State v. Costilla , 2024 Ohio 3221 ( 2024 )


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  • [Cite as State v. Costilla, 
    2024-Ohio-3221
    .]
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO
    SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    LUCAS COUNTY
    State of Ohio/City of Toledo                             Court of Appeals No. L-23-1122
    Appellee                                         Trial Court No. CRB-23-2973
    v.
    Antonio Milo Costilla                                    DECISION AND JUDGMENT
    Appellant                                        Decided: August 23, 2024
    *****
    Rebecca Facey, City of Toledo Prosecuting Attorney, and
    Jimmie Jones, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
    Tyler Naud Jechura, for appellant.
    *****
    ZMUDA, J.
    I. Introduction
    {¶ 1} This matter is before the court on appeal of the judgment of the Toledo
    Municipal Court, sentencing appellant to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended, and
    placing appellant on probation for one year, following a trial to the court and guilty
    verdict on one count of domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A) and one count
    of assault in violation of R.C. 2903.13, each a misdemeanor of the first degree. Finding
    no error, we affirm.
    II. Facts and Procedural Background
    {¶ 2} On March 29, 2023, Toledo Police received two 911 calls regarding a
    disturbance at a home on Willard Street. Each call was brief, with the second call
    received around the time the first call disconnected.
    {¶ 3} The first caller gave her name and address and requested help removing
    someone from her home. The caller then exclaimed, “He’s exposing his privates and
    everything.” When asked who the caller is referencing, she identifies him as her “kid’s
    dad.” The caller then says, “I just want him to leave” and states, “He’s trying to push me
    out of my own house” and “He’s dumping beer and he’s all drunk.” She adds, “He’s an
    alcoholic” and “He’s wrecking all my stuff.” As the caller starts to say, “My daughter is
    freaking the fuck-,” she stops talking to the 911 operator and another female voice is
    heard screaming, “He’s going to fucking kill you” as the operator asks, “what’s his name,
    what’s his name,” before the call disconnects.
    {¶ 4} A second 911 call is received, and immediately the caller is heard screaming,
    “Stop. Mom, he’s going to fucking kill you.” The caller then speaks to the 911 operator
    and asks for police to come to the address, providing the street and address. The 911
    operator informs the caller that 911 received a call already and police are en route to that
    address. The caller never provides her name to the 911 operator, but continues to scream,
    “Stop, please send somebody, hurry, please, please, please.” From this point, the caller
    stops speaking to the 911 operator, but can be heard yelling and screaming at a distance
    from the phone. The recording also includes a man’s voice, saying, “Don’t touch me” and
    2.
    “Why are you so loud?” The recording then includes three voices arguing. Finally, the
    caller says, “Please mom, please get out.” As the 911 operator asks if there are weapons
    or if anyone needs medical attention, the call disconnects.
    {¶ 5} Police arrived around 11:40 a.m. to the address, and proceeded toward the
    home, the upper unit of a duplex. Police first encountered the victim’s daughter on the
    front porch, and the daughter told officers that appellant was in the home, breaking
    everything, and he had stabbed her mother in the face. As police climbed the stairs to the
    upstairs unit, they encountered the victim at the door to the residence, trying to get inside.
    The victim identified herself, and she had visible injuries and blood on her face and head.
    Both the victim and her daughter gave appellant’s name to the officers, and the victim
    told officers that appellant “was just beating the fuck out of me,” and that he did not live
    there.
    {¶ 6} Officers asked appellant to open the door, but he refused and remained
    barricaded in the home. Police forced their way into the residence and took appellant into
    custody in the living room, just inside the front door. The home was in disarray, with
    belongings broken and strewn all over the floor. Appellant was combative and appeared
    inebriated. As police instructed him to stop resisting, appellant claimed he was not
    resisting, and stated, “No, that’s my lady, bitch, she’s tripping, bro.” Police cleared the
    home as officers placed appellant in the back of a cruiser for transport downtown.
