State v. Elyria Acquisition Co. No. 1, Unpublished Decision (3-27-2006)
State v. Elyria Acquisition Co. No. 1, Unpublished Decision (3-27-2006)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} The facts of this case surround a cycle of tire shredding and dumping conducted by Elyria Acquisitions No. 1 ("Elyria"), an Ohio corporation, which occurred between 1999 and 2002. The co-defendants are employees of Elyria; Mary Kay Szabo is the owner and president of the company and Jack Vasi is Szabo's brother and is an employee of Elyria. Elyria operated a scrap-tire storage and shredding facility in Lorain County, Ohio, but the company lost its license to operate as a facility of that type in 1996. After the company lost its operating license, it was ordered by the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas to clean up the approximately 107,000 remaining scrap tires at the facility and to stop receiving additional tires.
{¶ 3} Apart from the license to operate the scrap tire storage facility, Elyria held a license to transport scrap tires. This license was renewed on an annual basis from 1996 through 1999. However, when Elyria applied to have the transportation license renewed in 2000 the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency denied the license renewal. Elyria has not subsequently applied for a license to transport scrap tires.
{¶ 4} However, the State alleged that Elyria transported scrap tires from May 2001 through February 2002 to the scrap tire storage facility in Lorain County. Moreover, the State alleged that the company failed to keep the license registration certificates for the scrap tire transportation license in the company's vehicles as required by R.C.
{¶ 5} Additionally, in May 2002 Defendant Vasi, with the knowledge of Defendant Szabo, signed a contract with Moyer Auto Wrecking ("Moyer") to shred scrap tires located at Moyer's facility in Crawford County. Vasi signed as a representative of a fictitious company called "Waste Tire Recovery"; the phone numbers he provided were the business telephone numbers of Elyria, and the address he listed for "Waste Tire Recovery" was non-existent. Thereafter, Vasi transported a tire shredder owned by Szabo from the Elyria facility into Crawford County for the purpose of shredding tires at the Moyer wrecking facility. He was observed on multiple occasions shredding tires at Moyer's facility.
{¶ 6} On February 13, 2003 the defendants were separately indicted for several offenses stemming from this activity, due to the fact that they were transporting scrap tires and operating a scrap tire storage facility without a license. Szabo was indicted on ten counts of illegal transportation without registration in violation of R.C.
{¶ 7} Upon the motion of the State, the cases against the individual defendants were consolidated for trial. Two trials were set in 2003, but the defendants failed to appear at both trials. Szabo and Vasi were later apprehended by police in Florida, and were subsequently extradited to Ohio for trial that was finally held on September 27, 2004. As stated, the trial court dismissed all of the indicted counts against Waste Tire Recovery; the court also dismissed the ten counts against Elyria and Szabo for illegal transportation in violation of R.C.
{¶ 8} Szabo and Vasi were each ordered to serve two-year prison sentences on the criminal counts, time suspended, and ordered to pay several thousand dollars in fines. Elyria was fined $25,000.00 each for failure to maintain a license and for open dumping. Additionally, Szabo and Vasi were each ordered to pay restitution to Moyer Auto Wrecking in the amount of $20,500.00. The defendants now appeal, asserting the following six assignments of error:
I. The trial court erred to defendant/appellant's prejudice indenying the Rule 29 motion for acquittal of possession ofcriminal tools.
II. The trial court erred to defendants/appellants' prejudiceby overruling defendants' motions for acquittal on all counts ofillegal dumping.
III. The trial court committed plain error by allowing intoevidence a previous Lorain County Court order that prohibiteddelivery of any tires at the site of Elyria Acquisitions.
IV. The trial court erred to defendant/appellants' prejudiceby overruling their motion for acquittal on the charges ofoperating a mobile scrap tire facility without a permit.
V. The trial court erred in finding and sentencingdefendant/appellant Szabo guilty of a felony for a violation ofR.C.
{¶ 10} A trial court should not grant a Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal "if reasonable minds can reach different conclusions as to whether each material element of a crime has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Bridgeman (1978),
{¶ 11} In their first assignment of error, appellants Szabo and Vasi contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for acquittal on the charges of possession of criminal tools because the state failed to establish that they had the requisite intent to use the item in a criminal fashion. They argue that they were using the tire shredder for its legitimate purpose, and the fact that they did so without a license cannot transform the shredder into a "criminal tool."
{¶ 12} However, the fact that an item has a legitimate legal use does not preclude it from being a criminal tool under R.C.
