State v. Parsons ( 2015 )


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  • [Cite as State v. Parsons, 
    2015-Ohio-5103
    .]
    COURT OF APPEALS
    FAIRFIELD COUNTY, OHIO
    FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    STATE OF OHIO                                     JUDGES:
    Hon. William B. Hoffman, P.J.
    Plaintiff-Appellee                        Hon. Patricia A. Delaney, J.
    Hon. Craig R. Baldwin, J.
    -vs-
    Case No. 14-CA-63
    BRANDON PARSONS
    Defendant-Appellant                       OPINION
    CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING:                       Appeal from the Fairfield County Court of
    Common Pleas, Case Nos. 14-CR-178 and
    14-CR-295
    JUDGMENT:                                      Affirmed
    DATE OF JUDGMENT ENTRY:                         December 7, 2015
    APPEARANCES:
    For Plaintiff-Appellee                         For Defendant-Appellant
    GREGG MARX                                     SCOTT P. WOOD
    Prosecuting Attorney                           Dagger, Johnston, Miller,
    Ogilvie & Hampson
    By: ANDREA K. GREEN                            144 East Main Street
    Assistant Prosecuting Attorney                 P.O. Box 667
    Fairfield County, Ohio                         Lancaster, Ohio 43130
    239 W. Main Street, Ste 101
    Lancaster, Ohio 43130
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                      2
    Hoffman, P.J.
    {¶1}   Defendant-appellant Brandon Parsons appeals the July 28, 2014 Judgment
    Entry entered by the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas denying his motion to
    suppress and his subsequent conviction and sentence. Plaintiff-appellee is the state of
    Ohio.
    STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE
    {¶2}   On March 28, 2014, the Lancaster Police Department was dispatched to
    1213 N. Columbus St., Lancaster, Ohio after two separate 911 calls. The first caller
    reported witnessing a man chase after a woman. The caller stated a woman was
    screaming "Call 911!" and could be heard beating on an upstairs residence door.
    {¶3}   The second caller identified himself as Jason Sisson, an upstairs neighbor
    of Appellant. He reported Appellant's girlfriend, J.H., had run upstairs to his apartment
    and banged on the door to be let inside. Sisson reported to the 911 operator, after he let
    J.H. inside the apartment and locked the outside door, J.H. asked Sisson to call 911.
    Sisson stated J.H. entered his residence and went to the bathroom, where she locked
    herself inside. Appellant then proceeded to break through the outer door and progressed
    to the locked bathroom door, which he broke down. Sisson reported Appellant retrieved
    J.H. from the bathroom and pulled her back down the stairs to the lower residence.
    {¶4}   Officer Dotson of the Lancaster Police Department was the first to arrive on
    the scene. He testified at the suppression hearing he responded to a call of a female
    being dragged from a downstairs “apartment-like duplex”. Upon arriving at the scene, he
    observed a female at a doorway of a residence, about 50 yards away, calling for a dog.
    She appeared to see the officer, and then turned to go back inside. When Officer Dotson
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    3
    saw her, he was approximately 50 yards away. It was dark outside, and the officer could
    not see her face clearly. He was unable to tell anything about her demeanor or condition.
    He indicated it was dark, the residence was a duplex, so he was unsure to which door he
    was responding. He could not see the person’s face, but could tell by her voice it was a
    female. When Officer Dotson knocked on the door to the residence and attempted to
    make contact, the occupants of the apartment did not respond. Officer Dotson testified
    he did not know whether the woman was the victim of the 911 call, and he was unable to
    tell whether she was in need of assistance.
    {¶5}   At the same time, Officer Spiegel of the Lancaster Police Department
    contacted Jason Sisson, who resided in the upstairs apartment and was the individual
    who made the 911 call. Sisson told Officer Spiegel J.H. had run up the stairs, banged on
    the door, and screamed for help. She screamed, "He's going to get me, he's right behind
    me!" and ran into the bathroom, closing the door. Sisson locked the outer door, and
    Appellant, who was running behind J.H., forced his way into the apartment. Appellant ran
    into the bathroom, smashed the door off the hinges, and dragged J.H. out of the
    apartment. Officer Spiegel observed the outer door and the double panes of glass on the
    front door of Sisson's apartment had been smashed. Further, Officer Spiegel observed
    the damage to the door jamb of Sisson's bathroom door leaning against the wall, and
    observed the same was completely ripped from the hinges.
