State v. Woods

122 N.E.3d 586, 2018 Ohio 4588
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District, Lawrence County
DecidedNovember 7, 2018
DocketCase Nos. 16CA28; 16CA29
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 122 N.E.3d 586 (State v. Woods) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District, Lawrence County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Woods, 122 N.E.3d 586, 2018 Ohio 4588 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

Harsha, J.

{¶ 1} After a jury convicted Franklin S. Woods of one count of rape and five counts of gross sexual imposition, the trial court sentenced him to prison. Initially Woods asserts that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statements to a children's services supervisor and a deputy sheriff.

{¶ 2} Woods claims the statements were obtained through an impermissible two-step interrogation technique in which the children's services supervisor, who was also a part-time police officer, interrogated Woods without any Miranda warnings, and the deputy sheriff subsequently interrogated him after he administered Miranda warnings. We reject Woods's assertion because he was not in custody when *590he answered questions from the children's services supervisor, who was not acting in his capacity as a police officer or as an agent of the police. Because Woods was not subjected to custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings, this case does not involve the impermissible, two-step, question-first interrogation technique.

{¶ 3} Next Woods contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to the deputy sheriff, who did Mirandize him, because the deputy failed to scrupulously honor Woods's assertion of his right to remain silent. Because the record does not establish that Woods unequivocally invoked his right to remain silent, the trial court did not err by denying his motion to suppress.

{¶ 4} Finally, Woods argues that his convictions for rape and gross sexual imposition were not supported by sufficient evidence and were against the manifest weight of the evidence because the jury rejected specific events but convicted him on more general allegations. But Woods's daughter testified that he had touched her breasts more than ten times before she reached age 13, and he touched the inside of her vagina every time he came into her room both before and after she was 13. Woods also admitted his inappropriate sexual contact with his daughter to two children's services employees and a deputy sheriff. This provided sufficient evidence to support his convictions. And the jury did not clearly lose its way or create a manifest miscarriage of justice by convicting him of the crimes, so the weight of the evidence supports his conviction.

{¶ 5} We reject Woods's argument and affirm his convictions.

I. FACTS

{¶ 6} In Case No. 15CR301, the state filed an information charging Franklin S. Woods with one count of gross sexual imposition. In Case No. 16CR33, the Lawrence County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Woods with six counts of rape, eight counts of gross sexual imposition, and four counts of sexual battery. After the court consolidated the cases for purposes of trial, Woods filed a motion to suppress the statements he made to a children's services social worker, the social worker's supervisor, and a deputy sheriff.

A. Suppression Hearing

{¶ 7} At the suppression hearing the state introduced the testimony of social worker Amber Stamper, a social worker with the Lawrence County Department of Job & Family Services, Adult Protective Service Division, and her supervisor, Randy Thomson. Stamper is not a police officer and does not wear a badge or gun; although she works primarily with adults, she is sometimes assigned to assist in the management of cases involving children.

{¶ 8} On November 16, 2015, Stamper began investigating a case of sexual abuse of M.W., Woods's minor daughter. Initially Stamper went to the middle school and interviewed M.W. about her allegations against Woods. Lawrence County Deputy Sheriff Scott Wilson, the school's resource officer, was present for the child's interview. Following that interview Stamper attempted to contact Woods and his fiancée, Samantha Best, but was unsuccessful. She then arranged for the temporary placement of M.W. with Best's mother, Yvette.

{¶ 9} The next day, November 17, 2015, Woods called Stamper, who said she needed to speak with him about his daughter's general allegations, and to complete a required safety plan. Woods told her that he was more than willing to meet her at her office and that he was going to be very cooperative.

{¶ 10} That afternoon Woods appeared at the Lawrence County Department of *591Job & Family Services, a two-story office building with an entry containing a reception window and a waiting area. A door from the reception area leads to a hallway with three conference rooms. To enter the hallway, the door must be electronically unlocked, but there is no lock preventing persons from leaving the hallway, conference rooms, and building.

{¶ 11} Stamper met Woods in the reception area and took him to the first conference room, where they went over the terms of the safety plan, which addressed the sexual-abuse allegations. The conference room was eight by ten feet, with a desk and chairs behind, in front of, and on the side of the desk. The door, which had a small window in it, was closed but not locked. Woods sat behind the desk facing the door, and Stamper sat in front of the desk. Stamper testified that nothing prevented Woods from getting up and walking out the door and leaving the building; his demeanor was nervous, but very cooperative.

{¶ 12} Stamper did not notify Woods of specific allegations; she only told him that his daughter had indicated he touched her inappropriately. According to Stamper, after learning of his daughter's claims, Woods said he was "not denying" the allegations. Woods never indicated that he wanted to leave, and if he had, Stamper would have let him go because the agency "cannot force them to stay." But Stamper admitted that she never told Woods that he did not have to answer her questions and that he was free to leave.

{¶ 13} After Woods signed the safety plan, Stamper told him that her supervisor was coming down to sign it. Stamper left the conference room and called the supervisor, Randy Thompson, whose office is on the second floor of the building.

{¶ 14} Thompson is a supervising social worker for the Lawrence County Department of Job & Family Services. Upon learning that Woods did not deny his daughter's allegations, Thompson brought a device to record his interview, which lasted about 25 minutes. Thompson testified that during the interview Woods was free to leave at any time, was not under arrest, and had not been told that he could not leave. According to Thompson although the door to the conference room was closed, it was not locked, and Woods was positioned in a way that he could have gotten by Thompson to leave the room. Woods never asked to leave, never stated that he did not want to talk to Thompson, and never asked for an attorney. Because Woods was not in custody and Thompson was acting as a social worker, Thompson did not administer Miranda warnings before interviewing him.

{¶ 15} Although he is also a part-time village police officer, Thompson stated he did not enjoy county-wide police powers and was not working as a police officer during the interview. He was not wearing a uniform or badge, and did not have a gun or handcuffs during the interview.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
122 N.E.3d 586, 2018 Ohio 4588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-woods-ohctapp4lawrenc-2018.