State v. Newman, Unpublished Decision (4-29-2004)
State v. Newman, Unpublished Decision (4-29-2004)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 3} A woman opened the door to the room. Officer Brown saw Newman standing on something in the bathroom, apparently attempting to climb out the broken window. Officer Brown advised Newman that he was under arrest and ordered Newman to come over to him, bend over the table, and put his hands behind his back. Newman walked over to the table, bent over it, and put his hands behind his back.
{¶ 4} As Officer Brown put his mace away and stepped forward to handcuff Newman, Newman knocked Officer Brown backward with his body and tried to run past Officer Brown and out the door. Officer Brown grabbed Newman around the waist. Newman drug Officer Brown out the door several steps. Officer Brown lost his grip on Newman, and tore a tendon in his hand Newman ran away. Throughout the incident Officer Brown was yelling at Newman, informing him that he was under arrest, that he was committing the offense of escape, and that he would go to prison.
{¶ 5} Other officers eventually caught Newman. Officer Brown went to the hospital to receive treatment for the injury Newman caused to his hand The Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Newman on one count of escape in violation of R.C.
{¶ 6} Newman timely appealed, challenging the trial court's classification of his offense as a third degree felony since he was on probation at the time of his arrest. This court affirmed the classification of Newman's offense as a third degree felony in State v. Newman, Scioto App. No. 01CA2819, 2003-Ohio-1061.
{¶ 7} Newman filed an application to reopen his appeal under App.R. 26(B), asserting ineffective assistance of appellant counsel. This court granted the application on June 9, 2003, finding that Newman's counsel was deficient in failing to include the trial transcript in the record, because the absence of a trial transcript prevented this court from reviewing Newman's assignments of error related to his Crim.R. 29 motions and the sufficiency and weight of the evidence. We appointed new appellate counsel to represent Newman.
{¶ 8} Now before the court represented by his new counsel, Newman presents the following as his sole assignment of error: "The trial court violated Mr. Newman's rights to due process under the Ohio and United States Constitutions by overruling his motions to dismiss. The conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence and was based on insufficient evidence. The jury convicted Mr. Newman on evidence insufficient to establish an escape, because the State failed to prove Mr. Newman was under detention when he resisted his arrest."
{¶ 10} The Ohio Supreme Court clearly outlined the role of an appellate court presented with a sufficiency of evidence argument in State v. Jenks (1991),
{¶ 11} This test raises a question of law and does not allow the court to weigh the evidence. State v. Martin (1983),
{¶ 12} Even when a verdict is supported by sufficient evidence, an appellate court may nevertheless conclude that the verdict is against the manifest weight of the evidence because the test under the manifest weight standard is much broader than that for sufficiency of the evidence. State v. Banks (1992),
{¶ 13} In determining whether a criminal conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence, an appellate court must review the entire record, weigh the evidence and all reasonable inferences, consider the credibility of the witnesses, and determine whether, in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the trier of fact clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction must be reversed and a new trial granted. State v. Garrow (1995),
{¶ 15} "A person is under `detention' as that term is used in R.C.
{¶ 17} Newman first argues that he never submitted to Officer Brown's authority, despite the fact that he complied with Officer Brown's orders. Instead, Newman contends that he merely feigned cooperation with Officer Brown in order to trick Officer Brown into stepping out of the doorway and putting his mace away. Thus, Newman states that the jury did not accurately interpret his actions.
{¶ 18} We find that the correct interpretation of Newman's actions is a factual question for the jury to resolve. The State presented evidence that, after Officer Brown told Newman he was under arrest, Newman did exactly what Officer Brown ordered him to do: he walked away from the bathroom window, leaned over the table in front of Officer Brown, and placed his hands behind his back. Based on this evidence, a rational trier of fact could interpret Newman's actions as submission to Officer Brown's authority to arrest. Therefore, sufficient evidence supports a finding that Newman submitted to Officer Brown, and that the State thereby established the "control" necessary to secure detention of Newman. Additionally, the evidence regarding Newman's actions constitutes substantial evidence upon which one could reasonably conclude that Newman submitted to the arrest beyond a reasonable doubt.
{¶ 19} Newman next argues that Officer Brown's own testimony refutes a finding that he was under detention. Specifically, when asked if he had control of Newman in the motel room, Officer Brown responded that he "had a hold of him, under control I did not have." However, Officer Brown also testified, "he was in my detention I just couldn't hang on to the man." While Officer Brown's characterization of the situation and interpretation of the terms "control" and "detention" may be somewhat relevant to the jury's determination, they are not dispositive. The facts remain that Officer Brown had his hands around Newman's waist, Newman drug Officer Brown several feet out the door and down the sidewalk, and Newman injured Officer Brown's hand while breaking free from his grasp. A rational trier of fact could interpret this evidence as proving that Officer Brown detained Newman by exerting physical control over him. Additionally, we find that this evidence constitutes substantial evidence upon which one could reasonably conclude that Officer Brown secured control over Newman beyond a reasonable doubt.
{¶ 20} In sum, we find that the State presented sufficient evidence of control, and that Newman's conviction is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. Newman submitted to Officer Brown and had to break free from physical restraint in order to get away from Officer Brown. Specifically, Newman submitted to his arrest by Officer Brown when he complied with Officer Brown's order to come away from the bathroom window, bend over the table, and put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed. Additionally, Newman broke free from Officer Brown's grasp, injuring Officer Brown in the process. Newman does not dispute that he knew he was under arrest throughout the incident. We find that this constitutes sufficient evidence upon which a rational trier of fact could conclude that Newman was under detention. Additionally, upon reviewing the entire record, weighing the evidence and all reasonable inferences, and considering the credibility of the witnesses, we cannot say that, in resolving conflicts in the evidence, the trier of fact clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that Newman's conviction must be reversed and a new trial granted. The record contains substantial evidence upon which we can reasonably conclude that the State proved all the elements of an escape, in particular the element of "detention," beyond a reasonable doubt.
{¶ 21} Having found that Newman's conviction is supported by sufficient evidence, we find that the trial court did not err when it overruled his Crim.R. 29 motions to dismiss. In addition, having found that Newman's conviction is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, we overrule his sole assignment of error. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
Harsha, J., concur in judgment and opinion.
Evans, J., not participating.
The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Scioto County Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution.
If a stay of execution of sentence and release upon bail has been previously granted by the trial court or this court, it is continued for a period of sixty days upon the bail previously posted. The purpose of said stay is to allow appellant to file with the Ohio Supreme Court an application for a stay during the pendency of proceedings in that court. The stay as herein continued will terminate in any event at the expiration of the sixty day period.
The stay shall terminate earlier if the appellant fails to file a notice of appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court in the forty-five day appeal period pursuant to Rule II, Sec.2 of the Rules of Practice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Additionally, if the Ohio Supreme Court dismisses the appeal prior to expiration of said sixty days, the stay will terminate as of the date of such dismissal.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Exceptions.
Harsha, J.: Concur in Judgment and Opinion.
Evans, J.: Not Participating.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Ohio v. Rocky D. Newman
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Unpublished