    {¶6}   After speaking with Sisson, Officer Spiegel went back downstairs and spoke
    with another neighbor, who reported he observed J.H. screaming around the front of her
    apartment and up the stairs of Sisson's apartment. He then observed Appellant dragging
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                       4
    J.H. down the stairs into the downstairs apartment, prior to calling 911. Officer Spiegel
    relayed this information to the other officers on the scene.
    {¶7}   The officers determined the residence was in fact the residence where the
    female had been observed standing in the entrance. They knocked on the door and
    received no response. The only noise inside the apartment was the sound of a dog
    barking. The officers determined it was necessary due to emergency circumstances to
    make entry into the home without first obtaining a warrant.
    {¶8}   Once inside the residence, the officers located J.H. behind a door to the
    bedroom and Appellant lying on the floor to the same room. Both were uncooperative
    and told the officers to leave. Appellant assumed a defensive, combative, posture, and
    would not “stand down”. After a warning from the officers, Appellant was subdued with a
    laser gun.
    {¶9}   In 2014CR0178, Appellant was arrested, and indicted on one count of
    burglary, in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A) and (D); one count of trespass in a habitation, in
    violation of R.C. 2911.12(B) and (E).
    {¶10} On May 28, 2014, Appellant filed a motion to suppress. The State filed a
    memorandum contra the motion to suppress on July 10, 2014. The trial court conducted
    a hearing on the motion on July 14, 2014.
    {¶11} On July 18, 2014, in Case No. 2014CR0295, Appellant was indicted on one
    count of burglary, in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A)(2) and (D); one count of abduction, in
    violation of R.C. 2905.02(A)(1) and (C); one count of trespass in a habitation, in violation
    of R.C. 2911.12(B) and (E); and one count of domestic violence, of a family or household
    member, in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A), (D)(2).
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                       5
    {¶12} On July 28, 2014, the state filed a Post-Hearing Brief Contra Appellant's
    Motion to Suppress.
    {¶13} Via Judgment Entry of July 28, 2014, the trial court overruled Appellant
    motion to suppress.
    {¶14} Following a jury trial on July 31, 2014 in Case No. 2014CR0178, Appellant
    was found guilty of the burglary and trespass charges. The trial court found the offenses
    to be allied offenses of similar import and sentenced Appellant to a term of three years
    on the burglary charge.
    {¶15} In Case No. 2014CR00295, following a trial to the court on Count Two,
    abduction and Count Four, domestic violence, the trial court, via Verdict of November 10,
    2014, found Appellant guilty of the charge of abduction and not guilty of the charge of
    domestic violence.
    {¶16} On November 12, 2014, the trial court sentenced Appellant to one year in
    prison on Case No. 2014CR0295, consecutive to Case No. 2014CR0178, but suspended
    the sentence in lieu of the imposition of community control.
    {¶17} Appellant appeals, assigning as error:
    {¶18} “I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING APPELLANT’S MOTION
    TO SUPPRESS.
    {¶19} “II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN SENTENCING APPELLANT.”
    I.
    {¶20} Appellant assigns as error the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress.
    {¶21} There are three methods of challenging on appeal a trial court's ruling on a
    motion to suppress. First, an appellant may challenge the trial court's findings of fact. In
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                        6
    reviewing a challenge of this nature, an appellate court must determine whether the
    findings of fact are against the manifest weight of the evidence. See: State v. Fanning
    (1982), 
    1 Ohio St.3d 19
    , 
    437 N.E.2d 583
    ; State v. Klein (1991), 
    73 Ohio App.3d 486
    , 
    597 N.E.2d 1141
    ; State v. Guysinger (1993), 
    86 Ohio App.3d 592
    , 
    621 N.E.2d 726
    .
    {¶22} Secondly, an appellant may argue the trial court failed to apply the
    appropriate test or correct law to the findings of fact. See: State v. Williams (1993), 
    86 Ohio App.3d 37
    , 
    619 N.E.2d 1141
    .
    {¶23} Finally, assuming the trial court's findings of fact are not against the manifest
    weight of the evidence and it has properly identified the law to be applied, an appellant
    may argue the trial court has incorrectly decided the ultimate or final issue raised in the
    motion to suppress. When reviewing this type of claim, an appellate court must
    independently determine, without deference to the trial court's conclusion, whether the
    facts meet the appropriate legal standard in any given case. State v. Curry (1994), 
    95 Ohio App.3d 93
    , 96, 
    641 N.E.2d 1172
    ; State v. Claytor (1993), 
    85 Ohio App.3d 623
    , 627,
    
    620 N.E.2d 906
    ; and State v. Guysinger (1993), 
    86 Ohio App.3d 592
    , 
    621 N.E.2d 726
    .
