State v. Shannon

2025 Ohio 1224
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided April 7, 2025·No. 24CA000020·Published

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS

KNOX COUNTY, OHIO

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

JUDGES:

STATE OF OHIO : Hon. Robert G. Montgomery, P. J.

: Hon. Kevin W. Popham, J.

Plaintiff-Appellee : Hon. David M. Gormley, J.

:

-vs- :

: Case No. 24CA000020 CHARLES SHANNON :

:

Defendant-Appellant : OPINION

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Appeal from the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. 23CR12-0299

JUDGMENT: Affirmed

DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY: April 7, 2025

APPEARANCES: For Plaintiff-Appellee For Defendant-Appellant

CHARLES T. MCCONVILLE TODD W. BARSTOW Prosecuting Attorney 15 N. Park Place BY: NICOLE E. DERR Newark, OH 43055 117 East High Street, Ste. 234 Mount Vernon, OH 43050

Popham, J.,

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Charles M. Shannon [“Shannon”] appeals from the April 29, 2024, Decision and Entry of the Knox County Court of Common Pleas overruling his motion to suppress.

Facts and Procedural History

{¶2} On December 18, 2023, Shannon was indicted for two counts of having weapons while under disability, felonies of the third degree in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(3), one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a felony of the fifth degree in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), and one count of possessing criminal tools, a felony of the fifth degree in violation of R.C. 2923.24(A). The having weapons while under disability charges each carried a forfeiture specification pursuant to R.C. 2941.1417.

{¶3} On February 9, 2024, Shannon filed a motion to suppress. On April 25, 2024, an evidentiary hearing was held on the motion. Prior to the start of the hearing, Shannon agreed that the scope of the evidentiary hearing was limited to “contesting the search warrant and the PC for the search warrant.” Supp. T. at 5.

{¶4} Knox County Sheriff’s Detective Terry Wolfe testified that he began an investigation of Shannon around the end of July or beginning of August 2023. During that time, Detective Wolfe received information from a confidential source that Shannon was transporting drugs from his residence in Columbus to a residence on Howard Street in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Detective Wolfe described the source as one that he “used on multiple occasions [and] that was reliable.” Supp. T. at 9. Detective Wolfe testified that he was aware that Shannon was originally from Mount Vernon, Ohio, and he had family, including a child, living in the Mount Vernon area. Supp. T. at 29; 31. Detective Wolfe testified that during his investigation of Shannon, the detective utilized five confidential informants. Supp. T. at 40 - 41.

{¶5} Based upon those conversations, Detective Wolfe began watching the residence. Detective Wolfe testified that he did “see signs of drug sells from the residence.” Id. at 9 - 10. Detective Wolfe subsequently made a traffic stop on a car leaving the residence and found drugs inside that car. Id. at 10. Detective Wolfe obtained a description of the vehicle Shannon was driving; however, during two traffic stops of Shannon’s vehicle “no narcotics were located.” Supp. T. at 10.

{¶6} Detective Wolfe obtained Shannon's phone number and applied for a search warrant for the phone. The warrant was granted, and Detective Wolfe began to “ping” Shannon’s phone to track his movements. Id. at 10-11. He also obtained a GPS warrant for Shannon's vehicle, which he executed while Shannon was attending his weekly visitation with his child in Knox County.

{¶7} From the GPS tracker, Detective Wolfe learned Shannon, while coming to Knox County from Columbus, would stop at one or two storage unit facilities. Supp. T. at 13. On November 27, 2023, Detective Wolfe observed Shannon inside the business part of a storage unit facility talking to a female employee. Id. That employee gave Detective Wolfe “Unit A-020,” as the number of Shannon’s storage unit, which Shannon had rented that day. Id. at 14; 16; Affidavit for Warrant to Search, ¶ 21.