    3.
    {¶ 7} On March 29, 2023, appellant was charged with one count of domestic
    violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A), a misdemeanor of the first degree, and one
    count of assault in violation of R.C. 2903.13, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
    {¶ 8} On May 3, 2023, the matter proceeded to a bench trial.
    {¶ 9} At trial, the city had only one witness, Officer Kevin Gracely. After
    establishing Officer Gracely’s background, the city immediately sought to introduce the
    prosecution’s composite Exhibit A, identified as a 911 call. The defense objected “until
    there’s more foundation laid.” The city identified the exhibit as a 911 call, with a
    certificate of authenticity, a “self-authenticated document,” and indicated the call was
    part of the discovery exchanged with the defense. The trial court permitted the city to
    play the 911 audio. After playing audio, the trial court admitted composite Exhibit A
    without objection.
    {¶ 10} Officer Gracely then testified that he was dispatched to the Willard Street
    residence on March 29, 2023, in the morning. He was wearing a body camera and
    testified that he reviewed the video recorded on that date. The city then played Officer
    Gracely’s body camera footage identified as Exhibit B, without objection, stopping at
    intervals to ask Gracely questions.
    {¶ 11} Referring to the video, Gracely identified the young woman he first
    encountered as the victim’s daughter. Police were responding to a possible domestic
    violence situation, and Gracely asked the daughter the name of the man in the residence.
    She told him, “Antonio.” He then encountered the victim as she came down the steps, and
    4.
    noted a cut under her left eye that was bleeding and swollen. After he helped take
    appellant into custody in the home, other officers secured the home. Nobody else was
    present besides appellant, the victim, and the victim’s daughter.
    {¶ 12} The city then presented Exhibit C, a group of photographs of the victim’s
    head and face, showing injury and blood, and pictures of the home, showing property
    damage. Officer Gracely testified that the victim’s injuries were recent, based on the
    redness and swelling and active bleeding. The trial court admitted the photographs
    comprising Exhibit C without objection. The city then introduced Exhibits D and E, birth
    certificates for two children sharing appellant’s surname, born to the victim and appellant,
    with only one of the birth certificates listing appellant as father. The trial court admitted
    Exhibits D and E without objection.
    {¶ 13} On cross examination, Officer Gracely admitted that the victim’s daughter
    told him that she did not witness anything but arrived after the altercation and destruction
    in the home. Gracely also testified that he did not take the photographs that were
    admitted, depicting the injury and damage, and no weapon was taken from the scene.
    {¶ 14} At the close of testimony, defense counsel moved for acquittal, for the first
    time challenging “some statements from a video from someone who’s not subject to cross
    examination in this case.” Counsel argued that appellant’s name was not mentioned on
    the 911 call, sufficient to connect the injuries to appellant. In response, the prosecution
    argued that there was the 911 call, body cam video, documents establishing a relationship
    between victim and appellant, and the visible injuries sustained by the victim. The city
    5.
    argued that, although the evidence is circumstantial, it is probative and “one can deduce
    that this is exactly what happened.”
    {¶ 15} The trial court found the prosecution met its burden of producing evidence
    to support the elements for the charged offenses and denied the motion for acquittal.
    {¶ 16} The defense rested without calling any witnesses and renewed the motion
    for acquittal. After the trial court re-watched the body cam video and played the 911
    audio again, the trial court denied the motion and the parties proceeded to closing
    argument.
    {¶ 17} The city argued that the 911 audio demonstrated the victim and her
    daughter were in fear and appellant’s presence was not welcome. The city also argued
    that the body cam video showed the victim with a “fresh cut below her eye that was
    bleeding” and the testimony established that nobody else besides the victim, her daughter,
    and appellant were present. While no direct evidence was introduced to demonstrate that
    appellant assaulted the mother of his children in the commission of domestic violence,
    the city argued that the circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated the
    elements of the offenses.