    As the United States Supreme Court held in Ornelas v. U.S. (1996), 
    517 U.S. 690
    , 
    116 S.Ct. 1657
    , 
    134 L.Ed.2d 911
    , “... as a general matter determinations of reasonable
    suspicion and probable cause should be reviewed de novo on appeal.”
    {¶24} At the suppression hearing, Officer Dotson testified he was the first to arrive
    on the scene on March 28, 2014. Dispatchers put out a call of a domestic disturbance
    between a man and a woman indicating a man had chased a woman into an upstairs
    apartment, forced his way in, and drug her out forcibly removing her back to an apartment.
    {¶25} Officer Dotson testified at the July 14, 2014 suppression hearing,
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                     7
    [OFFICER DOTSON:]
    The layout is kind of interesting. The road is lower than all the
    houses. The houses kind of sit up on a hill and it’s set back a little bit from
    the road.
    As I was walking up to the house, I could see a female at a doorway
    and there was a bunch of dogs kind of running around in the driveway. The
    driveway was shared, so it was kind of a bigger driveway.
    I couldn’t tell who she was. I could just tell it was a female at the
    door and by her voice.
    As I approached, when I believe she saw me, she turned around and
    went into the house. I wasn’t even able to talk to her or call her name.
    Q. About how far away from her were you?
    A. I’d say, about 50 yards.
    Q. Were you able to see her face clearly?
    A. No.
    Q. Was it dark?
    A. Yes.
    Q. Could you tell her demeanor?
    A. No.
    Q. How quickly did she go inside?
    A. I don’t even know if she was - - I don’t know how quickly. She just
    kind of turned and walked right back in, shut the door.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    8
    Q. When you went up there, did you know which residence you were
    responding to?
    A. Not exactly, no. I knew it was an apartment duplex and that was
    the one that appeared to be so. And not until I got up to it was I able to see
    clearly the address.
    Q. What happened next?
    A. We attempted to make contact. I was knocking on the front door.
    I was attempting to look in the windows. No one was answering.
    And then a few other officers arrived. They were trying to make
    contact to the rear entrance. I pretty much stayed more around the front.
    All the other officers were out back. And we didn’t get an answer.
    Q. Now, the residence that you saw this female go into, is that the
    residence you’re referring to?
    A. Yes.
    Q. So you saw her going in there. And contact was attempted to be
    made?
    A. Yes.
    Q. And was that successful at any point in time?
    A. No.
    Q. How were you trying to make contact?
    A. We were knocking on the front door, the back door. We were
    yelling, ‘Police. Come to the door.’ I think we were knocking on some
    windows.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                     9
    Q. For how long did you do that?
    A. I’d say it was at least ten minutes.
    Q. Were you able to see anyone in the residence?
    A. I was not able to see anyone.
    Q. Did you hear any sounds coming from the residence?
    A. No.
    Q. Did you learn any additional information while you were there?
    A. I didn’t speak to anybody. I was overhearing traffic on the radio.
    I was told that a neighbor - - the upstairs neighbor actually was familiar with
    them.
    He saw Brandon come in the house - - well, the female that came in
    the house was asking for help and Brandon came in, broke the door, the
    front door window and bathroom door, and took her, and took her
    downstairs.
    Tr at 27-31.
    {¶26} Officer Spiegel then relayed the information he learned from Jason Sisson
    and the other neighbor witness to the responding officers. A determination was made to
    enter the residence without a warrant due to the exigent circumstances.
    {¶27} Officer Dotson testified at the suppression hearing,
    Q. And was a decision made?
    A. Yes. We found the front - - I think it was a screened-in room. That
    door was unlocked, and there was a second door that was unlocked that
    we went in, which was the main entrance to the house.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                10
    Q. You didn’t have to kick the door in?
    A. No.
    Q. Did you have a warrant at this time?
    A. No.
    Q. Did you - - why didn’t you obtain one?
    A. With the information we had, we believed that it was in the best
    interests of everyone’s safety that we make entrance. We were unsure if
    anyone was harmed in the altercation or was going to be harmed.
    Q. Before you made entrance, did you have that additional
    information from the other neighbors?
    A. Before we made - - yes, yes. They were - - they communicated
    to, I think, Officer Spiegel.
