State v. Manley

2011 Ohio 5082
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 3, 2011
Docket1-11-04
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 2011 Ohio 5082 (State v. Manley) 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. Manley, 2011 Ohio 5082 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Manley, 2011-Ohio-5082.]

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

STATE OF OHIO,

PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, CASE NO. 1-11-04

v.

RICKY D. MANLEY, JR., OPINION

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal from Allen County Common Pleas Court Trial Court No. CR2010 0216

Judgment Reversed and Cause Remanded

Date of Decision: October 3, 2011

APPEARANCES:

Thomas Sobecki for Appellant

Jana E. Emerick for Appellee Case No. 1-11-04

WILLAMOWSKI, J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Ricky D. Manley (“Manley”) brings this appeal

from the entry of judgment of conviction by the Court of Common Pleas of Allen

County based upon a jury verdict finding Manley guilty of various felonies and

sentencing Manley on those convictions. For the reason set forth below, the

judgment is reversed.

{¶2} On June 30, 2010, Manley was observed by W.K. exiting a vehicle

with a shotgun. Tr. 143-44. W.K. saw Manley fire the weapon in a southwesterly

direction across the intersection of Allentown Road and Cornell Dr. Tr. 144-46.

W.K. then saw Manley run back to the vehicle which then left the scene. Tr. 146-

47. W.K. then contacted the police and gave them the license plate number from

the vehicle and identified Manley as the person who fired the shotgun. Tr. 149-59.

{¶3} The Lima Police Department investigated the incident and determined

that the intended victim was Barry Ward Jr. (“Ward”), who at the time of the

shooting was in a vehicle at the intersection in question. Tr. 180-83. Earlier that

day, Ward had assaulted Manley at the Lima Municipal Court. Tr. 176-77. The

blast from the shotgun missed the vehicle, but did strike and damage a nearby

home, which was occupied at the time. Tr. 230-52.

{¶4} On August 12, 2010, the Allen County Grand Jury indicted Manley on

five counts: 1) felonious assault, a felony of the second degree in violation of

-2- Case No. 1-11-04

R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) with a firearm specification; 2) felonious assault, a felony of

the second degree in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2) with a firearm specification;

3) improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony of the fourth degree

in violation of R.C. 2923.16(B)(1 & 2); 4) improperly discharging a firearm at or

into a habitation, a felony of the second degree in violation of R.C.

2923.161(A)(1); and 5) discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, a

felony of the third degree in violation of R.C. 2923.162(A)(3) & (C)(2). A jury

trial was held on December 13 and 14, 2010. The jury returned a verdict on

December 14, 2010, finding Manley guilty as charged on all counts. A sentencing

hearing was immediately held and the trial court sentenced Manley to a total of

eighteen years in prison. Manley appeals from this judgment and raises the

following assignments of error.

First Assignment of Error

The Court of Common Pleas erred when it denied [Manley’s] motion to suppress identification testimony.

Second Assignment of Error

The Court of Common Pleas plainly erred by failing to find that the prosecutor improperly vouched for one of its key witnesses and improperly impugned the motivation of defense counsel in his closing argument.

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Third Assignment of Error

The Court of Common Pleas erred in finding that [Manley’s] relationship with the victim facilitated the offense.

{¶5} In the first assignment of error, Manley claims that the trial court erred

by not suppressing the identification testimony. When considering a motion to

suppress, the standard of review is a mixed review of the facts and a question of

law. State v. Hoppert, 181 Ohio App.3d 787, 2009-Ohio-1785, 910 N.E.2d 1106.

Our standard of review with respect to motions to suppress is whether the trial court’s findings are supported by competent, credible evidence. See State v. Winand (1996), 116 Ohio App.3d 286, 688 N.E.2d 9, citing City of Tallmadge v. McCoy (1994), 96 Ohio App.3d 604, 645 N.E.2d 802. * * * This is the appropriate standard because ‘in a hearing on a motion to suppress evidence, the trial court assumes the role of trier of facts and is in the best position to resolve questions of fact and evaluate the credibility of witnesses.’ State v. Hopfer (1996), 112 Ohio App.3d 521, 679 N.E.2d 321. However, once we accept those facts as true, we must independently determine, as a matter of law and without deference to the trial court’s conclusion, whether the trial court met the applicable legal standard.

State v. Lloyd (1998), 126 Ohio App.3d 95, 100-101, 709 N.E.2d 913.

Prior to suppressing identification testimony, a trial court must engage in a two-step analysis. First, there must be a determination that the identification procedure was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a substantial likelihood of misidentification. Neil v. Biggers (1972), 409 U.S. 188, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401. Second, it must be determined that the identification itself was unreliable under the totality of the circumstances. Id. * * *

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In Biggers, the court listed the five factors that must be considered when evaluating the reliability under the totality-of- the-circumstances test: (1) the witness’s opportunity to view the offender at the time of the crime, (2) the witness’s degree of attention at the time of the crime, (3) the accuracy of the witness’s prior description of the offender, (4) the witness’s level of uncertainty when identifying the suspect at the confrontation, and (5) the length of time that elapsed between the crime and the confrontation. Id. at 199-200, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401.

State v. Monford, 190 Ohio App.3d 35, 2010-Ohio-4732, ¶38-39, 940 N.E.2d 634.

A pretrial identification is only suppressed if it is both unnecessarily suggestive

and unreliable given the totality of the circumstances. Id. Even if the original

identification procedure was suggestive, the actual identification is still admissible

as long as it is reliable. Manson v. Brathwaite (1977), 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243,

53 L.Ed.2d 140 and State v. Moody (1978), 55 Ohio St.2d 64, 9 O.O.3d 71, 377

N.E.2d 1008. The burden of proving that the identification procedure was

suggestive and unreliable rests on the defendant. State v. Taylor, 3d Dist. No. 1-

03-20, 2003-Ohio-7115.

{¶6} In this case, W.K. originally described the shooter as a black male

approximately six feet tall, thin, wearing a long sleeve hooded, blue sweatshirt and

pants. Suppression Hearing Tr. 14, 34. The shooter’s hair was done in cornrows.

Id. at 35. W.K. also testified that he was approximately 25 feet away from the

shooter. Id. at 49. Three hours after the shooting, W.K. was shown a photo array,

and picked out a person he thought was the shooter, but was unable to

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unequivocally identify the person as the shooter. Id. On July 14, 2010, W.K.

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2011 Ohio 5082, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-manley-ohioctapp-2011.