State v. Latocha

2020 Ohio 2664
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 27, 2020
Docket17-19-22
StatusPublished

This text of 2020 Ohio 2664 (State v. Latocha) 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. Latocha, 2020 Ohio 2664 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Latocha , 2020-Ohio-2664.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT SHELBY COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO,

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, CASE NO. 17-19-22

v.

GRAZYNA LATOCHA, OPINION

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal from Sidney Municipal Court Trial Court No. 19CRB002211

Judgment Affirmed

Date of Decision: April 27, 2020

APPEARANCES:

Ralph A. Bauer for Appellant

Jeffrey L. Amick for Appellee Case No. 17-19-22

SHAW, P.J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant, Grazyna Latocha (“Latocha”), brings this appeal

from the October 22, 2019 judgment of the Sidney Municipal Court sentencing her

to ninety days in jail, with sixty suspended, and three years of probation after

Latocha was convicted in a jury trial of Prohibitions Concerning Companion

Animals in violation of R.C. 959.131(D)(1), a second degree misdemeanor, and

Prohibitions Concerning Companion Animals in violation of R.C. 959.131(D)(2), a

second degree misdemeanor. On appeal Latocha contends that she received

ineffective assistance of trial counsel, that the trial court erred by ordering her to

forfeit all of her French Bulldogs pursuant to R.C. 959.99(E)(6)(a), and that there

was insufficient evidence presented to convict her.

Background

{¶2} On April 26, 2019, Latocha was charged with Prohibitions Concerning

Companion Animals in violation of R.C. 959.131(D)(1), a second degree

misdemeanor, and Prohibitions Concerning Companion Animals in violation of

R.C. 959.131(D)(2), a second degree misdemeanor.1 It was alleged that while

firefighters were responding to a fire at Latocha’s residence they found “eighteen

French Bulldogs confined in wire cages, that were stacked upon each other, in the

1 The State styled the charges in the complaint as “Prohibitions concerning companion animals.” The statute is also known as “Cruelty against companion animal.” We will use the styling of the complaint for purposes of this appeal.

-2- Case No. 17-19-22

basement[.] * * * Cages were found by firefighters to be wire[-]tied shut, with no

trays between the stacked [] cages, and what appeared to be a large amount of feces

on the bottom of the cages.” (Doc. No. 1). It was also alleged that Latocha failed

to provide necessary veterinary medical sustenance to one of the French Bulldogs

as it had a significant eye malady resulting in blindness in one eye. (Id.) Counsel

was appointed for Latocha and she entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.

{¶3} Prior to trial, Latocha filed a motion to have the dogs released to her

care and a hearing was held on her motion. At the hearing, evidence was presented

that Latocha’s home was currently unlivable as it had a tarp over parts of the roof

and the electricity was not on. More importantly, testimony was presented that

Latocha’s home was not actually zoned to have a kennel, which was defined as four

or more dogs on a single property for any reason, and Latocha far exceeded the

number of dogs she could have in the city of Sidney. Considering this evidence and

the charges against Latocha related to her care of the dogs, the dogs’ poor living

conditions, and their health issues, Latocha’s motion was denied and the dogs

remained in the Dog Warden’s custody.

{¶4} The case proceeded to a jury trial on August 29-30, 2019. After the

presentation of evidence, the jury found Latocha guilty of both charges against her.

Sentencing was set for a later date.

-3- Case No. 17-19-22

{¶5} Following Latocha’s convictions, the State filed a motion to have all

seventeen of Latocha’s French Bulldogs forfeited pursuant to R.C. 959.99(E)(6).2

Latocha filed a memorandum in response arguing that forfeiture of the dogs was

discretionary rather than mandatory. She claimed that in this case the dogs should

be returned to her.

{¶6} On October 22, 2019, the matter proceeded to a sentencing hearing and

a hearing on the State’s forfeiture request. Ultimately the dogs were ordered

forfeited and Latocha was sentenced to serve a ninety day jail term on each count,

with sixty days suspended. The thirty day jail terms were ordered to be served

concurrently. Latocha was also placed on probation, which included the condition

that she not have any companion or breeding animal of any kind. A judgment entry

memorializing Latocha’s sentence was filed that same date. It is from this judgment

that Latocha appeals, asserting the following assignments of error for our review.

Assignment of Error No. 1 Appellant’s trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel, in violation of her constitutional rights.

Assignment of Error No. 2 Trial Court committed an abuse of discretion in ordering Appellant to forfeit her companion dogs and have no companion or breeding dogs in the future violating her right to due process and [it was an] unjustified taking of her property without compensation.

2 Although eighteen French Bulldogs were removed from Latocha’s home, one died the first night it was in the shelter.

-4- Case No. 17-19-22

Assignment of Error No. 3 The guilty finding was not supported by legally sufficient evidence.

{¶7} We elect to address the assignments of error out of the order in which

they were raised.

Third Assignment of Error

{¶8} In Latocha’s third assignment of error, she argues that there was

insufficient evidence presented to convict her.

Standard of Review

{¶9} “An appellate court’s function when reviewing the sufficiency of the

evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at

trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, would convince the average

mind of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio

St.3d 259 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus; State v. Pountney, 152 Ohio St.3d

474, 2018-Ohio-22, ¶ 19 (an appellate court’s function in a sufficiency review is not

to determine if the evidence should be believed). Accordingly, “[t]he relevant

inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the

prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the

crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id., following Jackson v. Virginia, 443

U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781 (1979); State v. Ford, --- Ohio St.3d ---, 2019-Ohio-4539,

¶ 317. “In deciding if the evidence was sufficient, we neither resolve evidentiary

-5- Case No. 17-19-22

conflicts nor assess the credibility of witnesses, as both are functions reserved for

the trier of fact.” State v. Jones, 1st Dist. Hamilton Nos. C-120570 and C-120571,

2013-Ohio-4775, ¶ 33, citing State v. Williams, 197 Ohio App.3d 505, 2011-Ohio-

6267, ¶ 25 (1st Dist.); see also State v. Berry, 3d Dist. Defiance No. 4-12-03, 2013-

Ohio-2380, ¶ 19, citing State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997)

(“Sufficiency of the evidence is a test of adequacy rather than credibility or weight

of the evidence.”).

Analysis

{¶10} In this case Latocha was convicted of one count of Prohibitions

Concerning Companion Animals in violation of R.C. 959.131(D)(1), and one count

of Prohibitions Concerning Companion Animals in violation of R.C. 959.131(D)(2).

The requisite statutory provisions read as follows.

(D) No person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
State v. Hunter
2011 Ohio 6524 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Jones
2013 Ohio 4775 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)
State v. Williams
2011 Ohio 6267 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2011)
State v. Haller
2012 Ohio 5233 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Dresbach
702 N.E.2d 513 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1997)
State v. Pountney (Slip Opinion)
2018 Ohio 22 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2018)
State v. Southern
2018 Ohio 4886 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Dehass
227 N.E.2d 212 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Bradley
538 N.E.2d 373 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Jenks
574 N.E.2d 492 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1991)
State v. Thompkins
678 N.E.2d 541 (Ohio Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Jackson
836 N.E.2d 1173 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2005)

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2020 Ohio 2664, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-latocha-ohioctapp-2020.