State v. Ramey

Citations

• 2018 Ohio 3072

Syllabus

The trial court, following a jury trial, merged certain counts resulting in the Defendant-appellant being convicted and sentenced for murder (proximate cause of felonious assault) and aggravated burglary (physical harm). Since Defendant-appellant's commission of felonious assault – with the felonious assault being necessary to the murder conviction – is the aggravating element that made the burglary an aggravated, as opposed to simple, burglary, the offenses of murder (proximate cause of felonious assault) and aggravated burglary are allied offenses of similar import subject to merger. The trial court, accordingly, erred by not merging the two offenses. The record does not support a conclusion that during deliberations the jury had incorrect jury instructions. The trial court's decision to give a \castle doctrine\ instruction that the victim did not have a duty to retreat from his home was an accurate statement of law, and, given the circumstances of the case, the instruction was not an abuse of discretion. Defendant-appellant, given the facts of the case, was not entitled to a voluntary manslaughter instruction. Defendant-appellant, therefore, was not prejudiced by any error regarding the trial court's voluntary manslaughter instruction. Finally, the jury's rejection of Defendant-appellant's self-defense claim was not against the manifest weight of the evidence, and the State produced sufficient evidence that Defendant-appellant trespassed into the victim's home. Judgment reversed in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for re-sentencing. (Hall, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.)