State v. Oatman

2026 Ohio 1113
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided March 30, 2026·No. 2025-L-063·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO ELEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT LAKE COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO, CASE NO. 2025-L-063 CITY OF PAINESVILLE,

Plaintiff-Appellee, Criminal Appeal from the Painesville Municipal Court - vs -

SABREL B. OATMAN Trial Court No. 2024 CRB 00262 Defendant-Appellant.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY

Decided: March 30, 2026

Judgment: Affirmed

James R. O’Leary, Painesville City Prosecutor, 77 North St. Clair Street, Suite 100, Painesville, OH 44077 (For Plaintiff-Appellee).

Sabrel B. Oatman, pro se, 4196 Flossy Lane, Perry, OH 44081 (Defendant-Appellant).

MATT LYNCH, P.J.

{¶1} Appellant, Sabrel B. Oatman, pro se, appeals the sentencing entry of the Painesville Municipal Court that sentenced him, after a jury found him guilty of one count of violating a civil protection order (“CPO”), to 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended, and a 60-month term of community control, which included a prohibition against firearms. For the following reasons, we affirm.

{¶2} On February 26, 2024, the municipal court held an arraignment at which Oatman pleaded not guilty to violating a CPO, a first-degree misdemeanor, in violation of R.C. 2919.27(A)(1). Several days prior, on February 20, 2024, Oatman had been charged in a separate case (“case No. CRB 2400246”) with another count of violating a CPO, also a first-degree misdemeanor, in violation of R.C. 2919.27(A)(1).

{¶3} On March 5, 2024, Oatman’s counsel signed and filed a speedy trial waiver, and on defense counsel’s motion, pretrial was continued to April 30, 2024. On May 26, 2024, Oatman’s new counsel filed a notice of substitution of counsel. On July 23, 2024, defense counsel filed a motion to sever offenses from case No. CRB 2400246, which the court overruled on July 31. On August 12, 2024, defense counsel filed a motion to withdraw, and the court appointed Oatman a public defender. The jury trial for both cases was held per appointed counsel’s availability on September 18, 2024.

{¶4} As relevant to the instant case, the State introduced as witnesses Oatman’s former partner, J.B., and Lieutenant Michael Collins from the Village of Perry Police Department. The State also admitted into evidence several photographs and videos from home surveillance cameras around and on the residence shared by J.B. and Oatman (“the Perry residence”). Oatman testified in his own defense.

{¶5} J.B. testified she and Oatman were in a relationship for two years and had a son together. They mutually ended their relationship in February 2024. On February 16, 2024, J.B. obtained an ex parte domestic violence CPO against Oatman. She was afraid of Oatman’s anger, explaining that in September 2023, Oatman “had held a gun to his head” while they were arguing and there were firearms in the Perry residence. J.B. explained that the CPO specifically required Oatman to vacate the Perry residence; surrender all keys and garage openers to the home within 24 hours of being served with the CPO; and not possess, use, or carry any deadly weapons. On February 22, 2024, at approximately 3:00 a.m., J.B., who was staying with her parents, received a notification

alert on her phone from the Perry residence surveillance cameras. The videos showed PAGE 2 OF 17

Oatman, who had parked on the street, walking up to the front door. He looked in a window before walking around to the back of the house and appeared to be speaking on his cellphone. J.B. filed a civil complaint with the Village of Perry Police Department and gave the intake officer a copy of the home surveillance videos and photographs, as well as a copy of the CPO. J.B. authenticated the videos and photos for the court by identifying them as the ones she took from an “app” on her phone that was connected to her and Oatman’s surveillance cameras. She testified the videos were unaltered and they were the same ones she gave to the police department. She identified where the cameras were stationed and the parts of the house that were depicted in the videos. Defense counsel had no objections, and the videos and photographs were presented to the jury.

{¶6} J.B. explained to the jury that the Perry residence was solely in Oatman’s name, she had been staying with her parents for a week before the incident, and she had been having trouble getting her belongings from Oatman. Once the CPO was in place and she had access to the Perry residence, she hired a moving truck to assist with moving her property out of the home.

{¶7} Lt. Collins testified J.B. filed a civil complaint regarding the CPO violation and gave him a copy of the CPO and the videos and photographs. He further testified that the videos played to the jury were the same videos he received from J.B. at the time she filed the complaint. Believing a violation of the CPO had occurred, Lt. Collins subsequently obtained a warrant for Oatman’s arrest from the municipal court. Sometime in the next few days, Oatman went to the police department, at which time he was served with the warrant and arrested. Lt. Collins was not present at that time.

{¶8} Oatman testified that he and J.B. decided mutually to end their relationship

in February 2024. Oatman ran a business in Willoughby, Ohio, and the couple decided PAGE 3 OF 17 he would stay at his shop, and J.B. and their son would stay at the Perry residence. When Oatman discovered J.B. was already planning to move out of the Perry residence, he went to the home and changed the locks. Oatman further testified that based on the advice of his attorney, he did not want J.B. in the house removing property without him or a police officer present. He testified that J.B. went to the Perry Police Department to gain access to the home, but she was advised it was a civil matter. After several days of unsuccessfully attempting to contact his attorney, on February 16, 2024, Oatman decided to take some of J.B.’s belongings to her at her parents’ house. No one there, including J.B., mentioned a CPO had been issued that morning. Oatman was served with the CPO later that day at his place of business, out of which arose the underlying incident in case No. CRB 2400246. On that day, he had guns in plain view in his shop that were confiscated by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office per the CPO.

{¶9} On February 22, 2024, Oatman went to the Perry Police Department to file a civil complaint for a CPO violation because J.B. was removing property from the Perry residence. He was served with the warrant issued in this case and arrested. He testified that he knew there was a “risk” and that he was not supposed to go onto the Perry residence property.

{¶10} The jury found Oatman guilty in this case and not guilty in case No. CRB 2400246. The court proceeded directly to sentencing. Defense counsel argued for a term of community control because the CPO violation was “nonviolent,” the CPO had since been terminated, Oatman does not have a criminal history, and Oatman complied with the court’s order to wear a GPS bracelet since his arraignment. Defense counsel further argued that the complaint failed to include the necessary language for a criminal

forfeiture of firearms and requested the court to release Oatman’s firearms and keys that PAGE 4 OF 17 were taken when the CPO was issued. The State advocated for a maximum 180-day jail sentence and believed the firearms in the possession of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department should be subject to forfeiture. The State argued that at the very least the firearms should remain in police custody until the matter was further determined. Defense counsel objected, again noting that forfeiture was not included in the complaint or determined by the jury.

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