that he had been present at the time of the shooting incident along with an individual named Roosevelt. Appellant's cousin, Otis Vaughn, was also in close proximity to the shooting scene. Appellant related that they did not have any money with them, and that robbery was their motive; appellant, however, did not want to be the one to rob Craft because he had "met him [Craft] through my friend." (Tr. 184.) Appellant acknowledged getting out of the car first and looking at the marijuana in Craft's truck. Appellant told the detectives that Vaughn had provided Roosevelt with the weapon. During the incident, Vaughn was standing near a restaurant at the strip mall, looking out for police. After the shooting, Vaughn got in the backseat of the vehicle that appellant was driving, while Roosevelt rode in the front passenger seat. Appellant told detectives that, following the incident, he drove directly to his probation officer's office because he was late for an appointment. Appellant, Vaughn and Bradford divided the marijuana taken from Craft's vehicle.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2003 Ohio 5946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jackson-unpublished-decision-11-6-2003-ohioctapp-2003.