State v. White, Unpublished Decision (1-21-2005)

2005 Ohio 212
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided January 21, 2005·No. No. 20324.·Unpublished·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

OPINION
{¶ 1} Defendant, Travis White, appeals from his conviction and sentence for felonious assault.

{¶ 2} On January 4, 2002, nineteen year old Robert Kirkland and thirteen year old Adam Hurlburt walked to a Dollar General Store in their neighborhood where they purchased plastic guns that shoot confetti-like string. While walking back home, the boys began shooting the guns at cars passing on the street. At one point Hurlburt threw a piece of plastic, hitting a red hatchback vehicle that was passing by. When the driver stopped, the boys fled. The driver chased them.

{¶ 3} When Robert Kirkland looked back he saw a while male kicking Adam Hurlburt, who was lying on the ground. The assailant was about twenty-three years of age and wore a black baseball cap turned backwards, tan baggie pants, and a black coat. Kirkland ran to a nearby home and summoned help.

{¶ 4} When police arrived they found Hurlburt lying in the street. He had been severely beaten and his face was bloody, bruised, and swollen. He could not open his eyes or sit up without assistance. Hurlburt was taken to Miami Valley hospital where he remained for two days.

{¶ 5} As a result of injuries he suffered in this attack, Hurlburt missed six weeks of school and often experienced nightmares. He developed eye problems akin to lazy eye, and had black eyes for months. Hurlburt has a permanent scar from the attack, and for one year he was afraid to go outside.

{¶ 6} Hurlburt's mother posted reward flyers at area businesses that included a picture of Hurlburt and telephone numbers to call with any information relating to the assault. Sometime during January 2002, while Dana Horstman was at a Kwik and Kold drive through with Defendant Travis White, Nick Widner, and another person, Horstman saw one of the reward flyers and mentioned the assault on Hurlburt. Defendant responded: "We did that. For real, we did that," referring to himself and Nick Weidner. Defendant did not appear to be joking, according to Horstman. When she brought up the attack on Hurlburt several more times, each time Defendant warned Horstman not to talk with anyone else about it.

{¶ 7} Horstman eventually called the Hurlburts and gave them Defendant's name and address as a possible suspect. That information was relayed to police. When police went to Defendant's residence they discovered a red Honda Prelude hatchback, similar to the vehicle Hurlburt's assailant had been driving.

{¶ 8} Police prepared a photospread on January 24, 2002, from which Robert Kirkland identified Defendant White as Adam Hurlburt's assailant. Hurlburt was not able to identify his attacker. Later, after Hurlburt had seen the man who attacked him in the neighborhood, police rearranged the same pictures in the photospread and showed it to Hurlburt on March 21, 2002. This time Hurlburt identified Defendant as his assailant.

{¶ 9} Defendant was indicted on one count of felonious assault. R.C. 2903.11(A)(1). Defendant filed a motion to suppress the photospread identifications of him as the assailant, claiming that the procedures used were unduly suggestive and the identifications unreliable. Following a hearing, the trial court overruled Defendant's motion to suppress the identification evidence. The matter proceeded to a jury trial and Defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial court sentenced Defendant to six years in prison to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed in Case No. 1999-CR-2242.

{¶ 10} Defendant has timely appealed to this court from his conviction and sentence.

{¶ 11} First Assignment of Error

{¶ 12} "Appellant was denied his constitutional rights to present a complete defense, to confront a witness against him, to due process, and to a fair trial when the trial court erred in declaring the complainant to be an unavailable witness and in admitting testimony from the suppression hearing at trial."

{¶ 13} Defendant complains that the trial court abused its discretion and deprived him of his constitutional rights of confrontation, due process and a fair trial by admitting hearsay evidence of Adam Hurlburt's testimony from the suppression hearing at trial under the former testimony exception to the rule against hearsay. Evid. R. 804(B)(1).

{¶ 14} Adam Hurlburt, the victim, testified at the hearing on Defendant's motion to suppress the pretrial identifications from photospreads. Hurlburt was subpoenaed by the State to testify at the subsequent trial, but failed to appear. The State asked the trial court to admit Hurlburt's testimony from the suppression hearing at trial as a hearsay exception, pursuant to Evid. R. 804(B)(1). Defendant objected. An evidentiary hearing was held, following which the trial court granted the State's request and admitted Hurlburt's testimony from the suppression hearing.

{¶ 15} A trial court has broad discretion regarding the admission or exclusion of evidence and its exercise of that decision will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Woling,98 Ohio St.3d 44, 2002-Ohio-7044. An abuse of discretion means more than just an error of law or an error in judgment. It implies an arbitrary, unreasonable, unconscionable attitude on the part of the court. State v.Adams (1980), 62 Ohio St.2d 151.

{¶ 16} When a witness is unavailable for trial the witness's prior testimony may be admitted in evidence if the proponent of that evidence demonstrates that the witness is unavailable to testify at trial and the witness's prior testimony bears an adequate indicia of reliability. Ohiov. Roberts (1980), 448 U.S. 56, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 65 L.Ed.2d 597; State v.Madison (1980), 64 Ohio St.2d 322; State v. Howard (June 20, 2003), Montgomery App. No. 19413, 2003-Ohio-3235. Evid. R. 804(B)(1) codifies the common law hearsay exception for former testimony and provides:

{¶ 17} "(B) Hearsay exceptions. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the declarant is unavailable as a witness:

{¶ 18} "(1) Former testimony. Testimony given as a witness at another hearing of the same or a different proceeding, or in a deposition taken in compliance with law in the course of the same or another proceeding, if the party against whom the testimony is now offered, or, in a civil action or proceeding, a predecessor in interest, had an opportunity and similar motive to develop the testimony by direct, cross, or redirect examination. Testimony given at a preliminary hearing must satisfy the right to confrontation and exhibit indicia of reliability."

{¶ 19} Defendant argues first that the State failed to prove that Adam Hurlburt was unavailable as a witness at trial.

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State v. White, Unpublished Decision (1-21-2005), 2005 Ohio 212 (Ohio Ct. App. 2005).

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