state/city of Hamilton, Unpublished Decision (4-15-2002)

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 15, 2002
DocketCase No. CA2001-01-009.
StatusUnpublished

This text of state/city of Hamilton, Unpublished Decision (4-15-2002) (state/city of Hamilton, Unpublished Decision (4-15-2002)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law.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state/city of Hamilton, Unpublished Decision (4-15-2002), (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION
Defendant-appellant, Michael Smith, appeals his conviction in the Hamilton Municipal Court for criminal child enticement, a violation of R.C. 2905.05. We affirm the decision of the trial court.

Appellant was driving his truck on Laurel Avenue in Hamilton when he stopped to ask thirteen-year-old Kelly Mason for directions to Dixie Burger. Kelly was in Lloyd Schultz's yard at the time. Schultz proceeded to give appellant directions to Dixie Burger. Kelly then walked across the street to a church parking lot.

Appellant walked across the street and asked Kelly for directions to White Castle. After getting directions, appellant asked Kelly if she would like to go to his truck for a smoke. Kelly replied, "no." Appellant then asked Kelly if she would like to go to his truck for a beer. She replied, "no." Kelly became frightened and ran away to a friend's house. At the friend's house, Kelly phoned her parents. Her parents phoned the police and reported the incident and then attempted to find appellant's truck to get the license plate number.

Hamilton Police Officer Ross Sherman testified that he was on routine patrol when he received a call over the radio about a possible abduction on Laurel Avenue. He proceeded southbound on Erie Highway and saw a red truck in the White Castle parking lot fitting the description given by Kelly. Appellant came out of White Castle and Officer Sherman stopped him and asked appellant to have a seat in his cruiser. At the same time, another officer was interviewing Kelly on Laurel Avenue. Kelly was brought to the White Castle parking lot and she identified appellant and his truck.

At trial, appellee called Lloyd Schultz as a witness. Appellant objected to his testimony because he had not been listed as a witness in discovery. The court did not allow his testimony. Appellee rested and appellant made a motion for acquittal under Crim.R. 29. The court overruled the motion.

Appellant then took the stand and testified. Appellee called Keith Mason and Schultz as rebuttal witnesses. Appellant objected to the testimony of both rebuttal witnesses because they had not been listed as witnesses in discovery. The objection was overruled. Keith and Schultz both testified and were cross-examined.

The court found appellant guilty as charged for enticing Kelly to enter his vehicle. Appellant appeals the conviction raising four assignments of error:

Assignment of Error No. 1:

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO THE PREJUDICE OF APPELLANT IN OVERRULING APPELLANT'S RULE 29 MOTION AT THE CLOSE OF APPELLEE'S CASE.

In reviewing a ruling on a Crim.R. 29, the reviewing court construes the evidence in a light most favorable to the state. State v. Wolfe (1988), 51 Ohio App.3d 215. Denying the motion is proper if the evidence is such that reasonable minds can reach different conclusions as to whether each material element of a crime has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

Appellant was charged with criminal child enticement pursuant to R.C.2905.05. That section provides, in pertinent part:

(A) No person, by any means and without privilege to do so, shall knowingly solicit, coax, entice, or lure any child under fourteen years of age to enter into any vehicle, as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, whether or not the offender knows the age of the child, if both of the following apply:

(1) The actor does not have the express or implied permission of the parent, guardian, or other legal custodian of the child in undertaking the activity;

(2) The actor is not a law enforcement officer, medic, firefighter, or other person who regularly provides emergency services, and is not an employee or agent of, or a volunteer acting under the direction of any board of education, or the actor is any of such persons, but, at the time the actor undertakes the activity, he is not acting within the scope of his lawful duties in that capacity.

Appellant asserts that appellee failed to produce any evidence, pursuant to R.C. 2905.05(A)(1), that appellant did not have the express or implied permission of the parent, guardian, or other legal custodian of the child in undertaking the activity. Appellant also asserts that appellee failed to produce any evidence, pursuant to R.C. 2905.05(A)(2), that appellant was not a law enforcement officer, medic, firefighter, or other person who regularly provides emergency services, or that appellant was not an employee or agent of, or a volunteer acting under the direction of, any board of education.

The evidence in the record, however, does not support appellant's assertions. Appellee clearly established that there was no parental permission for appellant to offer Kelly cigarettes and beer. Kelly testified that her parents "looked outside to try to find [appellant's] license plate number," and then they "took off in their car and went looking for" appellant's truck. There would be no reason for Kelly's parents to chase after appellant in order to discover his identity if he had permission to offer Kelly a cigarette, beer, and a ride in his truck.

Appellee also clearly established that there was no emergency of any kind. Kelly was doing nothing in the church parking lot that would warrant the assistance of a police officer, medic, firefighter, or other person who regularly provides emergency services; nor was there any reason why an employee of the board of education would have confronted Kelly on the day in question. Thus, even if appellant did fall into one of the above categories of professionals, he clearly was not acting within the scope of his lawful duties.

Once it was established that appellant, without privilege to do so, knowingly solicited, coaxed, enticed, or lured any child under the age of fourteen to enter into any vehicle, the burden shifted to appellant to prove that he enjoyed a statutorily unique status pursuant to R.C. 2905.05 (A)(1) and (A)(2). See State v. Hurd (1991), 74 Ohio App.3d 94. Appellant failed to meet this burden and, therefore, the trial court did not err in overruling his Crim.R. 29 motion because, at the close of the appellee's presentation of evidence, there certainly was sufficient evidence before the court to overrule appellant's motion. Therefore, the first assignment of error is overruled.

Assignment of Error No. 2:

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED TO THE PREJUDICE OF THE APPELLANT IN ALLOWING LLOYD SCHULTZ TO TESTIFY AS A REBUTTAL WITNESS.

Appellant claims that the trial court erred when it allowed appellee to call Schultz as a rebuttal witness because he was not listed as a witness in any of appellee's discovery responses. Appellee acknowledges that it did not list Schultz as a witness in its discovery responses, but argues that it could not foresee its need to call Schultz as a rebuttal witness until appellant himself testified.

Crim.R. 16 governs discovery. Upon a proper demand, the state should furnish the names of all witnesses it reasonably anticipates it is likely to call, whether in its case-in-chief or in rebuttal. Id.

As set forth in Crim.R. 16(E)(3), exclusion of testimony is only one sanction among many which a court may impose. Determination of which sanction to impose is within the sound discretion of the trial court.State v. Wamsley (1991), 71 Ohio App.3d 607, 610.

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Bluebook (online)
state/city of Hamilton, Unpublished Decision (4-15-2002), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/statecity-of-hamilton-unpublished-decision-4-15-2002-ohioctapp-2002.