State v. Martin, Unpublished Decision (10-28-1999)

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 28, 1999
DocketNo. 73456.
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Martin, Unpublished Decision (10-28-1999) (State v. Martin, Unpublished Decision (10-28-1999)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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State v. Martin, Unpublished Decision (10-28-1999), (Ohio Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Defendant-appellant Robert R. Martin appeals from his convictions after a jury trial on five counts of aggravated robbery and five counts of kidnapping, all with firearm specifications.

Appellant contends the trial court's denial of his motions to suppress evidence, its refusal to give a requested jury instruction, and its failure to merge his convictions for purposes of sentencing constitute reversible error. Appellant further contends his convictions are neither based on sufficient evidence nor sustained by the weight of the evidence. This court has examined the record, however, and finds the trial court's actions were appropriate. Moreover, the evidence introduced at appellant's trial provided a proper basis for his convictions. Therefore, appellant's convictions are affirmed.

Appellant's convictions stem from an incident that occurred in the late afternoon of January 23, 1997. On that day, at approximately 5:10 p.m., Vershaun Jackson was working as the assistant manager of a "Long John Silver's" restaurant located at 5581 Warrensville Center Road in the City of Maple Heights, Ohio. Several other employees also were in the store at that time; they included "team leader"1 Tammy Mason, cashiers Janis Presley and Dana Hill, and Lashelle Pope.

With Presley assisting her, Jackson was preparing an order for a customer waiting at the "drive-thru" window. Mason and Hill stood at a cash register preparing to "count the drawer down." Pope was in the process of obtaining her paycheck. The workers heard the front door "chime," indicating someone had entered the store.

Jackson looked up from her task and saw a man standing in the dining area "with a gun one" the only customer. The man, later identified as Charles Marshall,2 was clothed in black, and a "small mask" obscured much of his face.

Reacting quickly, Jackson "stooped down" in order to press the alarm button on the security pendant she wore around her neck. A signal from the pendant immediately alerted the Maple Heights Police Department of the location of the alarm. When Jackson arose again, Marshall demanded to know "what [she] was doing." Jackson responded by putting her hands in the air and denying any activity.

Marshall ordered all the people in the restaurant to move back toward the kitchen area. When they had complied, Marshall began "frisking" them in order to assure himself they had no "cell phones," i.e., no means of communicating their situation to anyone. As Marshall did so, Jackson and the others saw another man, later identified as appellant, approaching. Appellant stopped at a distance approximately ten feet away, near the "back door area."

Appellant was dressed in a red sweatshirt and khaki pants and also was wearing a "white bandana" that obscured his nose and mouth. When Marshall asked the customer if he were a police officer, appellant and Jackson "made eye contact" for several moments. Jackson was aware that a video monitor camera next to her was recording the scene; however, appellant at that time struck the monitor, displacing it.

At that point, Marshall began "herding" the others into the store's freezer unit. Once the customer and other employees were inside, Marshall closed the door to prevent their escape. He then ordered Jackson to pass appellant and stop at the counter area where the store's safe was located. Appellant remained near the freezer. Marshall then stated to Jackson, "[Y]ou know the routine."

Jackson attempted to "buy [her]self some time" while opening the safe. When she eventually finished, Marshall "tossed" a pillowcase to her and told her to "fill it up." Jackson's subsequent actions in removing the money from the safe, however, apparently proved to be too slow, for Marshall pushed her away in order to obtain the cash himself.

Marshall's impatience enabled Jackson to look outside, where she observed a police car entering the parking lot. Jackson's attempts to attract the attention of the officer were noticed by Marshall. Marshall's suspicions were aroused, but he initially failed to observe the officer's arrival. When he had completed taking the money from the safe, however, Marshall looked out the window and discerned the police car. He thereupon pointed the gun at Jackson, threatened to kill her, then turned his eyes toward appellant. As Marshall called "5-0"3 to appellant, Jackson took that brief opportunity to escape through the restaurant's front door.

Marshall and appellant fled through the back door. Maple Heights Officer Lanel Hunter, who had arrived only moments before, was removing his shotgun from his vehicle when he saw the restaurant's service entrance open and two men emerge. Hunter called out for them to stop.

Although the two men had begun to run, at Hunter's command to halt, the man clothed in black did not comply; rather, he turned and fired a .38 caliber revolver at Hunter. Hunter "dove for cover," then "jumped back out" to pursue the suspect. As Hunter did so, he observed the shooter seemed to be about to fire his weapon again. Hunter fired his shotgun and succeeded only in breaking the window of a nearby van. Marshall and his companion continued their flight.

As the two suspects, with Hunter in close pursuit, headed for a "tree line" behind some private property, leaped a fence and then traveled through the "backyards of Century Way," the officer saw Marshall's companion, who had "rusty brown hair" and was dressed in red and khaki," fall several times into the snow covering the ground. Hunter never lost sight of the two suspects as he pursued them.

A short distance away from the restaurant, at 20625 Century Way, eleven-year-old Brandee Weeks had been in the basement of her house that afternoon watching television with her friend Matthew Duckworth and her older brother Darnell. At approximately 5:25 p.m., Brandee's mother Vera called downstairs to her that her dinner was ready. While Vera went to the bathroom to shower, Brandee left Matthew and Darnell in the basement.

Brandee had begun eating when she saw Darnell come upstairs. Darnell went to the back door, appeared to "step outside" for a moment, then re-opened the door. Brandee heard two people "stumbling down the stairs" to the basement before Darnell reentered the house.

Matthew was still seated in front of the television. He caught a glimpse of one person who had "stumbled" down the stairs and who "looked like he had like a reddish jacket on." The man was followed by Darnell. The commotion caused Matthew to leave the basement to seek out Brandee; the two children then went to a window and "saw a lot of policemen's cars."

Several police officers by that time had responded to the report of a robbery in progress. Officer Gerald Prusha had observed Hunter in foot pursuit of the suspects, broadcast the location of the house into which the suspects had fled, and taken a position at a corner of the house while Hunter and Officer Dennis Bruening approached the back door.

Hunter and Bruening announced their presence. At their command, Darnell was the first to exit the house through the back door. Hunter immediately recognized Darnell from having spoken to him "many times on the streets." Darnell offered no resistance to the officers.

Then another man, later identified as appellant, emerged through the same door. Appellant was wearing jeans, a gray sweatshirt and untied shoes. He appeared "disoriented" and either unable or unwilling to comply with the officers' demands that he get on the ground." Eventually, Bruening approached appellant; in the ensuing struggle, appellant fell into the glass of the back door and sustained a laceration on his face.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Martin, Unpublished Decision (10-28-1999), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-martin-unpublished-decision-10-28-1999-ohioctapp-1999.