    Q. When you made entrance, did you locate anyone?
    A. Yes.
    Q. Who did you locate?
    A. Brandon was lying on the floor in the bedroom and she was behind
    the door in that same room.
    ***
    On Cross Examination,
    Q. Didn’t you hear her exclaim that you didn’t have a warrant and
    could not come in? Didn’t you hear her say that?
    A. Yes.
    THE COURT: Was that a yes?
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                  11
    OFFICER DOTSON: Yes, sir.
    MR. WOOD: That’s all the questions I have, Your Honor. Thank you.
    On Redirect Officer Dotson’s testimony continued.
    Q. When you did hear [J.H.] say, ‘You don’t have a warrant. You
    can’t come in,’ had you made entry at that time?
    A. Yes.
    Q. And you would have been trying to make contact for, you said, ten
    minutes prior to that?
    A. At least.
    Q. And had you heard - - had any contact from the residents before
    that?
    A. No.
    Q. So she didn’t say, ‘You can’t come in. You don’t have a warrant’
    before you made entrance?
    A. No.
    Q. On what basis did you make the entrance?
    A. We feared for their safety - - her safety.
    Q. Why?
    A. Before the call came in and the neighbors stated that she was
    calling for help and was being drug off by a man and believed that they were
    in the apartment.
    Q. You did - - you said you did see a woman.
    A. Yes.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                      12
    Q. And you said that it turned out to be that same residence; correct?
    A. Yes.
    Q. So why didn’t that change your assessment?
    A. I did not know that was the same female that was in trouble. I
    didn’t know how many people were in the house.
    Q. Would it have changed your assessment if you knew that was the
    same woman?
    A. No.
    Q. Why not?
    A. I wasn’t close enough to her. I don’t know why she was running
    in. There was no - - I didn’t have long enough dealings with her to even be
    able to figure out if it was - - you know, that she needed help or she did not
    need help.
    Tr. at 31-42.
    {¶28} Following the denial of Appellant's motion to suppress, a jury trial was
    conducted on the charges in 2014 CR 0178, and a trial to the court took place on the
    Counts Two and Four in 2014 CR 00295. J.H. testified as to the events of the incident in
    both proceedings, including observing Officer Dotson approach the house, closing the
    door, and refusing to answer the door while the police were knocking.
    {¶29} In addition to J.H.’s testimony, Officer Dotson testified at trial,
    Q. And why did you feel it was necessary to enter the residence?
    A. For the safety of whoever was drug into the house.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                       13
    Q. And you had been unable to make contact with anyone in the
    house up until that point?
    A. Correct.
    ***
    Q. Now, when you - - did you, in fact, enter the apartment?
    A. Yes.
    Q. And where did you go?
    A. The first part is kind of like, I guess, a foyer room. It’s got a screen
    door that’s enclosed. And then the next door actually went in to the living
    quarters of the home. That first part was like the living room area. Off to
    the left was a bedroom, and if you kept going to the right was a
    kitchen/dining room area. And then right in front of you was another door
    that was closed.
    I went to that first, as the other officer checked the other area. As I
    pushed that door open, that’s where I found Brandon Parsons and Jenna.
    Q. Was anyone else in that room?
    A. And Jenna.
    Q. And where were they both located in the room?
    A. Brandon was lying on the floor directly in front of the door. He was
    on his back, his head towards the doorway.
    And Jenna was behind the door as it closed up against the wall.
    ***
    Q. Okay. Now, what happened when you pushed the door open?
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                       14
    A. I first saw Brandon lying there and I came - - I started to enter the
    doorway. And as I paused the door, I felt some give-back, and I could tell
    that it was a person and not just objects.
    Q. And what happened next?
    A. We ordered Jenna up and tried to get her out from behind the
    door. And we ordered Brandon to his knees.
    They began shouting at us saying that we didn’t have a warrant to
    enter, that it was illegal. And - - -
    Q. Now, let’s focus on the Defendant. What was his demeanor like?
    How was he acting?
    A. He was very hostile towards us. He was uncooperative. He
    refused to obey our orders. As we kept ordering him to his knees, he’d
    stand up. He was kind of posturing. And what I mean by posturing, it’s kind
    of - - his intimidating stance as if he was either to fight or, you know, kind of
    stand his ground. And just, in general, refusing orders from us.
