State v. Parker

2022 Ohio 3831
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided October 28, 2022·No. C-210440·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Parker, 2022-Ohio-3831.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, : APPEAL NO. C-210440 TRIAL NO. B-2000027 Plaintiff-Appellee, :

: O P I N I O N. VS. :

JORDAN PARKER, :

Defendant-Appellant. :

Criminal Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed in Part, Reversed in Part, and Cause Remanded

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: October 28, 2022

Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Sean M. Donovan, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee,

Angela J. Glaser, for Defendant-Appellant. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

CROUSE, Judge.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Jordan Parker appeals the judgment of the

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas sentencing him to a total aggregate sentence

of 13 years in prison after he was found guilty of numerous counts involving his use of

a firearm. In four assignments of error, Parker argues (1) that the trial court

incorrectly instructed the jury on self-defense, (2) that his counsel’s failure to object

to the instruction as-given constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel, (3) that his

convictions run counter to the manifest weight of the evidence, and (4) that the court

failed to make the required findings to sentence him to consecutive sentences. For the

reasons that follow, we overrule Parker’s first three assignments of error, but we

sustain his fourth. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment in part, reverse it

in part, vacate the consecutive nature of Parker’s sentences, and remand the cause for

the trial court to make the necessary sentencing findings under R.C. 2929.14(C)(4).

Facts and Procedure

{¶2} On January 1, 2020, after celebrating New Year’s Eve at a popular

Over-The-Rhine bar, Parker, his girlfriend Ashley Thomas, and her sister Jasmine

Carter, were walking back to Ashley’s car in a nearby parking garage on Sycamore

Street in Cincinnati, Ohio. Frederick Moore and his brother Jeffrey Moore entered the

same garage with their girlfriends Tisa Weaver and Danielle Carter. A shouting match

erupted between Tisa and Jasmine, and the others attempted to physically restrain

them from fighting with each other. After a few moments, and some pushing, shoving,

and punch-throwing between the female members of the groups, Parker pulled a gun

out of his pocket and fired it, striking Frederick, Jeffrey, and Tisa.1 Parker fled from

1 All three victims survived. 2 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

the scene in Ashley’s vehicle, crashed, and then fled on foot. Parker was detained

several blocks away. At the crash site, police found a gun on the dashboard of the

vehicle.

{¶3} On January 10, 2020, Parker was charged with three counts of

felonious assault under R.C. 2903.11(A)(1) (Counts 1, 3, and 5), three counts of

felonious assault with a deadly weapon under R.C. 2903.11(A)(2), each with two

accompanying firearm specifications (Counts 2, 4, and 6), having weapons while

under disability under R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) (Count 7), and failing to comply with an

order or signal of a police officer under R.C. 2921.331 (Count 8).

{¶4} In April 2021, Parker proceeded to a jury trial on Counts 1 through 6,

but waived his right to a jury trial on Counts 7 and 8. The jury found him guilty as

charged, as did the trial court on those counts tried to the bench.

{¶5} At sentencing, the court merged Counts 1, 3, and 5 with Counts 2, 4, and

6, and imposed one year each for Counts 7 and 8, in addition to the following

sentences:

Count 2: 2 years + mandatory 3 years for firearm specification, to be

served consecutively and prior to the underlying offense in count 2

Count 4: 3 years + mandatory 3 years for firearm specification, to be

served consecutively and prior to the underlying offense in count 4

Count 6: 3 years + mandatory 3 years for firearm specification, to be

served consecutively and prior to the underlying offense in count 6

{¶6} The sentences in Counts 4 and 6 were ordered to be served consecutively

to each other. The sentences for Counts 2 and 7 were imposed to run concurrently

with each other and Counts 4 and 6. Count 8 was imposed to run consecutively to the

3 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

other counts. In total, Parker was sentenced to an aggregate term of 13 years, with

credit for 591 days already served.2 Parker timely appealed, raising four assignments

of error for our review.

Self-Defense and the Duty to Retreat

{¶7} In his first assignment of error, Parker argues that the trial court

incorrectly instructed the jury on self-defense. Specifically, Parker contends that the

jury instructions should have reflected the amendments to the self-defense statute that

eliminated the duty to retreat.

{¶8} Parker did not object to the self-defense jury instruction at trial, and

therefore has waived all but plain error. State v. Underwood, 3 Ohio St.3d 12, 13, 444

N.E.2d 1332 (1983). To establish plain error, an appellant must demonstrate: (1) an

error, (2) that is obvious, and (3) that affected the outcome of the trial. See State v.

Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385, 2015-Ohio-2459, 38 N.E.3d 860, ¶ 22.

{¶9} Self-defense law in Ohio looks different now than it did several years

ago. In 2019, Am.Sub.H.B. No. 228 (“H.B. 228”) took effect and amended R.C.

2901.05, thereby “shift[ing] the burden from the defendant to the state to prove

beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did not use force in self-defense.” State

v. Brooks, Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-2478, ¶ 6. The Supreme Court decided in

Brooks that the amendment “applies to all trials conducted on or after its effective date

2 While not at issue in this appeal, there were two sentencing hearings and two sentencing entries in this case. In a June 15, 2021 hearing, the court sentenced Parker for the case at issue in addition to an unrelated matter, the case numbered B-200154. A corresponding entry was not put on the record. However, Parker was resentenced for both cases on July 15, 2021. Though the record does not make clear exactly why he was resentenced, it seemed to be due to an error with the merger of the felonious-assault counts and specifications. The corresponding entry, dated July 29, 2021, ordered the total aggregate sentence to be 13 years to 14 years, six months in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, with credit for time already served. However, a March 8, 2022 nunc pro tunc entry corrected the total aggregate term to 13 years, with credit for time already served. 4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

* * *, irrespective of when the underlying alleged criminal conduct occurred.” Id. at

¶ 2.

{¶10} In the wake of these changes to the burden-shifting framework, 2020

Am.S.B. 175 (“S.B. 175”) took effect on April 6, 2021, and amended R.C. 2901.09 to

remove the age-old duty to retreat.3 The amended R.C. 2901.09(B) provides that “a

person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense * * * if that person is in

a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be.” R.C. 2901.09(C) was also

amended to include that “[a] trier of fact shall not consider the possibility of retreat as

a factor in determining whether or not a person who used force in self-defense * * *

reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life

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State v. Parker, 2022 Ohio 3831 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

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