State v. Sexton

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 718

Syllabus

FELONIOUS ASSAULT — SELF-DEFENSE — DEADLY FORCE — ALLIED OFFENSES: Defendant's convictions for felonious assault were not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence on defendant's claim of self-defense where the record credibly supports that defendant acted as the first aggressor by striking the victim with a landscaping machete when the victim attempted to remove his wayward dog from defendant's open truck and credible evidence negated that defendant truly believed he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and his only means of escape was in the use of deadly force against the victim, who was older, smaller, and noticeably more frail than defendant. The trial court's imposition of concurrent prison terms in lieu of merging two counts of felonious assault was contrary to law as the offenses constituted allied offenses of similar import, and therefore, the cause must be remanded for resentencing.