State v. Olverson

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 5583

Syllabus

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY — POSSESSING A WEAPON WHILE UNDER A DISABILITY — EVIDENCE — SUFFICIENCY — MANIFEST WEIGHT — CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES — AGGREGATE SENTENCE: Defendant's aggravated-burglary and possessing-a-weapon-while-under-a-disability convictions were supported by sufficient evidence where the victim and her daughter testified that defendant entered the victim's apartment without permission and had a firearm. Defendant's aggravated-burglary and possessing-a-weapon-while-under-a-disability convictions were not against the manifest weight of the evidence because, while the firearm was never recovered, the victim and the victim's daughter provided identical descriptions of a gun in defendant's possession and lay witness testimony can establish the existence of a firearm. Defendant's conviction for aggravated burglary was supported by sufficient evidence because a rational trier of fact could infer that defendant entered the victim's apartment to assault her where testimony established that defendant was seen walking towards the victim's bedroom and strangled and punched the victim while she slept. Defendant's conviction for aggravated burglary was not against the manifest weight of the evidence despite prior inconsistent statements describing an encounter with defendant where the trial court found the victim credible, and the victim's testimony is corroborated with the remaining evidence in the record. Defendant's consecutive sentences are not contrary to law where the trial court found that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public, are necessary to punish defendant, are not disproportionate to defendant's offenses, and are not disproportionate to the danger defendant poses to the public, and defendant's criminal history shows that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public. The trial court erred when it announced an 11-to-12-year aggregate sentence at the sentencing hearing but journalized an 11-to-13-and-a-half-year aggregate sentenc