State v. Jeffries

913 N.E.2d 493, 182 Ohio App. 3d 459
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 22, 2009
DocketNo. 2005-L-057
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 913 N.E.2d 493 (State v. Jeffries) 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. Jeffries, 913 N.E.2d 493, 182 Ohio App. 3d 459 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Diane V. Grendell, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Jennifer L. Jeffries, appeals her judgment in the Lake County Court of Common Pleas on a jury verdict convicting her of trafficking in cocaine, in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(1) and (C)(4)(a); tampering with evidence, in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1); involuntary manslaughter, with a firearm specification, in violation of R.C. 2903.04(A) and 2941.145; complicity to robbery, with a firearm specification, in violation of R.C. 2923.03(A)(2) and 2941.145; and felony murder, with a firearm specification, in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B) and 2941.145. Jeffries also appeals from the trial court’s judgment entry of sentence, sentencing her to a total prison term of 22 years to life in prison. We affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate the judgment entry of sentence, and remand this matter to the trial court for resentencing.

{¶ 2} The following facts are relevant to this appeal:1

{¶ 3} On December 4, 2001, Dustin Spaller was found dead in Recreation Park in Painesville, Ohio. An autopsy later revealed that Spaller had died from a gunshot wound. Autopsy evidence also showed that Spaller appeared to have been seriously beaten; he had several blunt-force head wounds, consistent with being hit by the muzzle of a gun.

{¶ 4} A few hours after the body was discovered, a dispatcher from the Lake County Sheriff's Department received a 9-1-1 call from Jeffries claiming that she and her friend, Spaller, were victims of a robbery that had occurred earlier that morning. Following the 9-1-1 call, Officer Robert Sayer, of the Painesville police department, went to Jeffries’s home, where she lived with her grandparents and her two children, to investigate her claims. Sayer asked Jeffries to accompany him to the police station to give a victim statement.

[465]*465{¶ 5} As they were preparing to leave, Sayer noticed that Jeffries’s vehicle had what appeared to be a blood smear along the passenger door, and blood spots and bloody handprints on various parts of the vehicle. Sayer had the vehicle towed to the Lake County crime lab for analysis.

{¶ 6} When Jeffries arrived at the Painesville police department to complete her victim statement, she told Sayer essentially the same version of events she had told the dispatcher. She stated that she arrived at Tony’s Subway Inn, a local bar, around 11:00 p.m. for a few drinks. While at Tony’s she ran into Dave Tills, Dustin Spaller, and Brett Cameron. Spaller asked Jeffries if he could buy $100 worth of crack cocaine from her. Jeffries stated that she agreed to take Spaller around town to see if they could find someone willing to sell crack to him. Eventually, Jeffries and Spaller met three men at the Argonne Arms apartment complex who agreed to sell some crack to them if they met at Recreation Park. Upon arriving at Recreation Park, they were ambushed by the three men, and Jeffries was robbed. Jeffries claimed that immediately after Spaller fled his attackers, she got in her car, drove straight home, and notified the police.

{¶ 7} As the investigation continued, a different version of events began to emerge. Spaller’s friends, Tills and Cameron, were interviewed. They stated that Spaller was carrying a large amount of cash on the night of Spaller’s murder and sometime between midnight and 1:00 a.m., Tills, Cameron, and Spaller went to Tony’s to see if they could find someone who would sell them $100 worth of crack.

{¶ 8} While at Tony’s, the men encountered Jeffries, who had sold them drugs in the past. Spaller asked Jeffries if she had any crack to sell and produced a large wad of cash from his pocket to show her. Jeffries stated that she would check with others around the bar to see if anyone had any to sell.

{¶ 9} Tills stated that he later saw Jeffries speaking with her estranged husband, Jameson (“Tyrone”) Jeffries. Ultimately, Jeffries told the men that they would meet at Recreation Park to consummate the deal. Spaller told Tills and Cameron to wait for him and left Tony’s with Jeffries. After Spaller failed to return, Tills and Cameron attempted to reach Jeffries on her cell phone. Over the course of the night, they had several phone conversations with Jeffries. During these conversations, Jeffries gave conflicting accounts of what happened.

{¶ 10} Based upon the conflicting information, Detective Sayer called Jeffries on the afternoon of December 4, 2001, and asked her to return to the police station, where Jeffries recounted her earlier statement without any changes.

{¶ 11} Over the course of a year and a half, the investigation into the death of Spaller continued. Although some evidence was gathered that implicated Tyrone as the assailant, Jeffries herself never corroborated this information.

[466]*466{¶ 12} In October 2002, Jeffries submitted to a polygraph test, requested on behalf of her defense counsel. The polygraphist took a statement from Jeffries about what had happened on the night of Spaller’s death. In the statement, Jeffries claimed she did not have any knowledge of or responsibility for Spaller’s murder and identified her husband, Tyrone, as the murderer. The defense later turned this statement over to the prosecutor as part of the cooperation agreement discussed below.

{¶ 13} On May 7, 2003, the prosecutor’s office and the public defender’s office entered into a cooperation agreement that was to grant Jeffries immunity on all charges related to the murder. The agreement required Jeffries to cooperate with prosecutors and submit to a polygraph administered by an examiner selected by the prosecution to confirm her truthfulness. However, Jeffries subsequently failed the polygraph and fled the jurisdiction.

{¶ 14} Consequently, on July 18, 2003, Jeffries was indicted, by way of secret indictment, on one count of trafficking in cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree (Count 1), and one count of tampering with evidence, a felony of the third degree (Count 2). Additionally, a warrant for Jeffries’s arrest on the indictment was issued. Jeffries waived her right to be present at her arraignment, and a not-guilty plea was entered on her behalf.

{¶ 15} On September 20, 2004, the grand jury returned a second indictment charging Jeffries with one count of involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification, a felony of the first degree (Count 3); two counts of complicity to robbery, felonies of the second degree (Counts 4 and 5), with firearm specifications; and one count of felony murder, a felony of the first degree with a firearm specification (Count 6). These charges were consolidated with the earlier charges. Jeffries again waived her right to be present at her arraignment and the trial court entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf with respect to each of the additional charges.

{¶ 16} On January 21, 2005, Jeffries’s defense counsel filed a motion to enforce a post-indictment cooperation or plea agreement and a motion to suppress, seeking the suppression of a statement she had made to the polygraphist. The trial court denied Jeffries’s motion to enforce the cooperation agreement and granted in part and denied in part her motion to suppress.

{¶ 17} The matter proceeded to a jury trial on February 4, 2005. The jury found Jeffries guilty on all charges against her, except for one count of complicity to robbery (Count 4), of which she was acquitted.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
913 N.E.2d 493, 182 Ohio App. 3d 459, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jeffries-ohioctapp-2009.