State v. Robinson

2012 Ohio 1686
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 27, 2012
Docket10 MA 128
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2012 Ohio 1686 (State v. Robinson) 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. Robinson, 2012 Ohio 1686 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Robinson, 2012-Ohio-1686.] STATE OF OHIO, MAHONING COUNTY

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

SEVENTH DISTRICT

STATE OF OHIO, ) ) CASE NO. 10 MA 128 PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, ) ) - VS - ) OPINION ) AARON ROBINSON, ) ) DEFENDANT-APPELLANT. )

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDINGS: Criminal Appeal from Common Pleas Court, Case No. 09 CR 616.

JUDGMENT: Convictions Affirmed. Sentence Reversed and Remanded for Resentencing.

APPEARANCES: For Plaintiff-Appellee: Attorney Paul J. Gains Prosecuting Attorney Attorney Ralph M. Rivera Assistant Prosecuting Attorney 21 W. Boardman St., 6th Floor Youngstown, OH 44503

For Defendant-Appellant: Attorney J. Dean Carro University of Akron School of Law Legal Clinic – Appellate Review Office Akron, OH 44325-2901

JUDGES: Hon. Mary DeGenaro Hon. Gene Donofrio Hon. Joseph J. Vukovich

Dated: March 27, 2012 [Cite as State v. Robinson, 2012-Ohio-1686.] DeGenaro, J. {¶1} Defendant-Appellant, Aaron Robinson, appeals the decision of the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas convicting him of rape and sexual battery, and sentencing him accordingly. Robinson raises four arguments; first, the State presented insufficient evidence that he knew or had reason to believe that the victim was substantially impaired due to voluntary intoxication. Second, his convictions were against the manifest weight of the evidence. Third, because rape and sexual battery are allied offenses of similar import, the trial court erred in sentencing him to concurrent terms of incarceration. Finally, the trial court failed to properly inform him of the consequences of violating the terms of his post-release control during the sentencing hearing and in its sentencing entry. {¶2} Robinson's arguments are meritless in part and meritorious in part. The State presented sufficient evidence that Robinson knew of D.K.'s substantial impairment, and his convictions were not against the manifest weight of the evidence; it was reasonable for the jury to find Robinson's claims to not be credible and believe the testimony of other witnesses. However, since the trial court merged Robinson's offenses, it erred by imposing concurrent sentences upon him, and also by failing to properly instruct Robinson on the consequences of violating the terms of his post-release control. Accordingly, Robinson's convictions are affirmed, his sentence is reversed, and this cause is remanded for a new sentencing hearing during which the State will elect which merged offense to pursue for sentencing purposes and for resentencing pursuant to R.C. 2929.191. Facts and Procedural History {¶3} On June 11, 2009, Robinson was indicted by the Mahoning County Grand Jury for one count of sexual battery (R.C. 2907.03(A)(2)(B)), a third-degree felony; and two counts of rape: one alleging rape where the victim's ability to consent is substantially impaired (R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(c)(B)), a first-degree felony; and, the other alleging rape by force or threat of force (R.C. 2907.02(A)(2)(B)), a first-degree felony. {¶4} On June 21, 2010, the matter came before the court for a jury trial. The parties agreed upon the following facts and proposed joint stipulation to be read to the jury during the trial: -2-

{¶5} "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the State and defense have agreed upon the following stipulation of fact, which is an agreement that you may accept as a fact in this case. {¶6} "The DNA of the Defendant, Aaron Robinson, was found in the form of semen in the vagina and genital region of the alleged victim, Ms. [D.K.]." {¶7} The State called D.K. as its first witness. She testified that she is 20 years old. On April 13, 2009, around midday, she was with her son and Alex Dorsey, her best friend, at her mother's house in Alliance. She stated that she has never been romantically involved with Dorsey. {¶8} She testified that around 3:45 p.m., she and Dorsey left Alliance and drove to her friend Amber Kenst's house in Sebring to pick her up and take her to work. D.K. explained that Kenst had gotten in trouble the night before and lost her license. She and Dorsey took Kenst to her workplace in Alliance. They then decided to get a bottle of 110 proof vodka to surprise Kenst with after work, and returned to Kenst's house, with her permission. {¶9} D.K. explained that on the way back to Kenst's house, they saw Robinson walking down Ohio Avenue, who she knew from school and that they had been, but were no longer friends. She pulled over and asked him if he could buy her a bag of marijuana, so that she, Kenst and Dorsey could smoke it that night. Robinson indicated that he could find marijuana for her, and when she told him they were going to Kenst's house, he said he would be there. {¶10} D.K. and Dorsey then went to Kenst's house and had approximately two shots. Robinson arrived about 15 minutes later with marijuana, and at this point she thought that the three of them smoked a joint. She had approximately one or two more shots after Robinson arrived, and she had about five shots total. {¶11} She explained that after she paid for the marijuana, Robinson gave her a pill, which she thought was Xanax. He asked her if she wanted the pill, but she acknowledged that she took it of her own free will. She described the pill as white, round, and small. She also testified that she is familiar with Xanax and has taken it before. However, she said that she was not paying attention to whether there were any markings on the pill and she agreed that she assumed it was a Xanax, but she had no idea what -3-

she took. She explained that after she took the pill, she had one or two more shots. {¶12} D.K. stated that they sat down and talked and she felt a little woozy. She went outside and smoked a cigarette, and then came back inside. At one point she got up to use the bathroom and she felt really intoxicated. She testified that this was around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. She stated that she remembered walking down the steps to the bathroom in the basement, and then she did not remember anything else about the night. She did not remember leaving the residence at any point that night; however, the following day, she found food wrappers and soda bottles in her vehicle that were not there before. Based on that, she thought that she went to Circle K, a convenient store, that evening. {¶13} D.K. testified that the next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital at approximately 8:00 a.m. She stated that she was still a little intoxicated at that point. Officer Lowman told her that the police found her half naked in the basement and that they were going to give her a rape kit, if possible. A nurse gave her a sexual assault exam during which the nurse took a swab of her vagina. D.K. testified that she was menstruating and during the examination, the nurse found a tampon deep inside her vagina. She stated that she had been sexually active since she was 18 and had never had sex with a tampon in before. She also testified that she would not engage in any sexual act with Robinson because she has always found him unattractive and it had never occurred to her to do so. {¶14} On cross, D.K. testified that she had recently broken up with her boyfriend and that she needed a night of partying to forget about her problems. She testified that she had partied with Robinson and purchased marijuana from him before. She stated that the shots of vodka she had were single shots. She also agreed that nobody forced her to smoke marijuana that night and she had smoked it before, and that she has "a little bit" of experience with drinking. {¶15} D.K. testified that it was cold when she went outside to smoke a cigarette, and she agreed that the air sobered her up a little bit. She also agreed that she had planned her drinking and drug consumption because she wanted to be sober when Kenst returned.

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Bluebook (online)
2012 Ohio 1686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robinson-ohioctapp-2012.