State v. Keith

90 N.E.3d 136, 2017 Ohio 1545
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County
DecidedApril 27, 2017
DocketNo. 104034
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 90 N.E.3d 136 (State v. Keith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Keith, 90 N.E.3d 136, 2017 Ohio 1545 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

MARY EILEEN KILBANE, P.J.:

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Demetrius Keith ("Keith"), appeals his convictions and sentence. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

{¶ 2} In August 2015, Keith was charged in a 14-count indictment in connection with the February 12, 2014 drive-by shooting of a vehicle occupied by Arturio Young ("Young"), Young's girlfriend Dyshenia Cranshaw ("Cranshaw"), and Joseph Willis ("Willis") on I-480, and the shooting death of Young on August 7, 2014. Keith and Young were members of rival gangs-the J Park and the ATM Jack Boys.

*139{¶ 3} Count 1 charged Keith with the aggravated murder of Young. Count 2 charged him with the murder of Young. Counts 3, 4, and 11 charged him with the felonious assault of Young. Count 5 charged him with the attempted murder of Brandon Wiley ("Wiley"). Count 6 charged him with the felonious assault of Wiley. Counts 7 and 14 charged him with the discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premises. Count 8 charged him with the attempted murder of Young. Count 9 charged him with the attempted murder of Cranshaw. Count 10 charged him with the attempted murder of Willis. Count 12 charged him with the felonious assault of Cranshaw. Count 13 charged him with the felonious assault of Willis.1 The matter proceeded to a jury trial, at which the following evidence was adduced.

{¶ 4} Several witnesses testified at trial, including Daryl Jones ("Jones") and Jones's cousin Malcolm Edwards ("Edwards"), who were also charged in connection with Young's murder. Jones testified that on the night of February 12, 2014, he was visiting his Edwards and friends Keith and Ramel Lee "Sharky" in the area of East 138th Street and Harvard Avenue. They drove to a nearby gas station. Young was pumping gas when Lee approached him. Cranshaw, who was seated in the front passenger seat of Young's car, testified that Young dropped the gas pump onto the ground, jumped into his car, and sped away as fast as he could to get away from Lee. Young's friend, Willis, was a passenger in the backseat of Young's car.

{¶ 5} Meanwhile, Lee ordered Jones to hurry back into the car and follow Young's car. Jones, who was afraid of Lee, complied and a chase ensued. Edwards was in the front passenger seat, Lee was in the rear driver's side seat, and Keith was in the rear passenger's side seat. Jones followed Young's car onto I-480 where a chase ensued for approximately ten minutes. Jones drove alongside Young's car, and Keith and Lee both fired shots at Young's car from the back window. Jones drove away following the gunshots. No one in Young's car was injured. Police investigated the incident, but nothing materialized because of the lack of witness cooperation.

{¶ 6} Edwards testified that he was under indictment for the same drive-by shooting, but was hoping for a plea deal in exchange for his testimony. He testified that he, Keith, and Lee were affiliated with people from his neighborhood, who call themselves J Park. Jones was not affiliated with J Park. He was visiting from a different neighborhood. Edwards further testified that Lee wanted to "get at" Young because of "[a] beef [they] had in the neighborhood." Edwards testified that Young was associated with the ATM Jack Boys.

{¶ 7} Several months later, in August 2014, Young was shot and killed at the corner of East 138th Street and Lambert. Young was hanging out with his friend Wiley and his brother Ryhad Muhammad ("Muhammad") before going to celebrate Cranshaw's birthday. Wiley testified that he, Young, and Muhammad were walking to a corner store at approximately 11:00 p.m. when three men rode past them on their bikes from the opposite direction. The three men then turned around and approached them from behind. Wiley, who admitted being a member of the ATM Jack Boys, immediately recognized Keith from high school and as a member of J Park. Keith and another individual, whom *140Wiley did not recognize, pointed guns at Wiley and Young, who raised their hands. They were standing approximately eight feet from each other. Keith stated to Young, "I'm about to body you." The other individual with the gun stated "that's dead, that's dead." Wiley took this to mean that he was going to shoot or kill Young. Then, Keith and the other individual fired shots at Young and fled the scene. Wiley observed sparks coming from Keith's gun. Wiley and Muhammad ran away, uninjured. Wiley fired shots back at the shooters with his own gun, which was a .380 firearm.

{¶ 8} Young, who was shot in the chest, managed to walk to Cranshaw's house and entered through the front door calling for her. Cranshaw is the mother of Young's two children. Cranshaw's stepmother observed him entering the house, followed by Muhammad, who cried that Young was shot. Young then walked out of the house toward his car where Cranshaw and her stepmother found him gasping for air. Young passed away before Cleveland EMS could get him to the hospital.

{¶ 9} Police questioned Wiley at the murder scene, but Wiley did not identify Keith as the assailant. He also did not tell the police that he fired his own .380 firearm at the scene. When the police later questioned Wiley about the incident, he identified Keith from a single photograph by his nickname "Hot Dog." Wiley also admitted that he shot his own gun at the scene.

{¶ 10} Detective Colin Ginley ("Detective Ginley") of the Cleveland Police Gang Unit testified regarding his investigation of J Park, the ATM Jack Boys, and this case. Detective Ginley identified photos of several members of J Park based on a combination of factors, including police reports and databases, interviews of J Park members and members of the neighborhood, social media, and surveillance. He further identified gang graffiti and signs, including the J Park handsign. Detective Ginley described each gang's territory and explained that there was an ongoing "beef" between J Park and the ATM Jack Boys. According to Detective Ginley, a "beef" refers to a "disagreement on a serious level." He explained that a "beef" between gangs usually refers to some form of violence. Detective Ginley created an organizational chart that he used to identify J Park as a gang and identified Keith as a member of J Park.

{¶ 11} At the conclusion of trial, the jury found Keith guilty of the aggravated murder (Count 1), murder (Count 2), attempted murder (Count 8), and felonious assault (Counts 3, 4, and 11) of Young, the attempted murder and felonious assault of Wiley (Counts 5 and 6), discharging of a firearm on or near a prohibited premises (Counts 7 and 14), the felonious assault of Cranshaw (Count 12), and the felonious assault of Willis (Count 13). The jury also found Keith guilty of all accompanying specifications, including one-, three-, and five-year firearm specifications and criminal gang specifications. The jury found him not guilty of the attempted murder of Cranshaw and Willis (Counts 9 and 10).

{¶ 12} The parties stipulated and the court found that Counts 1-4 (the aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault of Young) are allied offenses of similar import. The state elected to proceed with sentencing on Count 1. The parties further stipulated and the court found that Counts 5 and 6 (attempted murder and felonious assault of Wiley) are allied offenses. The state elected to proceed with sentencing on Count 5. The parties further stipulated that Counts 8 and 11 (the attempted murder and felonious assault of Young) are allied offenses. The state elected to proceed with sentencing on Count 8.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 N.E.3d 136, 2017 Ohio 1545, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-keith-ohctapp8cuyahog-2017.