State v. Stone

283 N.E.2d 188, 30 Ohio App. 2d 49, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 115, 1971 Ohio App. LEXIS 418
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 12, 1971
Docket552
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 283 N.E.2d 188 (State v. Stone) 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. Stone, 283 N.E.2d 188, 30 Ohio App. 2d 49, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 115, 1971 Ohio App. LEXIS 418 (Ohio Ct. App. 1971).

Opinions

Cray, J.

This cause is in this court on appeal from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Ross County upon a verdict of a jury finding defendant guilty of procuring for a female person and the defendant feeling aggrieved thereby filed his notice of appeal and assigned the following errors.

“First assignment of error: The court erred in sustaining a prosecution objection thereby limiting the defendant-appellant’s right, to impeach the testimony of the chief witness for the prosecution on cross examination.

“Second assignment of error: The court erred in overruling defendant-appellant’s motion for a mistrial when prejudicial heresay evidence was put before the jury.

“Third assignment of error: The court erred in overruling the motion to dismiss made by the defendant-appellant at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case.

*50 “Fourth assignment of error: The court erred in overruling the motion to dismiss made by the defendant-appellant at the conclusion of the defense case.

“Fifth assignment of error: The court erred in its charge to the jury by instructing the jury on issues not raised by the indictment.”

Defendant met Patricia Larkin in a bar on South High Street in Columbus where she worked as a bar girl. Defendant asked her if she wanted to earn more money. She thought it over and said yes. She was given the job of answering a telephone for several days in an apartment provided by defendant which was located in Columbus. Defendant then asked her if she would engage in prostitution. She agreed. The agreement was that she was to charge twenty to twenty-five dollars for her services for entertaining each man. On one day early in her career she went to bed with six men for which she collected one hundred dollars. Defendant and Patricia were to split her earnings fifty-fifty. When it came to splitting her first earnings he took eighty dollars and she received twenty. The difference went to him “for rent.”

Patricia testified that on February 13', 1969 defendant requested that she go to the Holiday Inn at Chillicothe, Ohio and engage in prostitution with men he would procure. She arrived at the Holiday Inn and registered as “Miss Sheets.” She wrote the license number of defendant’s 1966 Cadillac on the registration card. She engaged in prostitution three times that evening and received seventy dollars of which defendant took fifty.

After the third act of prostitution there was a knock on the door and two men entered. After some bargaining on the price, an agreement was reached. Patricia disrobed and was then placed under arrest by Sergeant Harris and Patrolman Augg of the Chillicothe Police Department.

The record shows that Patrolman Robert Detty of the Chillicothe Police Department was attending a gathering honoring the various police officers of that area at the Holiday Inn on that night. Defendant approached Detty who related the following conversation with defendant.

*51 “Q. Would you tell the court please what you saw and observed and heard?

“A. Upstairs unit, like a suite, two rooms divided by a hallway and bath. Mr. Stone approached me. Asked me if Sergeant Harris was working. I told him no.. I asked him why. Because I have a girl downstairs. I don’t want any trouble.

“Q. If you can repeat that. I’m having difficulty hearing you. I don’t know if they can hear over there. If you will raise your voice.

“A. Mr. Stone asked me if Sergeant Harris was working and I said no, and 1 asked him why. He said he had a girl downstairs and he didn’t want any trouble. I asked him who and he gave me the first name of Pat and at that time he left.

“Q. Did you see the defendant John Stone any later that evening?

“A. Yes, sir, a short time later.”

When Patricia was taken to the police station and booked defendant provided bail for her.

We now come to consider the first assignment of error. We do not believe that it is well taken. The right of contradiction is ordinarily limited to matters material to the issue, and does not extend to collateral matters. Defendant attempted to cross-examine Patricia on the question as to whether her husband had ever been arrested. The court refused to permit the introduction of this type of evidence. Patricia’s husband was not a witness in the case.

The test to be applied in this instance is whether the fact shown by the answer could be shown in evidence for any independent purpose, or whether the cross-examiner would be allowed on his part to prove the matter. If so, then the matter may be contradicted.

In presenting his second assignment of error defendant urges that the court committed prejudicial error in permitting Sergeant Harris to testify concerning the activities of Linda Waple at the Holiday Inn. We believe that the admission of this evidence was proper under E. C. 2945,-59. Such is not hearsay evidence.

*52 We will consider the third and fourth assignment of error together. We are of the view that they are not well taken. We have heretofore set forth the evidence surrounding the activities of defendant and Patricia. We believe that the evidence sustains the verdict of the jury.

In State v. DeHass, 10 Ohio St. 2d 230, 231, Judge Zimmerman, speaking for the court, said:

“In either a criminal or civil case the weight to be given the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses are primarily for the trier of the facts. By the verdict rendered herein, it is apparent that the jury believed the testimony of the prosecuting witness and the corroborating evidence presented by the state, and an examination of the bill of exceptions demonstrates that such evidence was sufficient to support the verdict of guilty, as returned by the jury, and the judgment of the trial court.”
The second paragraph of the syllabus states: “A reviewing court may not reverse a judgment of conviction in a criminal case in a trial court, where the record shows that a verdict of guilty was returned by a jury on sufficient evidence and where no prejudicial error occurred in the actual trial of the case or in the instructions given the jury by the court.”

If defendant was prejudiced by anything contained in the general charge of the court to the jury, he waived it. The record shows the following dialogue between the trial court and counsel for the prosecution and counsel for the defense at the conclusion of the court’s charge.

“Do counsel for the state have anything they would like to add?

“Mr. Ward: We have nothing, your Honor.

“Court: Does counsel for the defendant have anything?

“Mr. Gareff: Nothing, Your Honor.”

The gist of defendant’s claim in the fifth assignment of error is that the trial court charged on issues not raised in the indictment, i. e., that the indictment did not charge defendant with placing Patricia Larkin in the Holiday Inn.

An inspection of the Bill of Exceptions reveals that *53

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
283 N.E.2d 188, 30 Ohio App. 2d 49, 59 Ohio Op. 2d 115, 1971 Ohio App. LEXIS 418, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stone-ohioctapp-1971.