{¶ 13} Upon review of the entire record, we find that the state presented sufficient evidence to establish that Szabo and Vasi possessed a criminal tool. The evidence demonstrates that the Ohio EPA ordered Moyer Auto Wrecking to dispose of scrap tires at their facility, and thereafter Moyer's representatives used an outdated list given to the company by the Ohio EPA to obtain Elyria's phone number. Moyer's representatives called Elyria to obtain services for disposal of scrap tires; they spoke to Jack Vasi, who indicated that he was a representative of Elyria, to obtain a quote for the services. Vasi indicated that he could do the job for $25,000.00, although the nearest quote Moyer's representatives had obtained was $50,000.00. Thereafter, Vasi signed a contract with Moyer Auto Wrecking to shred tires at their facility, even though he knew that Elyria did not possess a license to operate the shredder. In making the agreement, Vasi signed as a representative of a fictitious business after he was told by Moyer's representatives that they would need to send a copy of the agreement to the Ohio EPA in order to demonstrate that they were disposing of the tires.
{¶ 14} Therefore, the evidence demonstrates that Vasi's purpose in transporting the shredder into Crawford County was to operate the shredder without a license in violation of R.C.
{¶ 15} Moreover, the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable trier of fact to conclude that Szabo possessed criminal tools. The shredder was owned by her and utilized by a company that she also owned. Moyer contacted her company for the purposes of disposing of scrap tires. Thus, a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that she was in control of the shredder, even though Vasi had actual possession. Furthermore, because Moyer's representatives believed they were contracting with Elyria, and the contact information for the fictitious business was the actual contact information for Elyria, a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that Elyria and its owner had the purpose to use the shredder without a valid license. Accordingly, appellants' first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 16} In their second assignment of error, appellants claim that the trial court erred in denying their Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal on the charges of open dumping. They argue that the prosecution failed to present evidence of their intent to dispose of the scrap tires at the Elyria facility.
{¶ 17} Defendants Szabo and Elyria were found guilty of open dumping in violation of R.C.
"Open dumping" means the depositing of solid wastes * * * ontothe surface of the ground at a site that is not licensed * * *,if the solid wastes consist of scrap tires, as a scrap tirecollection, storage, monocell, monofill, or recovery facilityunder section
{¶ 18} First, the evidence clearly established that the Elyria facility did not hold a license to operate a scrap tire storage facility after it lost its license in 1996. Second, the evidence presented at trial established that the number of scrap tires at the facility grew in number from 107,000 to over 350,000 in the period since Elyria was ordered to stop receiving additional scrap tires and to dispose of the existing tires at the facility. Moreover, the evidence demonstrated that Defendant Vasi, as a representative of Elyria, entered into a contract with Moyer to dispose of scrap tires. Thus, viewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution, based on the evidence presented reasonable minds could conclude that scrap tires were being deposited at the facility in violation of R.C.
{¶ 19} In the fourth assignment of error, defendants Szabo and Vasi claim that the trial court erred in overruling their Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal on the charges of operating a mobile scrap tire facility without a license in violation of R.C.
{¶ 20} R.C.
{¶ 21} We note that the statute prohibits anyone from operating a scrap tire facility; it does not prohibit operation of a "mobile scrap tire facility." Although the defendants were indicted on the charge of "operating a mobile scrap tire facility in Crawford County," the indictment also specifically charged the defendants with a violation of R.C.
{¶ 22} Even so, there was sufficient evidence in the record to establish that the shredder was a "mobile scrap tire facility." The Ohio Administrative Code defines such a facility as follows:
(a) A "mobile scrap tire recovery facility" * * * means anyunit for processing tires which is designed by the manufacturerfor the regular movement from one operating site to another andwhich the owner or operator has used at more than one locationduring the prior year. "Mobile scrap tire recovery facility"specifically includes any tire cutting, baling, or shreddingequipment that is moved from site to site for the purpose ofprocessing scrap tires into a useable product at the site orbefore the scrap tires are removed from the site.
Ohio Adm. Code
{¶ 23} However, the defense argument ignores the very next sentence of the definition, which specifically covers the situation in the instant case. The evidence shows that the shredder was "shredding equipment that was moved from site to site for the purpose of processing scrap tires." The definition in the Administrative Code specifically covers two separate types of equipment that can constitute a "mobile" facility: a tire processing unit designed to be mobile, and a tire processing unit that is actually moved, regardless of its design. The evidence before the trial court clearly established that the shredder was loaded onto a flatbed truck and moved to the Moyer facility in Crawford County. The agreement with Moyer specifically noted that it was for the purpose of processing the tires at the Moyer facility. Therefore, there was sufficient evidence in the record for the jury to conclude that the shredder met the definition of a "mobile" facility.
