State v. McBride, 2008-Ca-00076 (11-10-2008)

2008 Ohio 5888
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 10, 2008
DocketNo. 2008-CA-00076.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2008 Ohio 5888 (State v. McBride, 2008-Ca-00076 (11-10-2008)) 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. McBride, 2008-Ca-00076 (11-10-2008), 2008 Ohio 5888 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION *Page 2
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant Larry McBride, appeals his conviction and sentence in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas on one count of Breaking and Entering in violation of R.C. 2911.13(B), a felony of the fifth degree. Plaintiff-appellee is the State of Ohio.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE
{¶ 2} On November 22, 2007 around 1:30 a.m., Bruce Mack got out of bed to get a drink of water. While getting his drink, he looked outside a window toward Milano Auto and Tire, the business located next door to his home. Mr. Mack noticed a truck parked in front of the business. The hood of the truck was raised and there was a man standing in front of it. Mr. Mack did not think much of what he saw and went upstairs to the bathroom.

{¶ 3} While he was in the bathroom, Mr. Mack heard something that made him look outside again. This time, he opened the window to see two men throwing what appeared to be rims over the fence that surrounded Milano's and carrying the rims toward the truck. Mr. Mack called 911.

{¶ 4} Canton police officer Steven Swank was dispatched to Milano Auto and Tire. By the time he arrived, the suspects were gone. Officer Swank spoke with Bruce Mack. Mr. Mack described the truck he had seen as a black Ford F-150 with a red door. He was not able to identify the individuals he saw; the only description he could give was one taller, one shorter.

{¶ 5} Officer Swank searched the surrounding area for a vehicle matching the description given by Mr. Mack. At approximately 2:00 a.m., Officer Swank located a *Page 3 black Ford truck with a red door. Officer Swank observed the driver of the truck run a red light and, further noticed that the truck was operating without headlights. Officer Swank followed the truck to a residential driveway. He pulled up behind the truck, activated his overhead lights and ordered the occupants out of the truck. As Officer Swank approached the truck, he could see twelve rims and four tires in the bed of the truck.

{¶ 6} The driver, Eric Ryjowski, initially claimed the rims were his. However, when Officer Swank advised Mr. Ryjowski that a witness had seen his truck and two men at Milano's stealing rims, Mr. Ryjowski admitted the rims came from Milano's. He further told Officer Swank that appellant was with him at the time.

{¶ 7} Appellant and Ryjowski were taken into custody. Bruce Mack was brought to the scene and identified the truck as the same one he had seen outside of Milano Auto and Tire. Paul Milano, the owner of Milano Auto and Tire was also brought to the scene. He identified the items in the bed of the truck as his property. The rims were taken from inside a locked van parked at his business. The van was parked inside a locked, six-foot fence topped by three strands of barbed wire. The rims and tires were valued at $700.00.

{¶ 8} Officer Swank processed appellant at the Canton Police Department before taking him to the Stark County jail. He advised appellant of his Miranda warnings and asked if he wanted to make a statement. Appellant declined. After Officer Swank had completed the required paperwork, appellant inquired as to the charges. Officer Swank advised appellant he was being charged with breaking and entering and possession of *Page 4 criminal tools. Appellant then admitted to Officer Swank that he was at Milano's standing by the truck, but claimed he did not go into the lot.

{¶ 9} Mr. Ryjowski did not testify at appellant's trial.

{¶ 10} The jury found appellant guilty as charged. He was sentenced to eleven months incarceration.

{¶ 11} Appellant timely appeals raising the following four (4) assignments of error for our consideration:

{¶ 12} "I. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED PLAIN ERROR DURING APPELLANT'S TRIAL.

{¶ 13} "II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR MISTRIAL.

{¶ 14} "III. THE APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS RIGHTS TO THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.

{¶ 15} "IV. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL."

I.
{¶ 16} In his first assignment of error, appellant maintains that the trial court committed plain error when it permitted Officer Swank to testify to co-defendant Ryjowski's statement that appellant was with him at Milano Tire when the merchandise was stolen. We disagree.

{¶ 17} Evid. R. 103(A) provides that error may not be predicated upon a ruling that admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected and, if the ruling is one admitting evidence, a timely objection or motion to strike appears of *Page 5 record stating the specific ground of objection, if the specific ground was not apparent. In the case at bar, counsel did not object at trial. Because no objection was made to the testimony at the trial level, we must review this error under the plain error standard.

{¶ 18} Crim. R. 52(B) provides that, "[p]lain errors or defects affecting substantial rights may be noticed although they were not brought to the attention of the court." "Notice of plain error under Crim. R. 52(B) is to be taken with the utmost caution, under exceptional circumstances and only to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice."State v. Long (1978), 53 Ohio St.2d 91, paragraph three of the syllabus. In order to find plain error under Crim. R. 52(B), it must be determined, but for the error, the outcome of the trial clearly would have been otherwise. Id. at paragraph two of the syllabus.

{¶ 19} In U.S. v. Dominguez Benitez (2004), 542 U.S. 74,124 S.Ct. 2333, the Court defined the prejudice prong of the plain error analysis. "It is only for certain structural errors undermining the fairness of a criminal proceeding as a whole that even preserved error requires reversal without regard to the mistake's effect on the proceeding. SeeArizona v. Fulminante, 499 U. S. 279, 309-310 (1991) (giving examples).

{¶ 20} "Otherwise, relief for error is tied in some way to prejudicial effect, and the standard phrased as `error that affects substantial rights,' used in Rule 52, has previously been taken to mean error with a prejudicial effect on the outcome of a judicial proceeding. SeeKotteakos v. United States, 328 U. S. 750 (1946). To affect "substantial rights," see 28 U. S. C. § 2111, an error must have "substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the . . . verdict."Kotteakos, supra, at 776." Id. at 81-82; *Page 6 124 S.Ct. at 2339. See, also, State v. Barnes

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Bluebook (online)
2008 Ohio 5888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mcbride-2008-ca-00076-11-10-2008-ohioctapp-2008.