State v. Ursic

2019 Ohio 5088
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 9, 2019
Docket18 HA 0006
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2019 Ohio 5088 (State v. Ursic) 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. Ursic, 2019 Ohio 5088 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Ursic, 2019-Ohio-5088.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SEVENTH APPELLATE DISTRICT HARRISON COUNTY

STATE OF OHIO,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

BENJAMIN URSIC,

Defendant-Appellant.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY Case No. 18 HA 0006

Criminal Appeal from the Court of Common Pleas of Harrison County, Ohio Case No. CRI 2017-0083

BEFORE: Cheryl L. Waite, Gene Donofrio, David A. D’Apolito, Judges.

JUDGMENT: Affirmed.

Atty. T. Owen Beetham, Harrison County Prosecutor and Atty. Jeffrey J. Bruzzese, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, 111 W. Warren Street, P.O. Box 248, Cadiz, Ohio 43907, for Plaintiff-Appellee

Atty. Rhys B. Cartwright-Jones, 42 N. Phelps St., Youngstown, Ohio 44503-1130, for Defendant-Appellant. –2–

Dated: December 9, 2019

WAITE, P.J.

{¶1} Appellant Benjamin Ursic appeals his conviction and sentencing on two

counts of felony assault on a police officer, and one count of failure to comply with an

order or signal of a police officer, in the Harrison County Common Pleas Court. Appellant

argues the offenses should have merged for sentencing and challenges the sufficiency

and weight of the evidence at trial. Based on the following, we conclude the offenses are

not allied offenses of similar import and the trial court was correct when it did not merge

the convictions for sentencing. Moreover, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient

and not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Appellant’s assignments of error

are overruled and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Factual and Procedural History

{¶2} On June 4, 2017, at approximately 3:00 a.m. Appellant’s neighbor, Howard

Landkrohn (“Landkrohn”), called police after hearing two gun shots coming from

Appellant’s residence. While still on the phone with the dispatcher, Landkrohn observed

Appellant drive away from his residence in his white Jeep. Landkrohn described his

neighbor’s Jeep to the dispatcher, including that it had a broken tail light. While en route

to Appellant’s residence, Harrison County Sheriff’s deputies Tony Sedgmer and Ben

Chaney, driving separate police vehicles, spotted a white Jeep sitting at an intersection

as they approached on US Route 250. A dash camera video from Deputy Chaney’s

police cruiser was admitted at trial and shown to the jury. The video shows that the

deputies slowed as they approached the intersection and Deputy Sedgmer aimed a

spotlight in the driver’s side window. Being familiar with Appellant from previous

Case No. 18 HA 0006 –3–

interactions, he recognized Appellant as the driver. Both deputies immediately activated

their lights and sirens and attempted to surround Appellant’s vehicle. Appellant slowly

emerged from the intersection on to US Route 250. He proceeded to maneuver around

the two police vehicles and quickly sped off. The video shows the damaged tail light on

the Jeep as noted by Landkrohn in his 911 call. Appellant fled on Route 250 for a short

time before turning on to a nearby dirt road and then cutting through a field filled with

boats and vehicles to get back onto North Bay Road. The pursuit continued on North Bay

Road, a residential neighborhood, for about three minutes at approximately 70 mph

before the deputies radioed that they were calling off the chase to avoid a traffic accident.

{¶3} The deputies drove to Appellant’s residence where Muskingum Watershed

Conservancy Rangers were interviewing Appellant’s girlfriend. They continued their

investigation there until another call came in that a vehicle matching the description of

Appellant’s Jeep was sitting at the top of a hill on an old logging road in the woods with

its headlights on. While this road was now used by ATVs, it was not open to vehicular

traffic. Both deputies and Ranger Troy Noice drove to the logging road. They all exited

their vehicles. The deputies walked ahead, periodically switching their flashlights on and

off in an attempt to see where they were going but avoid detection. Ranger Noice was

farther behind them but was wearing a body camera which recorded a portion of the

incident. The recording was admitted at trial and played for the jury. The deputies

continued walking side-by-side up the road until they could see a white Jeep facing

downhill towards them with the engine running and the headlights on. As they

approached within approximately 50 yards from the Jeep, Appellant was spotted inside.

According to the testimony of Deputy Sedgmer at trial and as can be seen on the body

Case No. 18 HA 0006 –4–

camera video presented to the jury, Appellant began driving towards the deputies, revving

the engine. Deputy Sedgmer ordered Appellant to stop. Appellant continued down the

hill toward the deputies, forcing them to take cover behind nearby trees. Appellant

continued driving downhill toward the deputies until swerving off the road and hitting the

tree the deputies were hiding behind. After hitting the tree, Appellant reversed direction

on the road and attempted to flee back up the hill in the opposite direction from where he

had come. He eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. Appellant was

apprehended later that morning by Ranger Noice as he was walking in Landkrohn’s

backyard.

{¶4} On December 11, 2017, Appellant was indicted by the Harrison County

Grand Jury on two counts of felony assault on a police officer in violation of R.C.

2903.11(A)(2) and (D)(1)(a), felonies in the first degree; and one count of felony failure to

comply with an order of a police officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B) and (C)(5)(a)(ii),

a felony of the third degree. The matter proceeded to a jury trial on October 4, 2018.

Appellant was found guilty on all counts. The trial court sentenced Appellant to four years

of incarceration on each conviction for assault on a police officer and one year for failure

to comply, to be served consecutively, for a total stated prison term of nine years.

{¶5} Appellant filed this timely appeal.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

CONSECUTIVE [SIC] SENTENCES WERE MANDATED AS THE

APPELLANT'S CONVICTION FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY SHOULD

HAVE MERGED INTO HIS CONVICTIONS OF FELONIOUS ASSAULT

ON POLICE OFFICERS.

Case No. 18 HA 0006 –5–

{¶6} In Appellant’s first assignment of error he claims consecutive sentencing

was erroneous, here. He challenges his sentence, contending that his sentence for felony

failure to comply should have merged with his sentences for felony assault, because they

are allied offenses of similar import. Appellant contends that the felony assault on a police

officer came as he was attempting to flee, and thus his convictions for failure to comply

and for assault on a police officer stem from the same, single event and should have been

merged.

{¶7} In response, the state argues that after Appellant originally fled the scene

and the pursuit by police halted, this resulted in one completed action, resulting in a

charge for failure to comply. The two charges of felony assault on a police officer occurred

when Appellant later drove his vehicle at police until they took cover behind a tree and

Appellant intentionally struck the tree with his vehicle. The state argues this is reinforced

by the fact that, rather than following his trajectory of continuing down the hill to the main

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Related

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2021 Ohio 1157 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
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2020 Ohio 5462 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)

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2019 Ohio 5088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ursic-ohioctapp-2019.