State v. Johnson, Unpublished Decision (1-30-2001)

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 30, 2001
DocketNo. 00AP-428.
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Johnson, Unpublished Decision (1-30-2001) (State v. Johnson, Unpublished Decision (1-30-2001)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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State v. Johnson, Unpublished Decision (1-30-2001), (Ohio Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION
Defendant-appellant, Dwight A. Johnson, was tried and convicted by a jury on one count of aggravated murder with a gun specification and one count of aggravated robbery with a gun specification. The case involved the December 20, 1997 shooting death of Henry Howell. Howell was shot in broad daylight by the parking lot dumpsters of the Kenmore Square apartment complex in Columbus.

At the conclusion of a mitigation hearing, the jury recommended life imprisonment with a possibility of parole after thirty years on the aggravated murder conviction. The judge followed the jury's sentencing recommendation and also sentenced Johnson to an additional ten years for the aggravated robbery and an additional three years for the merged gun specifications. The judge ordered that the sentences be served consecutively, for a total minimum sentence of forty-three years.

Testimony at trial demonstrated that, on December 20, 1997, the victim, Henry Howell, was visiting his girlfriend, Nicole Collins, who lived in the Kenmore Square apartments. Howell was disabled; he wore a leg brace and walked with a limp. He had cashed his $400 social security disability check that morning. He gave Collins some money to buy groceries and told her that he was tempted to use the rest of his money to buy and sell drugs to generate extra money for Christmas gifts.

Howell then walked to his sister's apartment in the same complex. While he was walking, two of Howell's teenaged children were driving by on their way to a Bible study class. The children stopped the car. Howell gave them $20 from a wad of bills he took from his pocket. Howell's son testified that he noticed a light-skinned black male in the background while Howell had his money out. The children drove away, and by the time they returned to the area about fifteen minutes later their father had been shot.

Based on information received early in the investigation, lead police detective, William Gillette, put together two sets of photo arrays of possible suspects. These photo arrays did not include a picture of Johnson, and none of the witnesses identified the shooter from these pictures. As the investigation developed, Gillette assembled a third photo array, which included a photograph of Johnson. Several witnesses identified Johnson as the man who looked most like the shooter.

Charod Wooden testified that he was at a friend's apartment in Kenmore Square on December 20, 1997. Wooden testified that he saw Howell outside the apartment. Howell was trying to buy drugs, but no one in the apartment would sell drugs to Howell because they did not know him. According to Wooden, Johnson was in this apartment when Howell attempted to purchase drugs. At that time, Wooden had known Johnson for a few years. Wooden testified that Johnson was complaining that he had been robbed the night before and that he "had to get what he lost back." Wooden left to visit a friend in an apartment near the dumpsters. Wooden testified that, when he walked out the apartment door about fifteen minutes later, he saw Howell and Johnson facing each other by the dumpsters. Wooden testified that he saw Howell back up with his hands up, he saw Johnson point something at Howell, he heard a shot and he saw Howell stagger. As Wooden ran away, he heard two more shots.

On cross-examination, Wooden admitted that he did not contact the police with information about Howell's shooting until six months after Wooden was incarcerated for an unrelated felony. Wooden testified that he had not been promised anything in exchange for his testimony, but he admitted that he expected the prosecutor to "speak up for me at my sentencing."

Three children testified for the prosecution. Leroy Thornton and Anthony Butts testified that they were playing on the back porch at Butts' apartment when Howell was shot. Thornton, who was seven years old on December 20, 1997, testified that he saw Johnson shoot Howell. Thornton had selected Johnson from a photo array during the investigation in 1997, and he identified Johnson in court as the shooter. On cross-examination, Thornton admitted that, prior to trial, the prosecutor had told Thornton that Johnson would be seated at the defense table. Butts, who was six years old at the time of the crime, gave mixed testimony. Butts identified Johnson as the shooter, but he also testified that he could not see the shooter's face. Both Thornton and Butts testified that they knew Johnson from the neighborhood before the shooting.

