Youngstown Daily Legal News

Witness testimony was enough to find man guilty of taking bag of drugs as he fled scene

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: April 8, 2013

A Franklin County appellate court recently ruled that a man’s conviction for aggravated robbery was not against the manifest weight of the evidence and that he properly was sentenced for that conviction as well as for aggravated murder and attempted murder convictions.

The 10th District Court of Appeals rejected Brian Williams’ claims that evidence was insufficient, but found that the trial court improperly convicted him of having a weapon while under disability.

“For the following reasons, we reverse that judgment in part and remand the matter with instructions,” 10th District Presiding Judge William Klatt wrote for the court.

According to case summary, Williams and Curtis Canty went to a house on South 22nd Street in Columbus on Dec. 14, 2011.

At the time, Mitchell Anderson and his son lived in that house and were present with two other men. Williams allegedly went to the house to pick up drugs from Anderson’s son, who had acquired a large amount of crack cocaine that he kept in a plastic bag.

After being in the house for some time, Williams went to Canty’s car, claiming he was retrieving a cell phone. Williams returned to the house with a gun and shot Anderson and another man in the house, according to case summary.

Anderson’s son stated that he heard Canty ask Williams what he was doing. Anderson’s son then fled out the back door and Williams and Canty left using the front door. One of the men who was at the house was outside smoking when he heard the gunshots and saw Williams and Canty flee with a gun and a bag.

Anderson’s son testified that the bag of cocaine was missing. Anderson survived the shooting, but the other man died of his gunshot wound.

Williams was charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, felonious assault — all with firearm specifications — and one count of having a weapon while under disability. He pleaded not guilty and proceeded to a jury trial in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

The jury found him guilty of all charges and specifications and the trial court found him guilty of having a weapon while under disability. The common pleas court sentenced him to a total of 52 years in prison and Williams appealed to the 10th District.

Williams first argued that the state did not provide sufficient evidence to support his conviction for having a weapon while under disability.

“The state concedes this error, and, upon review, we agree,” Klatt wrote. “Accordingly, we sustain appellant’s first assignment of error.”

Williams further claimed that his conviction for aggravated robbery was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

“Specifically, appellant claims that there was no evidence that he took (Anderson’s son’s) cocaine or was complicit with (Canty) in taking the drugs,” Klatt stated.

On review, the appellate panel found that witness testimony supported that Williams went to the house to pick up drugs and that Williams eventually entered the house with a gun. The man who had been outside smoking during the shooting stated that he saw Williams with a bag and a gun as he left the home. The panel also found that Anderson’s son testified that his bag of crack cocaine was missing when he returned to the house.

“In light of this testimony, the jury did not clearly lose its way and create a miscarriage of justice when it concluded that appellant committed a theft offense by taking ... drugs or, at the least, aided and abetted Canty in doing the same,” Klatt continued.

The judges found that the conviction for aggravated robbery was not against the manifest weight of the evidence and rejected Williams’ assignment of error.

In his final assignment of error, Williams challenged that the trial court entered a different sentence than what was ordered at his sentencing hearing.

The 10th District judges found that the trial court stated his sentences would run concurrently, but entered them as consecutive sentences. However, they determined that in both instances, the court informed Williams that he would serve a total of 52 years.

“Because the trial court’s oral pronouncement of the sentence for Count One is consistent with the judgment entry, we overrule appellant’s third assignment of error,” Klatt stated.

“Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and remand the matter to the trial court to vacate appellant’s having a weapon while under disability conviction and sentence.”

Fellow 10th District judges Lisa Sadler and Julia Dorrian joined Klatt to form the majority.

The case is cited State v. Williams, case No. 2013-Ohio-1250.

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