State v. Snyder

2025 Ohio 2156
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in State v. Snyder. Read the opinion of the Court — 2025 Ohio 4444
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 12, 2025·No. 24CA14·Published

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Snyder, 2025-Ohio-2156.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT ROSS COUNTY

State of Ohio, : Case No. 24CA14

Plaintiff-Appellee, : DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY v. :

Gordon D. Snyder, :

Defendant-Appellant. : RELEASED 6/12/2025

______________________________________________________________________ APPEARANCES:1

Jeremy Masters, Supervising Attorney, Office of the Ohio Public Defender, Columbus, Ohio, for appellant. ______________________________________________________________________ Hess, J.

{¶1} Gordon D. Snyder appeals from a judgment of the Chillicothe Municipal

Court convicting him, following a jury trial, of theft, possessing drug abuse instruments,

and obstructing official business. Snyder presents one assignment of error asserting that

the trial court violated his rights to due process and a fair trial by convicting him of

obstructing official business in the absence of sufficient evidence. For the reasons which

follow, we overrule the assignment of error and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

{¶2} Snyder was charged with one count of theft, a first-degree misdemeanor,

one count of possessing drug abuse instruments, a first-degree misdemeanor, and one

1 The State did not file an appellate brief or otherwise enter an appearance in this appeal. Ross App. No. 24CA14 2

count of obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor. He pleaded not

guilty, and the matter proceeded to a jury trial.

{¶3} Austin Deel, the loss prevention officer at Menards in Ross County, testified

that on March 18, 2024, he was watching the security camera for the area where knives,

a high-theft item, are located. He saw Snyder quickly grab a buck knife, the most

expensive knife in the store. Deel watched Synder until he went into an aisle outside the

camera range. When Snyder exited the aisle, he was no longer carrying the knife. Deel

went to the aisle, found the empty packaging for the knife, and returned to the security

room to continue watching Snyder on the cameras. Deel saw Snyder grab a pair of

sunglasses and a knife sharpener. Deel lost track of Snyder “for a little bit,” and when

Deel saw him again, the sunglasses were on his head, and he was not carrying the knife

sharpener. Snyder went past the last point of sale and exited the store. Deel contacted

law enforcement because he suspected Snyder of shoplifting, and Deel confronted him

outside the store. Initially, Snyder denied stealing anything, but after Deel pointed out the

sunglasses, Snyder gave him the knife, knife sharpener, and sunglasses. Snyder tried to

flee but could not because he “lost the chip” in his car keys. Shortly after that, officers

arrived.

{¶4} Officer Jonathan Davis of the Chillicothe Police Department testified that he

was the first officer to respond to Menards regarding a report of a knife theft. When he

arrived, a loss prevention person was outside the store with the suspect and said, “‘This

is the guy who was stealing,’” referring to Snyder. Officer Davis conducted a pat down

search of the suspect and found an uncapped, recently used syringe. He asked the

suspect to identify himself. Officer Davis testified that he had reasonable suspicion to Ross App. No. 24CA14 3

believe a crime had occurred and that Ohio law requires that you identify yourself to an

officer who believes you have committed a crime.2 The suspect gave the name “Danny

Stone.” Officer Davis asked if he had any identification on him, and the suspect said he

did not have any. Officer Davis testified that he saw part of an Ohio ID card in the

suspect’s wallet, so “I already knew that he was lying to me at that point.” He removed

the card from the wallet and saw that it had the name “Gordon Snyder” on it and bore a

picture which matched the suspect’s appearance. Snyder claimed it was his twin brother’s

ID, and they sometimes got their ID’s mixed up.

{¶5} Because other officers had arrived and could safely detain the suspect,

Officer Davis went to his cruiser and used the computer to search for “Danny Stone.” He

ran Danny Stone’s social security number through LEADS, a law enforcement database

system. He also ran information from the Ohio ID. The results of his investigation led him

to believe the suspect was not being truthful about his identity, and Snyder admitted he

lied because he had felony warrants. When Officer Davis was asked how he was

“delayed, obstructed or prevented from performing an official or other authorized act

within” his “official capacity,” he testified that he “was there to investigate a theft,” and

“failing to identify yourself during a criminal investigation obstructs and hinders my

investigation.”

{¶6} After investigating Snyder’s identity, Officer Davis went into Menards to

speak to loss prevention and look at any evidence that a crime occurred. When Officer

Davis went outside again, other officers told him to look at the speedometer in the

2 R.C. 2921.29(A)(1) provides that “[n]o person who is in a public place shall refuse to disclose the person’s

name . . . when requested by a law enforcement officer who reasonably suspects . . . [t]he person . . . has committed . . . a criminal offense.” Ross App. No. 24CA14 4

suspect’s vehicle. He saw drug paraphernalia and then found a loaded syringe, which

Synder admitted contained fentanyl, in a sun visor.

{¶7} The court admitted into evidence some of Officer Davis’s body camera

footage. On the footage, Officer Davis asks if Snyder has ID in his wallet, and Snyder

denies having any. Almost three minutes into the footage, Officer Davis asks Snyder for

his name, and Snyder says, “Danny Stone, Jr.” Officer Davis again asks if Snyder has ID

in his wallet. Snyder says, “No. No.” Officer Davis picks up a wallet, holds up an ID, and

says that Snyder is “lying” to him. Snyder says, “No, that’s my twin.” Officer Davis again

says Snyder is lying, and Snyder says, “I promise you that’s my twin.” Officer Davis says

if he finds out that Snyder does not have a twin brother, he is going to jail. Snyder

continues to insist he has a twin.

{¶8} Officer Davis hands the ID to another officer, who asks questions about the

twin brother. Snyder claims he picked up his brother’s ID by accident. Officer Davis asks

Snyder for his birthday. Snyder gives a date. Officer Davis says, “Is that on that?” It

sounds as if the other officer, who appears to still be holding the ID, says the “twin brother”

is three years younger. Around 5 minutes and 30 seconds into the footage, Officer Davis

gets in the cruiser and uses the computer. At one point, several photographs appear on

the screen, and he says, “This is Danny Stone.” It sounds like another officer says, “I can

cuff him cause he’s obviously lying.” About 20 seconds later, a little over 7 minutes into

the footage, another officer suggests Officer Davis run Danny Stone’s “social” to look for

an updated BMV photo. The footage was then forwarded to a point where Officer Davis

is outside the cruiser again. As Snyder is being placed in the back of the cruiser, he says,

“I got felony warrants. That’s why I lied.” Ross App. No. 24CA14 5

{¶9} Sergeant Cody Moore with the Chillicothe Police Department testified he

also went to Menards, and the trial court admitted some of his body camera footage into

evidence.

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