    {¶ 18} In response, appellant’s trial counsel argued that there was no evidence to
    connect appellant to the offenses. The victim did not identify appellant by name in the
    911 call, and because the victim did not testify, appellant was not identified as the male
    voice on the 911 audio. The victim’s daughter admitted to arriving after the altercation,
    6.
    and without the victim’s testimony, counsel argued the city failed to meet its burden of
    proof.
    {¶ 19} The city, in reply, argued the victim’s statements on the 911 call occurred
    during a commotion in the home and therefore constituted excited utterances, and the
    victim identified her assailant as “her kids’ dad.” With evidence demonstrating appellant
    is father of two of the victim’s children, the city argued the 911 audio identified appellant,
    appellant was present in the victim’s home when police arrived, and the victim had
    visible, fresh injuries.
    {¶ 20} In entering judgment, the trial court noted the contemporaneous statements
    on the 911 audio, indicating “He’s my kids’ dad” and the daughter’s voice saying, “he’s
    going to fucking kill you.” The trial court noted the sound of a commotion, “a disturbing
    one at that.” The trial court also considered the statements made when police first arrived
    to be excited utterance, considering the ongoing situation with appellant barricaded in the
    home. The trial court noted statements made on the body camera video, including, “‘he
    stabbed my mom in the face,” “He’s beating – he beat the fuck out of me,” “He punched
    me,” and the identification of appellant by name. The trial court further noted that, after
    entering the home by kicking the door in, only appellant was present, and appellant
    referred to the victim as “my lady.” After considering the totality of the circumstances,
    including the officer’s testimony, the body cam video, the 911 audio, the photographs,
    and birth certificates, the trial court found appellant guilty of both charges.
    7.
    {¶ 21} The trial court referred the matter for a presentence investigation report and
    scheduled the matter for sentencing. At sentencing, the trial court imposed a jail term of
    180 days as to the domestic violence charge, with 150 days suspended, and placed
    appellant on active probation for one year, and imposed only a “no fine” sentence as to
    the assault charge. Appellant filed a timely appeal from the judgment.
    III. Assignments of Error
    {¶ 22} In challenging his conviction, appellant asserts the following as error:
    1. The conviction of the defendant should be reversed as the city failed to present
    sufficient evidence and the conviction is against the manifest weight of the
    evidence that was introduced.
    2. The defendant’s 6th Amendment rights were violated during trial as the city used
    testimonial evidence of witnesses not present at trial, thereby depriving him of his
    right to confront those witnesses and cross-examine them.
    IV. Analysis
    {¶ 23} Because the argument regarding the confrontation clause issue is
    potentially dispositive, we address the assignments of error in reverse.
    A. Statements made by the victim and her daughter to the 911 operator and to
    Officer Gracely were not testimonial, and therefore admission of those
    recorded statements did not implicate the Confrontation Clause.
    {¶ 24} In his second assignment of error, appellant argues his right to confront
    witnesses under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution was violated by
    admission of hearsay contained within the 911 calls and the body cam video. The
    8.
    Confrontation Clause bars admission of testimonial hearsay unless the declarant appears
    as a witness at trial or the accused had a prior opportunity for cross-examination.
    Crawford v. Washington, 
    541 U.S. 36
     (2004). We review the admission of hearsay under
    an abuse of discretion standard, but alleged errors involving the Confrontation Clause are
    reviewed de novo. State v. McKelton, 
    2016-Ohio-5735
    , ¶ 97.
    {¶ 25} Appellant does not specifically address the hearsay issue and characterizes
    all recorded statements as testimonial, without any supporting argument. Appellant’s
    reference to the record, moreover, misstates the facts, claiming police found appellant “in
    a closet” or that appellant and the victim were married, or that “there was no information
    on how the injuries were caused, when they happened, or who caused them.” Finally,
    appellant argues that “[t]he only information gathered by Toledo Police came from a
    person who was not in the home [at] the time of the disturbance.” Appellant’s argument is
    contrary to the record of the case. Appellant and the victim were not married, appellant
    was just inside the front door to the home, and the record contains evidence of the source
    of the victim’s injury, from the daughter, the victim, and based on the responding officer’s
    observation upon arriving on scene.
