State v. Shepherd, Unpublished Decision (8-18-2006)

2006 Ohio 4315
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 18, 2006
DocketNo. 2003-A-0028.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 2006 Ohio 4315 (State v. Shepherd, Unpublished Decision (8-18-2006)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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State v. Shepherd, Unpublished Decision (8-18-2006), 2006 Ohio 4315 (Ohio Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Appellant, Emanuel Shepherd, appeals the judgment entered by the Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas. Appellant was convicted of one count of attempted murder, three counts of felonious assault, and four counts of assault. As a result, appellant was sentenced to an additional sixteen years and nine months in prison. He was already serving a previously imposed prison term of fifteen to sixty-five years for his convictions for rape, aggravated burglary, and robbery.

{¶ 2} The incident giving rise to the instant matter occurred at the Lake Erie Correctional Institution, where appellant was an inmate. On November 5, 2001, Corrections Officers Douglas Fields and Michele Goodiel were working near the food hall. They noticed several inmates standing outside the door smoking cigarettes. Officer Fields and Officer Goodiel went outside to inform the inmates that they were not allowed to be outside at that time. While the officers were outside, appellant and his nephew, Orlando Shepherd ("Orlando"), went outside and told the officers they were going to have a cigarette.

{¶ 3} The officers ordered all of the inmates, including Orlando and appellant, back into the food hall. At that time, Orlando pushed the door back into Officer Goodiel. Officer Goodiel told Officer Fields about the door incident, and Officer Fields yelled for "Shepherd" to come outside. Appellant went outside, but was informed that Officer Fields wanted Orlando instead. Despite orders to return inside, appellant remained outside.

{¶ 4} Officer Fields informed Orlando that he was taking him to segregation. Orlando explained that he was not going and demanded to see a superior officer. Officer Fields held Orlando up against a wall in an attempt to secure him and take him to segregation. Orlando responded that he was not going and refused to cooperate. Eventually, Orlando pushed Officer Fields and, then, punched him several times. During this incident, Officer Fields used his radio to call other corrections officers for assistance. Finally, Officer Fields fell to the ground, where he was repeatedly kicked by Orlando.

{¶ 5} Shortly after Orlando attacked Officer Fields, appellant punched Officer Goodiel in the face. Thereafter, he joined Orlando in kicking Officer Fields while he was on the ground. Appellant's final kick to Officer Fields was described as extremely hard and directly to the officer's face.

{¶ 6} Several other corrections officers arrived at the scene of the attack in response to Officer Fields' radio call. As he was responding, Corrections Officer Terry Wurgler noticed appellant kick Officer Fields three times in the torso. Then, he watched appellant take a step back, look at him, and kick Officer Fields in the head. He also noticed another officer standing against the wall with their hands to their face. Upon arriving at the scene, he briefly looked down at Officer Fields and, then, was punched in the face by appellant.

{¶ 7} Corrections Officer Mauro also responded to the incident. He attempted to restrain appellant, but appellant punched him in the face. The two went to the ground, but appellant quickly got to his feet and assumed a "fighting stance."

{¶ 8} Thereafter, other officers were able to restrain appellant and Orlando.

{¶ 9} Appellant was indicted on three counts of felonious assault, in violation of R.C. 2903.11, felonies of the second degree (one count each for Officers Goodiel, Fields, and Mauro); four counts of assault, in violation of R.C. 2901.13, felonies of the fifth degree (one count per officer for the attacks on Officers Goodiel, Fields, Wurgler, and Mauro); and one count of attempted murder, in violation of R.C. 2923.02 and 2903.02, a first-degree felony (for the conduct against Officer Fields).

{¶ 10} Appellant pled not guilty to the charges against him. A jury trial was initially scheduled for July 30, 2002. On April 30, 2002, appellant filed a request for final disposition of the matter, pursuant to R.C. 2941.401.

{¶ 11} On July 24, 2002, appellant filed a motion to continue the jury trial set for July 30, 2002, because counsel would be out of town those days. The motion was granted, and the jury trial was reset for October 29, 2002. On October 4, 2002, the state filed a motion to continue the jury trial set for October 29, 2002, because the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case would be out of town on that date. The state's motion to continue was granted, and the jury trial was rescheduled for November 13, 2002. On November 1, 2002, appellant filed a motion to continue, due to the fact that the codefendant's trial had been continued and he had an interest in keeping the trials scheduled together. In this motion to continue, appellant waived all speedy-trial requirements to accommodate the motion. This motion was granted, and the jury trial was rescheduled for February 4, 2003.

{¶ 12} On May 31, 2002, appellant filed a motion to dismiss the attempted murder count of the indictment. The trial court set the motion to be heard on July 24, 2002. However, the motion was not decided at that time, and it was not ruled on until the morning of the first day of trial in February 2003. The trial court denied appellant's motion to dismiss this count of the indictment.

{¶ 13} Appellant's jury trial commenced on February 4, 2003. After the jury was seated, appellant moved the court to dismiss his trial counsel. The trial court permitted appellant to argue why the dismissal should be permitted. Thereafter, the trial court denied appellant's motion to dismiss his trial counsel.

{¶ 14} The February 4, 2003 trial also concerned the charges against Orlando for this incident. However, after the jury was seated, Orlando entered a no contest plea to the charges against him. The remainder of the jury trial only concerned the charges against appellant.

{¶ 15} The state presented the victims of the attacks, who testified to the events of the day and their injuries. After the state rested, appellant moved for acquittal pursuant to Crim.R. 29. The trial court denied appellant's motion for acquittal. The defense did not present any evidence. The jury found appellant guilty on all of the counts in the indictment.

{¶ 16} The trial court merged the convictions for the offenses relating to each of the victims. Appellant was sentenced to eight years for the attempted murder conviction, six years for the felonious assault conviction relating to Officer Goodiel, two years for the felonious assault conviction relating to Officer Mauro, and nine months for the assault conviction relating to Officer Wurgler. These sentences were ordered to be served consecutively to each other. Thus, appellant's aggregate prison term was sixteen years and nine months. This sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to the prison term appellant was already serving.

{¶ 17} Appellant raises three assignments of error on appeal. His first assignment of error is:

{¶ 18} "The appellant's convictions are against the manifest weight of the evidence."

{¶ 19} Appellant frames his argument as the convictions being against the manifest weight of the evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
2006 Ohio 4315, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-shepherd-unpublished-decision-8-18-2006-ohioctapp-2006.