State v. Searles

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 3109

Syllabus

AUTHENTICATION — PHOTOGRAPHS — ASSAULT – CRIMINAL TRESPASS – EVIDENCE – SELF-DEFENSE: In a trial for assault and criminal trespass, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting photographs of the victim's injuries taken by her friend where the victim properly authenticated the photographs by testifying that the photographs were an accurate representation of her injuries, her friend had taken the photographs on the night of the assault, and she had had an opportunity to review the photographs before testifying. Defendant's conviction for assault was based on sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the victim testified that defendant repeatedly hit her, bit her and pulled her hair, that she suffered pain, and that she has a permanent bald spot where defendant pulled out her hair and a scar from the bite wound inflicted by defendant. Defendant's self-defense claim fails where defendant did not properly raise self-defense at trial and where defendant denied hitting the victim or injuring her. Defendant's conviction for criminal trespass was supported by sufficient evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence where the victim had repeatedly told defendant to leave her apartment, but he refused: under the facts of this case, defendant cannot justify his continued presence in the victim's apartment by claiming that he was trying to retrieve his belongings.