{¶ 24} There was also ample evidence that the defendants operated the shredder. Witnesses testified to the fact that Defendant Vasi operated the shredder at the Moyer facility. The evidence also demonstrated that he operated the shedder with the assistance of several Elyria employees. Thus, there was evidence in the record that Defendant Szabo, owner and president of Elyria, caused others under her direct authority to operate the shredder.
{¶ 25} Accordingly, reasonable minds could find against the defendants on each element of the offense. Based on the foregoing, the trial court did not err in overruling the defendants' Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal, and the fourth assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 27} We review questions pertaining to the admission of relevant evidence under Evid.R. 403(A) to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion. State v. Allen (1995),
{¶ 28} We note that the evidence in question, the 1996 order of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, is probative as to appellants' intent to commit open dumping. The order demonstrates that the appellants knew that they were not authorized to operate a tire scrap facility and that to do so would be in violation of both the court order and the statute. The question, then, is whether the effect of permitting the introduction of this evidence outweighed its probative value.
{¶ 29} We hold that the evidence was properly admitted. The appellants assert that the admission of this evidence misled the jury into thinking that Elyria's acceptance of incoming tires in and of itself would constitute open dumping in violation of R.C.
{¶ 30} Appellants have failed to show that the jury was misled in any manner by the admission of the court order into evidence. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence over appellants' objection. The third assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 32} Szabo was indicted on a violation of R.C. 3735.83(A), which requires someone who is transporting scrap tires to "maintain a copy of the registration certificate in each motor vehicle used by the registrant to transport scrap tires." Penalties for violations of Chapter 3734 are delineated in R.C.
(F) Whoever knowingly violates an order issued under division(A) of section
R.C.
{¶ 33} We disagree with defendant Szabo's interpretation of R.C.
{¶ 34} However, a plain reading of the statute leads to the conclusion that the "order" language in the first clause does not apply to subsequent clauses. The clause pertaining to violations of orders issued under R.C.
{¶ 35} Moreover, nothing in R.C.
{¶ 36} Based on the foregoing, the trial court did not err in finding Defendant Szabo guilty of a felony on the charge of failure to maintain a registration license. The sentence was in accordance with the statute, and therefore the fifth assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 38} With regard to the first assertion, a trial court is permitted to impose financial sanctions on an offender, including restitution to the victim of the offender's crime "in an amount based on the victim's loss." R.C.
{¶ 39} With regard to the second claim under this assignment of error, the defendants argue that the trial court erred in sentencing the defendants on separate charges of complicity in operating a mobile tire shredding facility. Essentially, they argue that they cannot be separately sentenced on the complicity charge because they were found guilty and sentenced on the principal offense of operating a mobile scrap tire facility without a license. Thus, the question before this court is whether the defendants can be sentenced separately on both offenses pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 40} At the outset, we note that the defendants never raised this issue before the trial court, and therefore we will review it only for plain error. State v. Comen (1990),
{¶ 41} R.C.
(A) Where the same conduct by defendant can be construed toconstitute two or more allied offenses of similar import, theindictment or information may contain counts for all suchoffenses, but the defendant may be convicted of only one. (B) Where the defendant's conduct constitutes two or moresimilar offenses of dissimilar import, or where his conductresults in two or more offenses of the same or similar kindcommitted separately or with a separate animus as to each, theindictment or information may contain counts for all suchoffenses, and the defendant may be convicted of all of them.
The Supreme Court of Ohio analyzed this statute in State v.Rance (1999),
{¶ 42} In the instant case, we are unable to determine from the record whether the offenses for which the defendants were found guilty were of similar import. We note that other Ohio courts have applied the Rance test and concluded that commission of an offense and complicity to commit an offense were of dissimilar import. See State v. Urbin,
{¶ 43} Based on the record we conclude that there is sufficient evidence to determine that the offenses were committed with a separate animus, and therefore we need not determine if the offenses were of similar import. State v. Cooper,
{¶ 44} Accordingly, the trial court did not error in sentencing defendants separately on the complicity charge because there was a separate animus. Because of the way they were indicted, we conclude that the record would support a finding that each did the act on the dates specified, and were complicit in the act throughout the rest of the time period. Based on the foregoing, the sixth assignment of error is overruled, and the judgments of the trial court is affirmed.
Judgments Affirmed. Bryant and Cupp, J.J., concur.
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