    {¶ 26} Appellant, also, did not object to admission of the 911 audio or the body
    cam video during trial, and only raised the issue of his right to confront witnesses within
    his closing argument. In asserting a Sixth Amendment violation, appellant does not
    identify specific statements that were testimonial, raising only general objections to “both
    911 calls and the TPD bodycam” video, admitted as evidence without objection.
    9.
    Appellant generally argues, “This evidence was clearly testimonial in nature and
    [appellant] did not have an opportunity to cross examine them.”
    {¶ 27} The city’s Composite Exhibit A was admitted as “911 calls,” but the actual
    exhibit in the record on appeal contains audio files for two 911 calls, an incident detail
    report, a certificate of authenticity for the 911 calls, and four body cam video files.
    However, the trial transcript clearly limits the admission of evidence in Composite
    Exhibit A to the two 911 audio recordings. Exhibit B contains Officer Gracely’s body
    cam video, which is a duplicate of one of the body cam video files included in Composite
    Exhibit A. Again, the trial transcript clearly demonstrates that only Officer Gracely’s
    body cam video was played at trial, in conjunction with Gracely’s testimony. Therefore,
    based on the record of trial and appellant’s challenge to all statements in the 911 calls and
    a singular “bodycam,” we must limit our review to the 911 calls from the Composite
    Exhibit A and Officer Gracely’s body cam video from Exhibit B.
    {¶ 28} Without identifying any specific statements within these two exhibits,
    appellant appears to object to all statements recorded within the 911 calls and Officer
    Gracely’s body cam video. We previously considered both 911 calls and body cam video
    relative to confrontation issues, applying the “primary-purpose test” set forth in Davis v.
    Washington, 
    547 U.S. 813
     (2006) and State v. Jones, 
    2012-Ohio-5677
    . Where the
    statements were made during the ongoing emergency and prior to securing the assailant,
    as in this case, we have determined the statements were nontestimonial. See, e.g., State v.
    Schnabel, 
    2019-Ohio-3024
     (6th Dist.); State v. Stevenson, 
    2023-Ohio-4853
     (6th Dist.).
    10.
    {¶ 29} The “primary-purpose test” is used to distinguish between police
    questioning concerning an ongoing emergency and questioning that relates to past
    criminal conduct, to differentiate nontestimonial hearsay from testimonial hearsay.
    “Because ‘only testimonial hearsay implicates the Confrontation Clause,’ the admission
    of nontestimonial statements does not violate the Confrontation Clause.” State v.
    Stevenson, 
    2023-Ohio-4853
    , ¶ 60 (6th Dist.), quoting State v. McKelton, 2016-Ohio-
    5735, ¶ 185.
    {¶ 30} In considering the primary purpose of the statements, “[s]tatements are
    nontestimonial when made in the course of police interrogation under circumstances
    objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police
    assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the circumstances
    objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing emergency, and that the primary
    purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to
    later criminal prosecution.” Jones at ¶ 145, quoting Davis at 822.
    {¶ 31} In State v. Williams, 
    2013-Ohio-726
     (6th Dist.), we determined that a
    neighbor’s 911 call, and a statement that a man was “beating this lady up real good,” and
    that there were no weapons, “He’s just beating her,” were nontestimonial because,
    “[v]iewed objectively, the primary purpose of the statements by the neighbor in the 911
    call was to seek police assistance to aid [the victim] in an ongoing emergency involving
    domestic violence.” Williams at ¶ 9-14. Similarly, in Toledo v. Jenkins, 
    2015-Ohio-1270
    (6th Dist.), we determined the victim’s statements in a 911 call, identifying her attacker
    11.
    immediately after the assault, were a call for help during an ongoing emergency. Jenkins
    at ¶ 16.
