State v. Harris, Unpublished Decision (3-4-1999)
State v. Harris, Unpublished Decision (3-4-1999)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Defendant-appellant, Kermit Harris, appeals from the judgment of the trial court wherein a jury found defendant guilty of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and disrupting a public service. On appeal, he raises six assignments of error challenging his conviction. For the reasons that follow, we find no merit to these arguments and affirm the judgment of the trial court.Jack Vaughn owned Abby's Laundromat located in Cleveland, Ohio. On December 23, 1996, three males robbed this laundromat. Defendant was identified as being the person who, while brandishing a shotgun, stole money and a pistol and disabled the phone.
The state presented four witnesses. The first, James Moore, was an employee of the laundromat. He was working at 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 23rd when three males came into the laundromat. One of the males asked him to change a fifty dollar bill. Moore identified this man as the defendant. Moore stated that defendant then put his jacket in a washing machine and revealed a shotgun. Everyone was ordered to the floor. Once on the floor, Moore did not look up. He did, however, identify defendant from a photo array two weeks later.
The second witness was David Feathers. He was incarcerated with defendant in the county jail. Feathers stated that defendant admitted to robbing a laundromat with a shotgun, taking a revolver and money, and disabling a phone before he left.
Jack Vaughn, who was present during the robbery, identified defendant as the person who pulled out a shotgun and ordered everyone to lie on the ground. He further testified that the phone lines were pulled out of the wall and money was taken from a desk in the back room. Finally, Vaughn stated that a pistol belonging to Sandy Wright, a former employee, was also stolen.
The final witness for the state was Detective Tim Cercek of the Bedford Heights' Police Department. A week earlier Cercek aided in the apprehension of defendant for the shooting of a Bedford Heights police officer. The gun used in that offense was the same gun stolen from the laundromat. After discussions with the prosecutor and defense counsel, the court allowed Cercek to testify about the recovery of the gun from that incident, but not about the second crime for which defendant was arrested. Cercek then testified that on December 30, 1996, he found defendant lying on the side of the road with a bullet hole in him. Defendant then told the police officers the location of a gun. This gun was the same gun stolen from the laundromat, and defendant's finger prints were found on the clip of the gun.
Defendant presented an alibi defense. His uncle, Donald Harris, testified that defendant was at his house from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Shirley Tidwell stated that when she arrived at the house at 7:00 p.m. defendant was there. Finally, Gregory Harper testified that defendant was at Donald Harris's house when Harper arrived at 6:30 p.m.
The jury convicted defendant on all three counts. Defendant appealed, raising the following assignments of error.
This assignment lacks merit. This court recently held that the state has no obligation to provide statements by defendants not made in connection with the subject case. State v. Soke (1995),
This assignment lacks merit. First, never in Detective Cercek's testimony did the officer specify that defendant was arrested for any specific crime. More importantly, the evidence was not offered to show a propensity for criminal activity. It was offered to rebut defendant's alibi defense by showing that he was in possession of the gun which had been stolen from the laundromat earlier that week. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in permitting Detective Cercek's testimony.
Although a court of appeals may determine that a judgment of a trial court is sustained by sufficient evidence, that court may nevertheless conclude that the judgment is against the weight of the evidence. Robinson, supra,
162 Ohio St. at 487 , 55 O.O. at 388-389, 124 N.E.2d at 149. Weight of the evidence concerns "the inclination of the greater amount of credible evidence, offered in a trial, to support one side of the issue rather than the other. It indicates clearly to the jury that the party having the burden of proof will be entitled to their verdict, if, on weighing the evidence in their minds, they shall find the greater amount of credible evidence sustains the issue which is to be established before them. Weight is not a question of mathematics, but depends on its effect in inducing belief." (Emphasis added.) Black's, supra, at 1594.When a court of appeals reverses a judgment of a trial court on the basis that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, the appellate court sits as a "thirteenth juror" and disagrees with the factfinder's resolution of the conflicting testimony. Tibbs,
457 U.S. at 42 ,102 S.Ct. at 2218 ,72 L.Ed.2d at 661 . See, also, State v. Martin (1983),20 Ohio App.3d 172 ,175 , 20 OBR 215, 219,485 N.E.2d 717 ,720-721 ("The court, reviewing the entire record, weighs the evidence and all reasonable inferences, considers the credibility of witnesses and determines whether in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the jury clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered. The discretionary power to grant a new trial should be exercised only in the exceptional case in which the evidence weighs heavily against the conviction.")
This assignment lacks merit. Two eyewitnesses identified defendant at the crime scene, and defendant was later found in possession of a gun stolen during that crime. Accordingly, the jury did not lose its way and create a manifest miscarriage of justice.
The legal concepts of sufficiency of the evidence and weight of the evidence are both quantitatively and qualitatively different.
With respect to sufficiency of the evidence, "sufficiency is a term of art meaning that legal standard which is applied to determine whether the case may go to the jury or whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the jury verdict as a matter of law." Black's Law Dictionary (6 Ed. 1990) 1433. See, also, Crim.R. 29(A) (motion for judgment of acquittal can be granted by the trial court if the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction. In essence, sufficiency is a test of adequacy. Whether the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain a verdict is a question of law. State v. Robinson (1955),
162 Ohio St. 486 , 55 O.O. 388,124 N.E.2d 148 . In addition, a conviction based on legally insufficient evidence constitutes a denial of due process. Tibbs v. Florida (1982),457 U.S. 31 ,45 ,102 S.Ct. 2211 ,2220 ,72 L.Ed.2d 652 ,663 citingJackson v. Virginia (1979),443 U.S. 307 ,99 S.Ct. 2781 ,61 L.Ed.2d 560 .
In support of this argument defendant argues that the eyewitness testimony was unreliable. This argument is misplaced. The reliability of witnesses is germane to a manifest weight argument, but not to a sufficiency argument, because the court does not weigh evidence in determining sufficiency. Construing the evidence in a light most favorable to the state, we find that defendants conviction was supported by sufficient evidence. The state presented (1) eyewitness testimony of defendant committing the robbery, (2) testimony from an inmate describing defendants admission to the robbery, and (3) evidence of defendants fingerprints on the clip of the stolen gun. This evidence is certainly sufficient to support defendants conviction. Accordingly, the fourth assignment of error is overruled.
Crim.R. 7(D) permits the state to amend an indictment to change the name of the victim so long as the identity of the crime is not changed. State v. Phillips (1991),
In the case at bar, the fact that on the indictment the state listed the owner of the gun as the victim, as opposed to the owner of the store which was robbed, does not create the particularized need defendant claims. This information had no effect on the defense. From the statements to the police and from the pretrials, defendant was sufficiently informed that Jack Vaughn was the owner of the store from which the gun and money were stolen. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's request for the transcript of the grand jury proceedings. Defendant's sixth assignment of error is overruled.
Judgment affirmed.
It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant its costs herein taxed.
The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the Common Pleas Court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant's conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial court for execution of sentence.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
JAMES M. PORTER. A.J. and
ANNE L. KILEANE. J. CONCUR
DIANE KARPINSKI, JUDGE.
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