State v. Mayberry

2014 Ohio 4706
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided October 24, 2014·No. 26025·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT MONTGOMERY COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO Plaintiff-Appellee v. STEVEN L. MAYBERRY, JR.

Defendant-Appellant

Appellate Case No. 26025 Trial Court Case No. 2012-CR-2225

(Criminal Appeal from (Common Pleas Court)

...........

OPINION

Rendered on the 24th day of October, 2014.

...........

MATHIAS H. HECK, JR., by ANDREW T. FRENCH, Atty. Reg. No. 0069384, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, Appellate Division, Montgomery County Courts Building, P.O. Box 972, 301 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45422 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

ANTHONY R. CICERO, Atty. Reg. No. 0065408, 500 East Fifth Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

.............

WELBAUM, J.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Steven L. Mayberry, Jr., appeals from his conviction and sentence in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas after pleading no contest to multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. For the reasons outlined below, the judgment of the trial court will be affirmed, and remanded to the trial court so it may amend its sentencing entry via a nunc pro tunc order to include the trial court’s consecutive-sentence findings.

Facts and Course of Proceedings

{¶ 2} On October 12, 2012, Mayberry was indicted on one count of aggravated vehicular homicide in violation of R.C. 2903.06(A)(1)(a), a felony of the first degree; one count of aggravated vehicular homicide in violation of R.C. 2903.06(A)(2)(a), a felony of the second degree; one count of aggravated vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(1)(a), a felony of the second degree; and one count of vehicular assault in violation of R.C. 2903.08(A)(2)(b), a felony of the third degree.

{¶ 3} The charges arose from Mayberry’s involvement in a two-vehicle collision on the early morning of March 14, 2012, at the intersection of State Route 35 and Liscum Drive in Dayton, Ohio. The collision resulted in the death of the other driver, Samuel Lerch, and severely injured Lerch’s passenger, William Partridge. Mayberry sustained less severe injuries and was transported to Miami Valley Hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, Mayberry’s blood was drawn for purposes of alcohol and drug testing. Following testing, Mayberry’s blood was found to have a legally prohibited concentration of marijuana.

{¶ 4} At his arraignment, Mayberry pled not guilty to all the indicted charges.

Thereafter, he moved to suppress the evidence obtained from his blood sample, arguing that it was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. A hearing on the motion to suppress was held on March 4, 2013.

{¶ 5} At the suppression hearing, Dayton Police Officer Will Wright testified that he made contact with Mayberry in his emergency treatment room after the collision and requested Mayberry’s consent to have his blood drawn. According to Wright, Mayberry was wearing a c-collar and lying in bed when he approached him, but was awake and able to engage in conversation with him. Wright testified that Mayberry did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Wright also testified that he read the consent form to Mayberry and also held the form over Mayberry’s face so that he could read along with him. Thereafter, Wright testified that Mayberry agreed to the blood draw and affixed his signature to the consent form. Wright also testified that Mayberry answered “no” when asked if he wanted to talk about the collision.

{¶ 6} Christina Wagner, the phlebotomist that drew Mayberry’s blood, also testified at the suppression hearing. She testified that she would not have taken the blood sample if Mayberry had protested and that he did not seem disoriented. Mary Gaytko, a registered nurse, also testified that her triage notes indicated that Mayberry was slightly confused, needed certain questions repeated before responding, complained of pain, and was cooperative. In contrast, Mayberry’s mother, Dyronna Wilcox, testified that Mayberry was quite confused and in and out of consciousness.

{¶ 7} Following the suppression hearing, the trial court issued a written decision denying Mayberry’s motion to suppress. In its decision, the trial court stated that it found Officer Wright’s testimony credible and that Dyronna Wilcox’s testimony lacked credibility. The court also found that Nurse Gaytko’s notes did not overcome Officer Wright’s testimony, because Gaytko’s notes indicated that Mayberry was cooperative and able to voice complaints regarding his physical condition. According to the court, this established that Mayberry had a level of mental functioning consistent with voluntary consent.

{¶ 8} After the denial of his motion to suppress, on September 26, 2013, Mayberry pled no contest to all four charges. The trial court then ordered a pre-sentence investigation report and scheduled a sentencing hearing for October 16, 2013. At the hearing, Mayberry informed the court that he wished to withdraw his no contest plea and subsequently sought the appointment of new counsel to pursue that option. Thereafter, the sentencing hearing was continued, new counsel was appointed, and a motion to withdraw Mayberry’s no contest plea was filed. However, after Mayberry’s new counsel had an opportunity to review the discovery and discuss the case with him, Mayberry decided to withdraw the motion and stand by his no contest plea.

{¶ 9} Sentencing resumed on November 20, 2013. The trial court merged the two aggravated vehicular homicide counts and sentenced Mayberry to eleven years in prison under 2903.06(A)(1)(a), the first-degree felony count. Additionally, the trial court merged the aggravated vehicular assault and vehicular assault counts and sentenced Mayberry to eight years under 2903.08(A)(1)(a), the second-degree felony count. The trial court then ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, for a total prison term of nineteen years. The court also issued a life-long license suspension and ordered Mayberry to pay Samuel Lerch Sr. restitution for economic loss in the amount of $1,499.

{¶ 10} Mayberry now appeals from his conviction and sentence, raising three assignments of error for review.

Assignment of Error No. I

{¶ 11} Mayberry’s First Assignment of Error is as follows:

APPELLANT’S CONVICTIONS SHOULD BE REVERSED BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT OVERRULED APPELLANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS THE RESULTS OF THE BLOOD DRAW THAT WAS GAINED WITHOUT HIS VALID CONSENT IN VIOLATION OF HIS RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THE FOURTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, SECTION FOURTEEN OF THE CONSTITUTION OF OHIO.

{¶ 12} Under this assignment of error, Mayberry contends the trial court erred in finding that he freely and voluntarily consented to his blood being drawn following the accident. As a result, he claims the trial court should have suppressed the evidence obtained from his blood sample. We disagree.

{¶ 13} As a preliminary matter, we note that when ruling on a motion to suppress, “ ‘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, 112 Ohio App.3d 521, 548, 679 N.E.2d 321 (2d Dist.1996), quoting State v. Venham, 96 Ohio App.3d 649, 653, 645 N.E.2d 831 (4th Dist.1994). In reviewing a trial court’s decision on the motion to suppress, an appellate court must accept the trial court’s findings of fact as true, if they are supported by competent, credible evidence. State v. Dudley, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 24904, 2012-Ohio-960, ¶ 6. The appellate court must “then independently determine, without deference to the conclusion of the trial court, whether the facts satisfy the applicable legal standard.” Id., quoting State v. Leveck, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 23970, 2011-Ohio-1135, ¶ 8. (Other citation omitted.)

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

State v. Mayberry, 2014 Ohio 4706 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).

2014 Ohio 4706 (State v. Mayberry) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State v. Layne
Ohio Court of Appeals, 2026
State v. Simpson
2023 Ohio 3207 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Johnson
2021 Ohio 2254 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
State v. McGinnis
2019 Ohio 3803 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Lambert
2019 Ohio 2837 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Miller
2018 Ohio 4648 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Cole
2018 Ohio 4646 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Holloway
2018 Ohio 4636 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Colquhoun
2017 Ohio 7929 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
State v. Kay
2015 Ohio 4403 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Glover
2015 Ohio 3707 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Jones
2015 Ohio 3506 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Chattams
2015 Ohio 453 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. LeGrant
2014 Ohio 5803 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Goldblum
2014 Ohio 5068 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)