    {¶ 32} In State v. Santellana, 
    2020-Ohio-5041
    , we considered whether admission
    of a 911 call violated the Confrontation Clause, applying the primary-purpose test. In that
    case, the trial court admitted the 911 call placed by the victim, stating he had been robbed
    at gunpoint by two men who kicked in his door, describing the robbers as Hispanic and
    black men wearing masks, brandishing guns. The victim reported the robbers drove away
    in a black car, and indicated the direction they fled the scene. Santellana at ¶ 3. A second
    911 call was placed by a bystander, reporting they saw a black vehicle, pursued by police,
    toss a gun from the car. Id. at ¶ 6. Based on the ongoing emergency and the purpose of
    the statements to assist police in responding to the emergency, we determined the 911
    calls were nontestimonial, and therefore did not violate the Confrontation Clause. Id at ¶
    23.
    {¶ 33} In State v. Schnabel, we considered whether a victim’s statements to a 911
    operator were testimonial. In Schnabel, police were called to the scene of a domestic
    disturbance at a hotel. The victim’s statements to the 911 operator were made while the
    assailant, the victim’s husband, was still in their hotel room. The victim was recorded
    yelling at her husband to get away, describing what was done to her and the fact that the
    children witnessed the assault. Schnabel at ¶ 16. We determined the 911 recording did not
    contain testimonial hearsay, “as it was made in response to an ongoing emergency.” Id. at
    ¶ 17.
    12.
    {¶ 34} Moreover, we further found the statements made to the responding officers
    were nontestimonial. When police arrived at the hotel room, the victim was still on the
    phone with 911, and although the husband was outside the door to the room, he seemed
    to be highly intoxicated and the victim and the children were “very upset,” “crying,”
    “shaking,” “highly agitated,” and “yelling.” Id. at ¶ 21-22. The victim told officers that
    her husband grabbed her by her hair and threw her to the ground, complaining of injury
    to her neck. Id. at ¶ 22. We determined the statement by the victim “was to aid in the
    emergency and was not testimonial in nature.” Id. at ¶ 23.
    {¶ 35} Here, the 911 calls were made in quick succession, and based on the
    content of the 911 recordings, occurred during the emergency. Furthermore, the only
    question that received a response identified the assailant as the victim’s “kid’s dad.” A
    911 call to report an ongoing emergency, with statements made contemporaneously with
    the emergency to request police assistance, are not testimonial statements for Sixth
    Amendment purposes. Schnabel, 
    2019-Ohio-3024
     at ¶ 14 (6th Dist.), citing Davis, 
    547 U.S. at 826-827
    .
    {¶ 36} Likewise, the statements made to the responding officers, prior to securing
    appellant and the scene, were not testimonial. The victim and her daughter identified
    appellant, barricaded in their home, with police questioning limited to appellant’s
    location and whether appellant had a gun. The victim’s injuries and demeanor, moreover,
    are clear on the video.
    13.
    {¶ 37} In State v. Stevenson, we addressed the admissibility of body cam video,
    noting only testimonial hearsay implicated rights to confrontation. Stevenson at ¶ 60,
    citing State v. McKelton, 
    2016-Ohio-5735
    , ¶ 185. We applied the primary-purpose test to
    the statements made to police, recorded on body cam video, and considered whether the
    statement was made to assist police in addressing an ongoing emergency. Stevenson at ¶
    61, citing State v. Ford, 
    2021-Ohio-3058
     (6th Dist.), ¶ 22. We focused on whether the
    statement was made to assist police in determining what is happening in the present,
    rather than “establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later prosecution.”
    Stevenson at ¶ 61-62, citing Ford at ¶ 22, quoting Davis v. Washington, 
    547 U.S. 813
    , 822
    (2006).