{¶8} Detective Wolfe testified that the storage facility where Shannon’s unit was located is a private facility, surrounded by an 8 to 10-foot-high fence. Supp. T. at 32. Further, the facility is gated, requiring a code or a pass key to enter the property to access the storage units. Id. Detective Wolfe was given the pass code and permission to enter the facility by an employee. Id. at 33.

{¶9} Detective Wolfe further testified that he “had gotten some information from a source who stated that “Chuck was carrying a gun, I believe it was a Smith & Wesson, was what I was told.” Supp. T. at 14.

{¶10} Detective Wolfe testified that he placed a camera in a tree looking down onto Shannon’s storage unit. Id. However, through a series of technical missteps, no video footage of Shannon entering or leaving the storage unit was obtained or preserved. Id. at 15; 17; 34 - 35. However, Detective Wolfe testified that while watching the live video feed of Shannon's storage unit on November 28, 2023, he observed Shannon place two large duffle bags and “a large case that looked like a gun case” in Unit A-020. Id. at 16.

{¶11} On December 4, 2023, Detective Wolfe asked Knox County Sheriff Deputy Luke Guthrie to run his canine partner “Feyd” around the storage facility. Affidavit for Warrant to Search, ¶ 25. Detective Wolfe did not provide the canine handler Shannon's unit number. Supp. T. at 17. The dog alerted to the presence of the odor of narcotics outside the closed door of Shannon's unit.

{¶12} Detective Wolfe obtained a search warrant for Shannon's unit. Inside, he located two firearms, “a Smith & Wesson” and what “appeared to be a long gun,” baggies containing narcotics residue, and drug paraphernalia. Supp. T. at 18 - 19.

{¶13} At the conclusion of the hearing Shannon again told the judge that he was only contesting the “basis for the issuance of the warrant[.]” Supp. T. at 43.

{¶14} The trial judge denied Shannon’s motion to suppress through a Decision and Entry filed April 29, 2024.

{¶15} Shannon entered a no contest plea to one count of having weapons while under disability, as well as the forfeiture specifications to count one and count two of the indictment. Plea T. at 3; 14-15. The remaining counts of the indictment were dismissed upon motion of the state. Amended Journal Entry, filed July 17, 2025. Sentencing was deferred and the preparation of a Presentence Investigation Report was ordered. On July 18, 2024, the judge sentenced Shannon to thirty months in prison on count one of the Indictment and ordered forfeiture of the weapons to the Knox County Sheriff.

Assignment of Error

{¶16} Shannon raises one Assignment of Error,

{¶17} “I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO THE PREJUDICE OF APPELLANT DENYING HIS MOTION TO SUPPRESS.”

Law and analysis

{¶18} Shannon contends that the trial judge erred in not granting his motion to suppress because the affidavit in support of the search warrant, while based upon reasonable suspicion, is not based upon probable cause.

Standard of Review

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

State v. Shannon, 2025 Ohio 1224 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).

2025 Ohio 1224 (State v. Shannon) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Brinegar v. United States
338 U.S. 160 (Supreme Court, 1949)
Henry v. United States
361 U.S. 98 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Aguilar v. Texas
378 U.S. 108 (Supreme Court, 1964)
United States v. Ventresca
380 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Spinelli v. United States
393 U.S. 410 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Adams v. Williams
407 U.S. 143 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Illinois v. Gates
462 U.S. 213 (Supreme Court, 1983)
United States v. Place
462 U.S. 696 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Massachusetts v. Upton
466 U.S. 727 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Alabama v. White
496 U.S. 325 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
City of Indianapolis v. Edmond
531 U.S. 32 (Supreme Court, 2000)
United States v. Arvizu
534 U.S. 266 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Davis v. Washington
547 U.S. 813 (Supreme Court, 2006)
United States v. Reginald Boxley
373 F.3d 759 (Sixth Circuit, 2004)
Florida v. Harris
133 S. Ct. 1050 (Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Perez
2009 Ohio 6179 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Norman
2011 Ohio 568 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2011)
State v. Johnson
2014 Ohio 671 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)