State v. Coleman

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 968

Syllabus

The trial court did not err in denying appellant's request for a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter where the evidence at trial did not reasonably support the instruction. The trial court did not err in entering a guilty verdict on a firearm specification accompanying count six of the indictment. Contrary to appellant's argument, the record reflects that the jury did return a guilty verdict on the specification, and the verdict form is part of the record. With regard to the State's cross-appeal, the trial court erred in merging appellant's conviction for discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises into his purposeful-murder conviction. The two offenses were not subject to merger because they were of dissimilar import or significance. The trial court also erred in not imposing a separate three-year prison sentence on a firearm specification accompanying appellant's conviction for discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises. Judgment affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for a partial resentencing.