State v. Mendell

945 N.E.2d 1130, 191 Ohio App. 3d 325
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 10, 2010
DocketNo. 23918
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 945 N.E.2d 1130 (State v. Mendell) 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. Mendell, 945 N.E.2d 1130, 191 Ohio App. 3d 325 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Fain, Judge.

{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Scott A. Mendell, appeals from his conviction and sentence for having weapons under a disability, in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2), following a no-eontest plea. Mendell contends that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress evidence. He argues that the police did not have a valid arrest warrant at the time they entered his residence, because they did not have the warrant at the time of the arrest and because there was no probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. He also argues that the officers placed him under arrest and then proceeded to ask him questions designed to elicit incriminating evidence. Finally, he contends that he voluntarily surrendered his weapons prior to the search, thereby rendering him statutorily immune from prosecution as provided for in R.C. 2923.23(A).

{¶2} We conclude that the trial court erred in overruling the motion to suppress, because it failed to consider whether probable cause existed for the issuance of the warrant. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and this cause is remanded for further proceedings.

I

{¶ 3} On March 9, 2009, Mendell’s ex-wife and stepdaughter filed a domestic-violence complaint against Mendell, following which Mendell voluntarily talked to Miamisburg Police Officer Drerup. Thereafter, the Montgomery County prosecutor’s office approved domestic-violence charges against Mendell.

{¶ 4} Miamisburg Detective William Ring obtained a complaint and an arrest warrant. Ring and two other police officers went to Mendell’s residence. Upon arriving at the residence, Ring advised Mendell that he had a warrant for Mendell’s arrest. Mendell permitted the officers to enter his apartment. Ring performed a protective sweep of the apartment to ensure that no other persons were in the residence while Mendell remained in the living area with the other officers. Upon returning to the living room, Ring asked Mendell for permission to search the residence for weapons. Mendell executed a consent-to-search form and informed the officers that he had weapons under the bed.

{¶ 5} Ring found two guns underneath the bed, as Mendell had described. The weapons were seized and Mendell was handcuffed, placed in the rear of a police cruiser, and transported to the Miamisburg Police Department to be interviewed.

{¶ 6} At the police department, Mendell was uncuffed and placed in an interview room. Ring read him his rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, and went over a preinterview waiver-of-[328]*328rights form, which Mendell signed. The voice recorder in the interview indicated that the interview began at 1:15 p.m.

{¶ 7} Mendell was indicted for having a weapon under disability. He thereafter filed a motion to suppress evidence. Following a hearing, the trial court overruled the motion to suppress. Mendell then entered a no-contest plea and was sentenced appropriately. From his conviction and sentence, Mendell appeals.

II

{¶ 8} Mendell’s sole assignment of error states as follows:

{¶ 9} “The trial court erred when it overruled appellant’s motion to suppress.”

{¶ 10} Mendell contends that the trial court should have granted his motion to suppress. When deciding a motion to suppress evidence, an appellate court is bound to accept the trial court’s factual findings if they are supported by competent and credible evidence, and the appellate court must then independently determine as a matter of law whether the minimum constitutional standard has been met. State v. Williams (1993), 86 Ohio App.3d 37, 41, 619 N.E.2d 1141.

{¶ 11} We begin with the claim that the warrant was not valid because there was no probable cause for its issuance. In Ohio, a warrant must be issued prior to an arrest in order for the arrest to be valid under that warrant. State v. Rodriquez (1990), 66 Ohio App.3d 5, 8, 583 N.E.2d 384. Furthermore, probable cause must exist for an arrest warrant to issue. Pursuant to Crim.R. 3 and 4, “an arrest warrant shall be issued only upon a written and sworn complaint (1) setting forth ‘the essential facts constituting the offense charged,’ and (2) showing ‘that there is probable cause to believe that (such) offense has been committed and that the defendant has committed it.’ ” Giordenello v. United States (1958), 357 U.S. 480, 485, 78 S.Ct. 1245, 2 L.Ed.2d 1503.

{¶ 12} In determining the sufficiency of probable cause in an affidavit submitted in support of a warrant, “[t]he task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, common-sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the ‘veracity’ and ‘basis of knowledge’ of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.” State v. George (1989), 45 Ohio St.3d 325, 544 N.E.2d 640, paragraph one of the syllabus. In reviewing the sufficiency of probable cause in an affidavit submitted in support of a warrant, reviewing courts accord great deference to the magistrate’s determination of probable cause. Id.

[329]*329{¶ 13} In this case, Detective Ring went to the Miamisburg Municipal Court with an affidavit and complaint. The complaint stated as follows:

{¶ 14} “Detective W.N. Ring, being first duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that on or about March 7, 2009, in the County of Montgomery and State of Ohio, in the City of Miamisburg, the defendant, Scott A. Mendell, did knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a family or household member, to-wit: Amanda A. Mendell; said defendant having previously pleaded guilty to or been convicted of an offense involving a family or household member at the time of the violation, to wit: Domestic Violence on September 28, 2007, in the case of the State of Ohio versus Scott A. Mendell being Case Number 07CRB02545, in the Xenia Municipal Court; contrary to the form of the statute (in violation of Section 2919.25(A) of the Ohio Revised Code) in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.”

{¶ 15} The affidavit attached to the complaint states:

{¶ 16} “Detective W.N. Ring, being first duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that the probable cause that defendant committed the offense set forth in the Complaint is as follows: Defendant was identified as the perpetrator of the offense by Amanda A. Mendell who was an eyewitness to the offense.”

{¶ 17} In overruling the motion to suppress, the trial court addressed two issues that Mendell raised in connection with his motion — the timing of the warrant (whether it was executed before it was filed) and the voluntariness of Mendell’s written consent to search — and resolved both of them in the state’s favor.

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

Related

State v. Golden
2023 Ohio 2780 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Gard
2014 Ohio 531 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Mendell
2012 Ohio 3178 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
945 N.E.2d 1130, 191 Ohio App. 3d 325, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mendell-ohioctapp-2010.