State v. Strowder

2018 Ohio 1292
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 5, 2018
Docket105569
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2018 Ohio 1292 (State v. Strowder) 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. Strowder, 2018 Ohio 1292 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Strowder, 2018-Ohio-1292.]

Court of Appeals of Ohio EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION No. 105569

STATE OF OHIO PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE

vs.

DASHAWN STROWDER DEFENDANT-APPELLANT

JUDGMENT: CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED, SENTENCE REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING

Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CR-16-604551-A

BEFORE: Blackmon, P.J., Laster Mays, J., and Jones, J. RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: April 5, 2018 -i-

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Jonathan N. Garver The Brownhoist Building 4403 St. Clair Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44103

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Michael C. O’Malley Cuyahoga County Prosecutor

By: Carl Mazzone Assistant County Prosecutor Justice Center, 9th Floor 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, P.J.:

{¶1} Appellant Dashawn Strowder (“Strowder”) appeals from his convictions for

rape, kidnapping, robbery, and felonious assault, following a mandatory transfer from

juvenile court. He assigns the following errors for our review:

I. The mandatory transfer of [Strowder] by the juvenile court to adult court for purposes of criminal prosecution constitutes a denial of due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 16, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

II. The mandatory transfer of [Strowder] by the juvenile court to adult court for purposes of criminal prosecution constitutes a denial of equal protection of the laws in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

III. The 50-year term of imprisonment for rape and related offenses allegedly committed by [Strowder] while he was a juvenile constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and a denial of due process of law in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Sections 9 and 16, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

IV. The special instruction given by the court for attorney jurors singles out attorney jurors and encroaches upon their ability to fully participate in jury deliberations, thereby depriving [Strowder] of his right to a trial by jury, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.

V. The evidence is insufficient to support a conviction for felonious assault.

VI. [Strowder’s] conviction for felonious assault and his other convictions are against the manifest weight of the evidence. {¶2} For the sake of clarity, we shall address the third assigned error last. Having

reviewed the record and pertinent law, we affirm the convictions, but reverse and remand

for resentencing. The apposite facts follow.

{¶3} This case originated in juvenile court when then-17-year-old Strowder was

charged in connection with offenses alleged to have occurred on or about April 21, 2013.

Following a mandatory bindover, Strowder and codefendant Isaiah Campbell

(“Campbell”) were indicted in a nine-count indictment. As is relevant herein, Strowder

was charged with three counts of rape with sexually violent predator specifications, two

counts of kidnapping, with one count alleging both a sexual motivation specification and a

sexually violent motivation specification, aggravated robbery, felonious assault with a

sexual motivation specification, grand theft (motor vehicle), and receiving stolen property,

in violation of R.C. 2913.51(A). All counts also contained one-year and three-year

firearm specifications. Strowder pled not guilty and the matter against him proceeded to a

jury trial on January 24, 2017.

Jury Trial

{¶4} During the jury trial, the state presented the testimony of ten witnesses

including S.W., the alleged victim of the offenses.1 S.W., who was 44 years old at the

time of trial, testified that on April 21, 2013, she went out with her sister and her sister’s

boyfriend. S.W. consumed a vodka drink before leaving home and one or two glasses of

1 In accordance with this court’s policy regarding nondisclosure of the identity of victims in cases involving sexual assaults, she will be referred to using initials. wine while out. At approximately 2:00 a.m., she proceeded to her home in East

Cleveland. While en route, she stopped at a stop light on Hayden Avenue at the

intersection of Claiborne Avenue, and looked downward to light a cigarette. When she

looked up again, she spotted two individuals with black hoods drawn tightly over their

heads running toward her car. Both were armed. As she struggled to lock the car doors,

one individual entered the car through the passenger door, and the other entered through

the rear driver’s side door. The individual in the back seat held a gun to the back of

S.W.’s head, ordered her to drive, and instructed where to turn, while the individual seated

in the front passenger seat also pointed a gun at her. They eventually ended up on East

134th Street near some abandoned houses.

{¶5} S.W. testified that the individual seated in the front seat grabbed her head and

ordered her to perform oral sex on him. The men then ordered her to the back seat to

complete the sex act on the first man, while the second man vaginally raped her. After

that, the men ordered her to perform oral sex on the second man, while the first man

vaginally raped her. The men rummaged through S.W.’s purse, ordered her from the car,

and fled in her vehicle. S.W. ran to find help, then called police.

{¶6} S.W. admitted that she was shown a photo array and identified an individual

who was later excluded from involvement in this matter. She was also shown a second

photo array and indicated that she “truly believe[d]” that another person was the assailant,

and that a fourth person “could be” the assailant, but both were also excluded from

involvement. S.W. explained that she could only see part of the attackers’ faces. {¶7} Cuyahoga County Deputy Sheriff Shannon Cushman (“Deputy Cushman”)

responded to the scene at approximately 3:00 a.m. He observed that S.W. was

hyperventilating and hysterical. Deputy Cushman stated that she seemed slightly

intoxicated. S.W. also reportedly told Deputy Cushman that the second individual

attempted to vaginally rape her but was unable to do so.

{¶8} University Hospitals Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (“SANE”) Denise

Robinson (“Nurse Robinson”) testified that she completed a sexual assault examination

and rape kit in this matter. She collected S.W.’s clothing, swabbed her for evidence, and

examined her for injuries and signs of trauma.

{¶9} C.M., S.W.’s stepbrother, testified that a few days after the incident, he

spotted S.W.’s car traveling in East Cleveland. He followed it, but the occupants

abandoned the car. One of the occupants, who had a cast on his arm, fired a shot at

C.M. as he fled. However, no DNA evidence related to the assault on S.W. was found

inside the car.

{¶10} Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (“OBCI”) analyst Brenda Butler

(“Butler”) testified that she obtained approximately five fingerprints, three partial palm

prints, and three shell casings from two different guns in S.W.’s car. The prints were not

linked to Strowder, but were instead from two other individuals.

{¶11} OBCI forensic scientists Deidre Hartz (“Hartz”) and Emily Feldkris

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Related

State v. Thompson
2020 Ohio 3131 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
State v. Strowder
2019 Ohio 4573 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
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2019 Ohio 4487 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2019)
State v. Jenkins
2018 Ohio 2397 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2018 Ohio 1292, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-strowder-ohioctapp-2018.