    {¶ 38} In making this determination, we considered the context, such as whether a
    weapon is involved, and whether a risk continued to exist for the victims, the public, or
    the police. Stevenson at ¶ 62-63. We also considered the manner of the questioning,
    noting a more formal interrogation is likely to result in testimonial statements. Id. at ¶ 64.
    In applying the primary-purpose test, we determined the recorded statements on body
    cam video during an ongoing emergency were nontestimonial, as they were made prior to
    apprehending the assailant. (Citations omitted) Stevenson at ¶ 69-70. In contrast, we have
    previously determined that statements made after police have secured the scene and the
    emergency has passed are testimonial. Stevenson at ¶ 68, citing Toledo v. Sailes, 2008-
    Ohio-6400, ¶ 17 (6th Dist.); Toledo v. Green, 
    2015-Ohio-1864
    , ¶ 21-24 (6th Dist.).
    14.
    {¶ 39} Similarly, in State v. Sproles, 
    2023-Ohio-3403
     (6th Dist.), we considered
    admission of the victim’s statements, recorded on the officers’ body camera, and
    concluded the statements were nontestimonial. Sproles at ¶ 30. At the time of the
    statements, the victim was visibly distraught and packing to flee the home before the
    assailant returned. 
    Id.
     The victim indicated that the assailant was armed and had just
    threatened to kill her. 
    Id.
     Based on the circumstances, we found the statements “had the
    primary purpose to meet an ongoing emergency” and, therefore, were nontestimonial. 
    Id.
    {¶ 40} In this case, police arrived while appellant was barricaded in the victim’s
    home, and the victim and her daughter were both visibly upset. The police asked the
    women for the name of the assailant and whether there were weapons involved. Without
    prompting, the victim’s daughter informed police that appellant had “stabbed” her mother
    in the face, and the victim’s injuries were actively bleeding when police first encountered
    her. The victim, furthermore, was crying and upset, and told police that appellant “was
    just beating the fuck out of me” and indicated the assailant was barricaded inside the
    home. After police gained entry, they took appellant into custody and verified there were
    no other people inside the home.
    {¶ 41} Whether an emergency exists at the time statements are provided is “a
    highly context-dependent inquiry.” Stevenson at ¶ 62, quoting Michigan v. Bryant, 
    562 U.S. 344
    , 353 (2011). Here, based on the record, at the time of the statements recorded by
    the body cam video, the police were clearly trying to assess what was happening, rather
    than what had already happened, prior to taking appellant into custody. 
    Id.,
     citing Davis,
    15.
    
    547 U.S. at 830
    . Furthermore, the victim and her daughter made statements regarding the
    origin of the victim’s injuries spontaneously and in a state of distress, and not in response
    to interrogation. Finally, police asked for appellant’s name and then used that information
    to communicate with appellant through the door, asking him to open the door. Consistent
    with our precedent, such statements were nontestimonial. See, e.g, Stevenson at ¶ 69.
    {¶ 42} Accordingly, considering the record in this case, we find the recorded
    statements of the victim and the victim’s daughter were not testimonial, and therefore did
    not implicate the Confrontation Clause. Appellant’s second assignment of error, therefore,
    is not well-taken.
    B. The convictions on each charge were supported by the sufficiency and weight
    of the evidence.
    {¶ 43} In his first assignment of error, appellant argues that his convictions were
    against the sufficiency and weight of the evidence because the city presented only one
    witness, Officer Kevin Gracely, who did not interview any witnesses, conduct his own
    investigation, or personally witness any of the events inside the home. Appellant argues
    that, without physical evidence from the scene or the testimony of an eyewitness, the city
    failed to sustain its burden of sufficiency by producing evidence as to each element of the
    offenses or its burden by the weight of the evidence by producing credible evidence to
    support the verdict.
    16.
    {¶ 44} Appellant was convicted of domestic violence in violation of R.C.