Sharayn Miller was seven on December 20, 1997. She testified that she was jumping rope outside her apartment on the day in question when she heard a gunshot and saw a man run past her, shoving a dark colored gun into the front of his pants. Miller testified that the police showed her a photo array, including a picture of Johnson, and Miller picked out Johnson as the man who "looks most like" the man who ran past her with a gun. Miller testified that she was not entirely forthcoming with the police during the investigation because her mother did not want her to get involved. According to Miller's trial testimony, the photo of Johnson actually looked "exactly like" the man who ran past her with a gun. Miller also testified that she knew Johnson from the neighborhood. On cross-examination, Miller admitted that the prosecutor had told Miller that the man who ran in front of her would be sitting at the defense table.

Rachael Jordan, assistant manager of Orchid Laundromat, testified that, on the afternoon of December 20, 1997, she heard police sirens and a helicopter at the same time that a man ran into the store. The man looked frightened and twice called on the telephone for someone to pick him up. Jordan identified Johnson as the man who made the phone calls from the laundromat.

Dr. Patrick Fardal, the coroner who performed the autopsy, testified that Howell had been shot twice, resulting in a non-fatal scalp wound and a fatal wound to the chest. Criminalist, Mark Hardy, testified that the two bullets had been fired from the same weapon. He opined that the weapon was a .38 caliber gun.

Melvin Scott, a friend of Johnson, testified that Johnson owned a .38 caliber revolver. Scott also testified that he and Johnson were at Laconta Hamilton's apartment some time after December 20, 1997, when Johnson admitted that he had recently shot a man and took approximately $100. On December 21, 1997, Deantea Bennett was in Hamilton's apartment when she heard Johnson admit to Melvin Scott that he had to dispose of bullet casings.

The defense called two witnesses. Pamela Mosley, Johnson's girlfriend, testified that she never saw Johnson carry a gun. She also testified that Johnson had a black eye on the date of the shooting from an unrelated fight, a marking that none of the eye witnesses had observed. Willita Cooksey, another resident who knew Johnson from the neighborhood, testified that she looked out her front door when she heard the shots and saw two men running from the dumpster area. Although she admitted that she did not see their faces, she testified that appellant was not one of the running men. Cooksey also testified that she held Howell's hand until the ambulance arrived and that Howell told her that two men had tried to rob him.

On appeal, Johnson raises the following assignments of error:

Assignment of Error One:
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY OVERRULING APPELLANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS PHOTO IDENTIFICATION.

Assignment of Error Two:
TRIAL COURT PERMITTED WITNESSES TO SHOW JURY STATES EXHIBITS PRIOR TO ADMISSION INTO EVIDENCE.

Assignment of Error Three:

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

Related

Neil v. Biggers
409 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1972)
State v. Clark
1994 Ohio 43 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1994)
State v. Wright
710 N.E.2d 1215 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1997)
State v. Green
691 N.E.2d 316 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1996)
State v. Tumbleson
664 N.E.2d 1318 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1995)
State v. Dehass
227 N.E.2d 212 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Long
372 N.E.2d 804 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1978)
State v. Wade
373 N.E.2d 1244 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1978)
State v. Moritz
407 N.E.2d 1268 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1980)
State v. Maurer
473 N.E.2d 768 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1984)
State v. Schnipper
489 N.E.2d 820 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1986)
Bostic v. Connor
524 N.E.2d 881 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1988)
State v. Moreland
552 N.E.2d 894 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Lott
555 N.E.2d 293 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Franklin
580 N.E.2d 1 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1991)
State v. Keenan
613 N.E.2d 203 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. D'Ambrosio
616 N.E.2d 909 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Allen
653 N.E.2d 675 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Thompkins
678 N.E.2d 541 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. White
82 Ohio St. 3d 16 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Johnson, Unpublished Decision (1-30-2001), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-johnson-unpublished-decision-1-30-2001-ohioctapp-2001.