State v. Goldsby

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 967

Syllabus

Felonious assault; strangulation; abduction; inducing panic; domestic violence; Crim.R. 29 motion; manifest weight of the evidence; merger; effective assistance of counsel; court's witness; restitution. Judgment affirmed in part; reversed in part. The State presented sufficient evidence to support the convictions, and the convictions were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. There was no plain error in the trial court's failure to merge the counts. The harm caused by each count was separate and/or committed with a separate animus. Counsel was not ineffective for failing to seek merger of the counts. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the State to call the victim as a court witness, even if the State was not surprised by the victim's recantation. The city and its police department were not victims, and thus the order of restitution in their favor was error. Convictions affirmed; restitution order reversed.