    Q. And what happened at that time?
    A. I was able to pull Jenna from around the door, and I passed her
    off to another officer. And as I turned around, Officer Finan and Brandon
    were engaged in a confrontation. Officer Finan and myself were both
    ordering him back to his knees. At this point, Brandon is directly in the
    doorway. They’re both in the door. And Officer Finan warned him that he
    was going to tase him. Brandon didn’t heed any of the warnings and pretty
    much said that, ‘Go ahead and tase me.’
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    15
    Q. And was he tased at that time?
    A. Yes.
    Q. Now, eventually, was the Defendant - - what happened with the
    Defendant next?
    A. He was tased. He was shot with the taser. It brought him to the
    ground. We were right in the doorway and we kind of moved around him
    and we cuffed him.
    Q. Was he removed from the apartment after that?
    A. Yes. We stood him up and removed him from the apartment right
    away.
    ***
    Q. And did you speak with her?
    A. Yes.
    Q. What was her demeanor like?
    A. She was uncooperative. She was not wanting us there at all.
    Q. Did you have an opportunity to be within a couple of feet of her at
    any point?
    A. Yes.
    Q. Were you able to observe anything about her physical
    appearance?
    A. Her face was very red, kind of puffy as if she had been crying.
    She had dried blood around her lips.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                   16
    Q. Now, did you include information about these observations of her
    physical appearance in your report?
    A. No.
    Q. Why not?
    A. I don’t know.
    Q. Was she willing to talk about anything that had happened that
    night, without saying what she said?
    A. No.
    Tr. at 102-107.
    {¶30} Based upon totality of the facts and circumstances presented herein, we
    find the trial court did not err in denying Appellant’s motion to suppress herein.
    {¶31} The first assignment of error is overruled.
    II.
    {¶32} In the second assignment of error, Appellant appeals his sentence imposed
    by the trial court.    Specifically, Appellant argues his sentence for burglary and his
    sentence for abduction are allied offenses of similar import; therefore, should merge for
    the purposes of sentencing. We disagree.
    {¶33} Revised Code, Section 2941.25 reads,
    (A) Where the same conduct by defendant can be construed to
    constitute two or more allied offenses of similar import, the indictment or
    information may contain counts for all such offenses, but the defendant may
    be convicted of only one.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    17
    (B) Where the defendant's conduct constitutes two or more offenses
    of dissimilar import, or where his conduct results in two or more offenses of
    the same or similar kind committed separately or with a separate animus as
    to each, the indictment or information may contain counts for all such
    offenses, and the defendant may be convicted of all of them.
    {¶34} In State v. Johnson, 
    128 Ohio St.3d 153
    , 
    942 N.E.2d 1061
    , 2010–Ohio–
    6314, the Ohio Supreme Court held,
    Under R.C. 2941.25, the court must determine prior to sentencing
    whether the offenses were committed by the same conduct. Thus, the court
    need not perform any hypothetical or abstract comparison of the offenses
    at issue in order to conclude that the offenses are subject to merger.
    In determining whether offenses are allied offenses of similar import
    under R.C. 2941.25(A), the question is whether it is possible to commit one
    offense and commit the other with the same conduct, not whether it is
    possible to commit one without committing the other. Blankenship, 38 Ohio
    St.3d at 119, 
    526 N.E.2d 816
     (Whiteside, J., concurring) (“It is not necessary
    that both crimes are always committed by the same conduct but, rather, it
    is sufficient if both offenses can be committed by the same conduct. It is a
    matter of possibility, rather than certainty, that the same conduct will
    constitute commission of both offenses.” [Emphasis sic]). If the offenses
    correspond to such a degree that the conduct of the defendant constituting
    commission of one offense constitutes commission of the other, then the
    offenses are of similar import.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    18
    If the multiple offenses can be committed by the same conduct, then
    the court must determine whether the offenses were committed by the same
    conduct, i.e., “a single act, committed with a single state of mind.” Brown,
    
    119 Ohio St.3d 447
    , 2008–Ohio–4569, 
    895 N.E.2d 149
    , at ¶ 50 (Lanzinger,
    J., dissenting).
    If the answer to both questions is yes, then the offenses are allied
    offenses of similar import and will be merged.
    Conversely, if the court determines that the commission of one
    offense will never result in the commission of the other, or if the offenses
    are committed separately, or if the defendant has separate animus for each
    offense, then, according to R.C. 2941.25(B), the offenses will not merge.
