State v. Smale

127 N.E.3d 402, 2018 Ohio 5218
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Third District, Marion County
DecidedDecember 26, 2018
DocketNO. 9-17-44
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 127 N.E.3d 402 (State v. Smale) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Third District, Marion County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Smale, 127 N.E.3d 402, 2018 Ohio 5218 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

ZIMMERMAN, J.

{¶1} Defendant-Appellant Richard Smale ("Appellant") appeals the judgment of the Marion County Common Pleas Court finding him guilty of Possession of Heroin, Trafficking in Heroin, and Tampering with Evidence. On appeal, Appellant asserts that: 1) the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence, and 2) the trial court erred by admitting untimely provided discovery. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the Marion County Common Pleas Court.

Factual and Procedural Background

{¶2} On July 5, 2017, MARMET officers executed a search warrant at 141 Wallace Street in Marion, Ohio. (Doc. No. 4). In one of the bedrooms, officers located Appellant and a juvenile female (later identified as S.S.). (Id. ). When officers entered the room, Appellant was observed in the process of sitting down on a couch next to a window that contained an air conditioner unit. (Id. ). Ultimately, officers found three clear plastic bags containing suspected heroin outside of the residence, immediately below the window that contained the air conditioning unit. (Id. ). A presumptive positive field test revealed that the suspected heroin weighed approximately 58.2 grams. (Id. ). A search warrant also resulted in law *406enforcement seizing cash totaling $488.98. (Id. ).

{¶3} On July 12, 2017, Appellant was indicted by the Marion County Grand Jury on the following counts: Count One, possession of heroin, in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A)(C)(6), a felony of the first degree; Count Two, trafficking in heroin, in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2)(C)(6), a felony of the first degree; and Count Three, tampering with evidence, in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), a felony of the third degree. (Doc. No. 1). Appellant was arraigned on July 17, 2017, and entered pleas of "not guilty" to all counts in the indictment. (Doc. No. 7) The trial court found that Appellant was indigent and provided him with court-appointed counsel. (Doc. No. 8).

{¶4} Appellant's jury trial was scheduled for October 5, 2017. (Doc. No. 9). Pertinent to this appeal, the State, on October 4, 2017, filed its first amended bill of particulars, indicating that the weight of the heroin was more than 10 grams but less than 50 grams, making Counts One and Two second degree felonies. (Doc. No. 34). On the same day, Appellant filed a series of motions to exclude and prohibit evidence alleging that the State failed to timely provide discovery. (Doc. Nos. 31-33).

{¶5} Prior to the commencement of Appellant's jury trial on October 5, 2017, the trial court granted the State's request to amend Count One and Count Two from felonies of the first degree to felonies of the second degree. (Trial, 10/05/2017 Tr., Vol. I, at 97). After oral arguments from the State and Appellant on pending motions, the trial court overruled all of Appellant's motions, with the exception of the motion to exclude untimely disclosed witnesses. (Id. at 96-112). The trial court ruled that the State should have disclosed its witnesses sooner, and as a sanction, permitted the Appellant to question those witnesses before they testified. (Id. at 121-23). At the conclusion of the two-day trial, Appellant was found guilty on all charges in the amended indictment. (Doc. Nos. 45, 46, 47).

{¶6} On October 30, 2017, Appellant was sentenced in the trial court. (Doc. No. 66). At sentencing, the trial court found that Counts One and Two were allied offenses of similar import and merged them for the purposes of sentencing. (Id. ). Thereafter, the State elected for the Appellant to be sentenced on Count Two, and the trial court imposed the following sentences: Count Two, trafficking in heroin, a mandatory term of five (5) years in prison and Count Three, tampering with evidence, a term of three (3) years in prison. (Id. ). The trial court ordered that the sentences imposed to be served consecutively, for a total prison sentence of eight (8) years.1 (Id. ).

{¶7} From this judgment Appellant appeals, and presents the following assignments of error for our review:

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. I

THE VERDICT IS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED AT TRIAL.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. II

THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN ADMITTING
*407(OVER OBJECTION) UNTIMELY SUBMISSION OF DISCOVERY.

Appellant's First Assignment of Error

{¶8} In his first assignment of error, the Appellant argues that the State produced no evidence linking him to the drugs found at 141 Wallace Street. Specifically, Appellant argues that the State failed to produce evidence that he constructively possessed the drugs in question. For the reasons that follow, we find that the manifest weight of the evidence supports Appellant's convictions and overrule the first assignment of error.

Standard of Review

{¶9} The Ohio Supreme Court has " 'carefully distinguished the terms 'sufficiency' and 'weight' in criminal cases, declaring that 'manifest weight' and 'legal sufficiency' are 'both quantitatively and qualitatively different.' " State v. Lyle, 3rd Dist. Allen No. 1-14-41, 2015-Ohio-1181, 2015 WL 1405370, ¶ 9 quoting Eastley v. Volkman, 132 Ohio St.3d 328, 2012-Ohio-2179, 972 N.E.2d 517, ¶ 10.

{¶10} In analyzing a claim that a conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence, an appellate court:

sits as the "thirteenth juror" and may disagree with the fact finder's resolution of the conflicting testimony. * * * The appellate court, "reviewing the entire record, weighs the evidence and all reasonable inferences, considers the credibility of witnesses and determines whether in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered. The discretionary power to grant a new trial should be exercised only in the exceptional case in which the evidence weighs heavily against conviction."

State v. Johnson , 3rd Dist. Shelby No. 17-08-06, 2008-Ohio-4784, 2008 WL 4294902, ¶ 4 quoting State v. Jackson , 169 Ohio App.3d 440, 2006-Ohio-6059

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State v. Smale
2018 Ohio 5218 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)

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Bluebook (online)
127 N.E.3d 402, 2018 Ohio 5218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smale-ohctapp3marion-2018.