State v. Buchanan

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 5348

Syllabus

Aggravated murder, murder, firearm specifications, merger, lesser-included offenses. Appellant challenged his conviction for aggravated murder, arguing that the sufficiency and manifest weight of the evidence did not support a finding that he acted with prior calculation and design. The evidence supported conviction for aggravated murder where appellant and victim pumped gas next to each other for several minutes prior to the shooting. Further support for this element of the offense is that the purported threat that victim made occurred several seconds before the shooting, during which time appellant walked away from the victim, changed course, moved back towards the victim, and shot him. Appellant gave conflicting testimony regarding whether he thought ahead before shooting the victim or was merely reacting, which the court could reasonably have weighed against him, in favor of a finding that he acted with prior calculation and design. Although convictions for lesser-included felonious assault charges merged with aggravated murder, appellant was properly sentenced for related firearm specifications under State v. Bollar, 2022-Ohio-4370.