    2919.25(A) and assault in violation of R.C. 2903.13. R.C. 2919.25(A) provides, “No
    person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a family or household
    member.” R.C. 2903.13 provides, “No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause
    physical harm to another[.]” Appellant argues that, without the testimony of the victim or
    testimony of the officer who took photos of the victim’s injury or property damage, the
    city failed to introduce sufficient and credible evidence to support conviction.
    {¶ 45} Appellant challenges both the sufficiency and weight of the evidence.
    “Sufficiency of evidence is a term of art for applying the legal standard to determine
    whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the verdict as a matter of law.”
    Toledo v. Manning, 
    2019-Ohio-3405
    , ¶ 13 (6th Dist.), citing State v. Thompkins, 
    78 Ohio St.3d 380
    , 386 (1997). The test for sufficiency is one of adequacy, or “whether the
    evidence, if believed, can sustain the verdict as a matter of law.” Manning at ¶ 12, citing
    State v. Myers, 
    2018-Ohio-1903
    , ¶ 132. The sufficiency standard applies to the
    prosecution’s burden of production at trial. State v. Messenger, 
    2022-Ohio-4562
    , ¶ 26.
    {¶ 46} The test of manifest weight of the evidence, on the other hand, applies to
    the prosecution’s burden of persuasion. Messenger at ¶ 26. “A challenge to a conviction
    based on the manifest weight of the evidence questions whether the trial court could find
    a greater amount of credible evidence was admitted at trial to sustain that decision than
    not.” Manning at ¶ 41, citing State v. Montgomery, 
    2016-Ohio-5487
    , ¶ 75, citing
    Thompkins at 387. In reviewing a verdict against the manifest weight of the evidence, we
    17.
    give deference to the trial court’s credibility determinations, and the testimony of a single
    witness, if believed, will support a conviction. Manning at ¶ 41-42, citing Myers, 2018-
    Ohio-1903, ¶ 140-141.
    {¶ 47} Here, the city presented one witness and admitted several exhibits,
    including the 911 recordings and Officer Gracely’s body cam video. This evidence
    demonstrated that appellant was the only male present at the scene, the victim and her
    daughter identified appellant as the assailant, both on the 911 calls and to Officer Gracely
    as he responded to an active scene. Furthermore, the recording showed that the victim
    had visible, still-bleeding injuries to her face and head. Finally, while appellant did not
    reside with the victim, the evidence showed that appellant and the victim had children
    together.
    {¶ 48} Thus, the city presented evidence as to each element of the offenses of
    domestic violence and assault, as charged, to sustain the city’s burden of production. In
    reviewing the entire record, moreover, we do not find that the trial court clearly lost its
    way in weighing the evidence and finding appellant guilty as to each offense.
    Considering the record, the greater amount of credible evidence supported the trial
    court’s verdict as to domestic violence and assault. Based on this record, we find
    appellant’s first assignment of error not well-taken.
    18.
    V. Conclusion
    {¶ 49} Having found substantial justice has been done, we affirm the judgment of
    the Toledo Municipal Court. Appellant is ordered to pay the costs of this appeal pursuant
    to App.R. 24.
    Judgment affirmed.
    A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to App.R. 27.
    See also 6th Dist.Loc.App.R. 4.
    Thomas J. Osowik, J.                           ____________________________
    JUDGE
    Gene A. Zmuda, J.
    ____________________________
    Charles E. Sulek, P.J.                                    JUDGE
    CONCUR.
    ____________________________
    JUDGE
    This decision is subject to further editing by the Supreme Court of
    Ohio’s Reporter of Decisions. Parties interested in viewing the final reported
    version are advised to visit the Ohio Supreme Court’s web site at:
    http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/docs/.
    19.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: L-23-1122

Citation Numbers: 2024 Ohio 3221

Judges: Zmuda

Filed Date: 8/23/2024

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 8/26/2024