State v. Jelks

2016 Ohio 5007
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided July 18, 2016·No. 2015-T-0028·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT TRUMBULL COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, : OPINION

Plaintiff-Appellee, :

CASE NO. 2015-T-0028

- vs - :

REGAN M. JELKS, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

Criminal Appeal from the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 2014 CR 291.

Judgment: Affirmed.

Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County Prosecutor, and LuWayne Annos, Assistant Prosecutor, Administration Building, Fourth Floor, 160 High Street, N.W., Warren, OH 44481 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

Michael A. Partlow, 112 South Water Street, Suite C, Kent, OH 44240 (For Defendant- Appellant).

COLLEEN MARY O’TOOLE, J.

{¶1} Appellant, Regan M. Jelks, appeals from the March 17, 2015 judgment of the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas, sentencing her on two counts of complicity to improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle. On appeal, appellant

asserts her convictions are not supported by sufficient evidence and are against the manifest weight of the evidence. For the reasons stated, we affirm.

{¶2} On April 11, 2014, appellant was indicted by the Trumbull County Grand Jury on three counts: count one, complicity to improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a felony of the fourth degree, in violation of R.C. 2923.16(B) and (I); count two, complicity to improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, in violation of R.C. 2923.16(C) and (I); and count three, involuntary manslaughter, a felony of the first degree, in violation of R.C. 2903.04(A) and (C). Appellant pleaded not guilty to all charges at her arraignment.

{¶3} The matter proceeded to a jury trial. Appellee, the state of Ohio, presented five witnesses to testify on its behalf. Appellant did not testify and presented no witnesses.

{¶4} In the late evening hours of October 18, 2013 and into the early morning hours of October 19, 2013, appellant and Taemarr Walker, her long-time boyfriend, celebrated his twenty-fourth birthday.1 The couple started out at Milo’s bar in Warren before going to a residence on Woodbine Avenue to drop off a birthday cake and some balloons. Appellant claimed she saw no weapons in her car at that time. Several minutes later, the couple parted company. Mr. Walker told appellant to pick him up later at II Hype, another Warren bar.

{¶5} Later that night, appellant proceeded to II Hype. Instead of parking there, appellant illegally parked at a nearby establishment, Nana’s Soul Food. Shortly after midnight, Jeffrey Gifford, a May’s Towing employee, was dispatched to tow appellant’s

1. Appellant conceded in her appellate brief that Mr. Walker was a convicted felon. Mr. Walker also had no valid driver’s license.

vehicle. Mr. Gifford testified that although appellant was initially defensive, she agreed to move her car. Appellant subsequently returned to II Hype and waited for Mr. Walker.

{¶6} Thereafter, Mr. Gifford was called to pull an abandoned Pontiac Grand Am from a ditch along Rischer Road. That vehicle belonged to Darlene Border. Ms. Border testified her eyes were a little blurry, due to low blood sugar, which caused her to veer off the road and land in the ditch. Officer Michael Krafcik was dispatched to the scene.

{¶7} In the meantime, back at II Hype, appellant finally spotted Mr. Walker in the parking lot. Although appellant knew Mr. Walker did not have a valid driver’s license, she allowed him to driver her car. Instead of going back to the Woodbine residence for the birthday celebration, Mr. Walker drove in the opposite direction toward Rischer Road.

{¶8} Rischer Road was blocked off in order for Mr. Gifford to pull out Ms.

Border’s Grand Am from the ditch. The lights on the tow truck and on Officer Krafcik’s cruiser were activated to alert on-coming traffic of the temporary obstruction. Mr. Walker and appellant approached the area in appellant’s vehicle. Despite the obstruction to the road, the flashing lights, and Officer Krafcik waving his arms, the officer testified Mr. Walker refused to stop. Officer Krafcik believed there was going to be a collision. However, Mr. Walker drove appellant’s car off the side of the road into a ditch.

{¶9} Officer Krafcik approached the vehicle to check on the occupants. He observed a rifle laying across the back seat with the muzzle pointed in his direction. The officer radioed for back up assistance and drew his service pistol. Mr. Walker jumped from the front driver’s seat to the back seat. Officer Krafcik ordered Mr. Walker

to put his hands up. As he did, the officer noticed Mr. Walker was wearing latex gloves. Officer Krafcik continually shouted commands at Mr. Walker, telling him to “‘stop, don’t move, keep your hands up, if you touch the gun, I am going to shoot you.’” Mr. Gifford, the tow truck driver who was still at the scene, testified the officer shouted these commands at least 10 to 12 times.

{¶10} Mr. Walker, however, did not comply. Rather, he reached for his pocket and dove back to the front seat. Officer Krafcik saw Mr. Walker reach under the driver’s seat and produce a pistol. At that time, the officer fired a single round which shattered the passenger window. He managed to shoot past appellant who was compliant but screaming hysterically. The broken window temporarily obstructed the officer’s view. As it fell away, Officer Krafcik saw that Mr. Walker was still holding the pistol. The officer fired three more times, killing Mr. Walker.

{¶11} While waiting for back up assistance, Officer Krafcik removed appellant from the vehicle and placed her in handcuffs. Sergeant Bryan Holmes responded and arrived at the scene. EMT also arrived and determined Mr. Walker had no pulse. Sergeant Holmes removed the Ruger pistol from Mr. Walker’s hand, which he learned afterward was unloaded. He also removed from the vehicle a loaded Heckler & Koch semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle with the safety off and in the “fire” position.

{¶12} Appellant was interviewed three times in the early morning hours on October 19, 2013. Charles Snyder, a special agent with BCI, testified appellant was very evasive. He believed she was not being forthright. According to Mr. Snyder, appellant never disclosed the source of the two guns found in her vehicle. Also, appellant never admitted to seeing gloves on Walker until he put his hands up due to

Officer Krafcik’s commands. Further, appellant could not explain why Mr. Walker drove her car in the opposite direction of the Woodbine residence after leaving II Hype.

{¶13} During the third interview, however, appellant admitted to seeing Mr.

Walker with the guns when he got into her car at II Hype. Appellant saw him with the handgun on his person, i.e., in his pocket, and saw him put it on the floor of her vehicle. Appellant also saw Mr. Walker with the long rifle and believed he placed it inside her car when she went around the vehicle to get in the passenger’s seat. In addition, appellant indicated she was “uncomfortable” during the ride to Rischer Road because she and Mr. Walker would both “go down” if they got pulled over by the police.

{¶14} At the close of the state’s case, defense counsel moved for an acquittal pursuant to Crim.R. 29, which was overruled by the trial court. The defense presented no evidence.

{¶15} Following trial, the jury found appellant guilty on counts one and two, complicity to improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle. The jury found appellant not guilty on count three, involuntary manslaughter.

{¶16} The trial court sentenced appellant to five years of community control on each count to run concurrently subject to the general rules of supervision of the Adult Probation Department. The court further imposed specific sanctions and conditions including, inter alia, serving 60 days in jail. A violation of her community control sanction would trigger an 18-month prison term on count one and 30 days on count two to be served concurrently. Appellant filed a timely appeal and asserts the following assignment of error:2

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