    {¶35} Recently, the Ohio Supreme Court in State v. Ruff, 2015–Ohio–995, 
    143 Ohio St.3d 114
    , addressed the issue of allied offenses, determining the analysis set forth
    in Johnson to be incomplete. The Court in Ruff, held,
    When the defendant's conduct constitutes a single offense, the
    defendant may be convicted and punished only for that offense. When the
    conduct supports more than one offense, however, a court must conduct an
    analysis of allied offenses of similar import to determine whether the
    offenses merge or whether the defendant may be convicted of separate
    offenses. R.C. 2941.25(B).
    A trial court and the reviewing court on appeal when considering
    whether there are allied offenses that merge into a single conviction under
    R.C. 2941.25(A) must first take into account the conduct of the defendant.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                    19
    In other words, how were the offenses committed? If any of the following is
    true, the offenses cannot merge and the defendant may be convicted and
    sentenced for multiple offenses: (1) the offenses are dissimilar in import or
    significance—in other words, each offense caused separate, identifiable
    harm, (2) the offenses were committed separately, and (3) the offenses
    were committed with separate animus or motivation.
    At its heart, the allied-offense analysis is dependent upon the facts
    of a case because R.C. 2941.25 focuses on the defendant's conduct. The
    evidence at trial or during a plea or sentencing hearing will reveal whether
    the offenses have similar import. When a defendant's conduct victimizes
    more than one person, the harm for each person is separate and distinct,
    and therefore, the defendant can be convicted of multiple counts. Also, a
    defendant's conduct that constitutes two or more offenses against a single
    victim can support multiple convictions if the harm that results from each
    offense is separate and identifiable from the harm of the other offense. We
    therefore hold that two or more offenses of dissimilar import exist within the
    meaning of R.C. 2941.25(B) when the defendant's conduct constitutes
    offenses involving separate victims or if the harm that results from each
    offense is separate and identifiable.
    {¶36} Here, Appellant was convicted of Burglary, in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A)
    and (D), which read,
    (A) No person, by force, stealth, or deception, shall do any of the
    following:
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                     20
    (1) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or
    separately occupied portion of an occupied structure, when another person
    other than an accomplice of the offender is present, with purpose to commit
    in the structure or in the separately secured or separately occupied portion
    of the structure any criminal offense;
    (2) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or
    separately occupied portion of an occupied structure that is a permanent or
    temporary habitation of any person when any person other than an
    accomplice of the offender is present or likely to be present, with purpose
    to commit in the habitation any criminal offense;
    (3) Trespass in an occupied structure or in a separately secured or
    separately occupied portion of an occupied structure, with purpose to
    commit in the structure or separately secured or separately occupied portion
    of the structure any criminal offense.
    {¶37} ***
    (D) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of burglary.
    A violation of division (A)(1) or (2) of this section is a felony of the second
    degree. A violation of division (A)(3) of this section is a felony of the third
    degree.
    {¶38} Appellant was also convicted of Abduction, in violation of R.C.
    2905.02(A)(1) and (C), which reads,
    (A) No person, without privilege to do so, shall knowingly do any of
    the following:
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                                            21
    (1) By force or threat, remove another from the place where the other
    person is found;
    ***
    (C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of abduction. A violation of
    division (A)(1) or (2) of this section or a violation of division (B) of this section
    involving conduct of the type described in division (A)(1) or (2) of this section
    is a felony of the third degree. A violation of division (A)(3) of this section or
    a violation of division (B) of this section involving conduct of the type
    described in division (A)(3) of this section is a felony of the second degree.
    If the offender in any case also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a
    specification as described in section 2941.1422 of the Revised Code that
    was
    {¶39} Appellant maintains he entered his neighbor's apartment for the sole
    purpose of physically retrieving his girlfriend. Appellant maintains the restraint of J.H.
    was merely incidental to the underlying crime of burglary. Appellant broke in through the
    outside door of the apartment, proceeded to the bathroom door and broke down the same,
    retrieved J.H. and drug her out of the apartment.
    {¶40} We find the harm caused to Sisson is separate and distinct from the harm
    caused to J.H. The offenses involved separate and distinct victims. We find the trial court
    did not err in sentencing Appellant.
    {¶41} Appellant's second assignment of error is overruled.
    Fairfield County, Case No. 14-CA-63                                             22
    {¶42} The July 28, 2014 Judgment Entry denying Appellant’s motion to suppress
    and Appellant’s conviction and sentence entered by the Fairfield County Court of
    Common Pleas are affirmed.
    By: Hoffman, P.J.
    Delaney, J. and
    Baldwin, J. concur
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-CA-63

Judges: Hoffman

Filed Date: 12/7/2015

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 12/9/2015