Cleveland v. Wells , 2017 Ohio 8403 ( 2017 )


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  • [Cite as Cleveland v. Wells, 2017-Ohio-8403.]
    Court of Appeals of Ohio
    EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA
    JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
    No. 105208
    CITY OF CLEVELAND
    PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE
    vs.
    CRAIG WELLS
    DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
    JUDGMENT:
    AFFIRMED
    Criminal Appeal from the
    Cleveland Municipal Court
    Case No. 2016 TRD 024732
    BEFORE: Blackmon, J., Kilbane, P.J., and Stewart, J.
    RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED:                     November 2, 2017
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
    Christina M. Joliat
    P.O. Box 391531
    Solon, Ohio 44139
    ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
    Barbara A. Langhenry
    Cleveland Law Director
    By: Kimberly Barnett
    Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
    Lorraine Coyne
    Assistant City Prosecutor
    The Justice Center
    1200 Ontario Street, 8th Floor
    Cleveland, Ohio 44113
    PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, J.:
    {¶1} Craig Wells (“Wells”) appeals from the judgment of the Cleveland Municipal
    Court finding him guilty of driving under suspension in violation of Cleveland Codified
    Ordinance (“C.C.O.”) 435.07, a traffic signal control under violation of C.C.O. 413.03,
    and having fictitious plates in violation of C.C.O. 435.09(f). He assigns the following as
    error for our review:
    The verdict of the Cleveland Municipal Court is against the manifest weight
    of the evidence as the evidence presented was not sufficient as a matter of
    law for finding [Wells] guilty.
    {¶2} Having reviewed the arguments of the parties and the pertinent law, we
    affirm his convictions. The apposite facts follow.
    {¶3} On July 9, 2016, following a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of
    Brookpark and Greyton Roads, Wells was cited for driving under suspension, proceeding
    through a red light, and having fictitious plates. The matter was tried to the court on
    October 24, 2016.
    {¶4} Craig Tschappat testified that as he was leaving a wedding reception on
    Brookpark Road in Cleveland at approximately 10:15 p.m., he proceeded to his home in
    Bethesda, Ohio, approximately four hours away.       He drove toward    Interstate 480, and
    waited at a red light at the Greyton Road intersection.   After the light turned green, and
    Tschappat began driving through the intersection with the right of way, his vehicle was
    struck broadside on the driver’s side of the car.      Tschappat testified that the entire
    driver’s side of the vehicle was smashed inward.     He crawled out of the vehicle through
    the passenger side.    As Tschappat exited, Wells apologized “multiple times,” and said
    that he wasn’t paying attention.   They spoke for about two minutes.    However, while en
    route to the hospital in the same ambulance, Tschappat heard Wells telling EMS
    personnel that he was not driving the vehicle involved in the collision. Tschappat later
    made a police report regarding the collision and informed police that Wells had initially
    apologized for the collision, then changed his story.
    {¶5} Cleveland Police Officer Ashley Serrano (“Officer Serrano”)        testified that
    she went to Fairview Hospital immediately after the collision to investigate what had
    happened.    She observed Wells who did not “have much to say.”        A female was in the
    trauma room, and she said that she “was in the car” and was “a passenger.”          Officer
    Serrano learned that the vehicle, a 2005 Honda Civic, displayed license plates for a 2008
    Chevrolet.
    {¶6} Cleveland Police Officer David Fox (“Officer Fox”) learned that Wells’s
    driver’s license was under suspension at the time of the collision. According to LEADS
    information introduced into evidence, Wells’s license was suspended from March 4, 2016
    until March 4, 2017.
    {¶7} The officers issued citations to Wells for driving under suspension, a traffic
    control device violation, and having fictitious plates. He initially signed the citations in
    the wrong section then re-signed them.
    {¶8} Karen Diloreto (“Diloreto”) testified on behalf of Wells and stated that she,
    and not Wells, was driving the 2005 Honda at the time of the collision. According to
    Diloreto, they were taking the vehicle, which was owned by her friend, Keith’s father, to
    the gas station. Diloreto admitted that she did not tell police that she was driving the
    car, but she testified that she did not see any police at the time of the collision.    She also
    admitted that she has not made a police report explaining her role in the crash.
    {¶9} At the conclusion of the case, the trial court stated that it did not find the
    defense witness to be credible and it convicted Wells of all three charges.            Wells was
    then sentenced to 180 days incarceration, suspended, and $1,000 fine, with $900
    suspended on the charge of driving under suspension. He was fined $150, with $100
    suspended for the traffic control signal violation, and $150, with $100 suspended, for
    having fictitious plates.
    {¶10} In his sole assigned error, Wells asserts that insufficient evidence was
    presented to support his convictions. He argues that there was no evidence that he was
    the driver of the 2005 Honda and that Diloreto testified that she was driving at the time of
    the collision.
    {¶11} The question of whether the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain a verdict
    is a question of law. State v. Thompkins, 
    78 Ohio St. 3d 380
    , 386, 1997-Ohio-52, 
    678 N.E.2d 541
    . It is “an inquiry about due process, * * * the resolution of which does not
    allow the court to weigh the evidence.” State v. Martin, 
    20 Ohio App. 3d 172
    , 175, 
    485 N.E.2d 717
    (1st Dist.1983). In a sufficiency inquiry, an appellate court does not assess
    whether the state’s evidence is to be believed but whether, if believed, the evidence
    admitted at trial supported the conviction. State v. Starks, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No.
    91682, 2009-Ohio-3375, ¶ 25, citing Thompkins at 387. “The relevant inquiry is whether,
    after viewing   the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier
    of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable
    doubt.” State v. Leonard, 
    104 Ohio St. 3d 54
    , 2004-Ohio-6235, 
    818 N.E.2d 229
    , quoting
    State v. Jenks, 
    61 Ohio St. 3d 259
    , 
    574 N.E.2d 492
    (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.
    {¶12} The essential elements of driving under suspension are set forth in C.C.O.
    435.07 as follows:
    [N]o person, whose driver’s * * * license * * * has been
    suspended * * * shall operate any motor vehicle upon the public roads and
    highways[.]
    {¶13}     The essential elements of traffic control signal is set forth in C.C.O.
    413.03 as follows:
    Vehicular traffic facing a steady red signal alone shall stop at a clearly
    marked stop line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side
    of the intersection, or if none, then before entering the intersection, and
    shall remain standing until [green signal light].
    {¶14} The essential elements of fictitious plates are set forth in C.C.O. 435.09(f) as
    follows:
    No person shall park or operate any vehicle upon any public street or
    highway upon which are displayed any license plates not legally registered
    and issued for the vehicle, or upon which are displayed any license plates
    that were issued on an application for registration that contains any false
    statement by the applicant.
    {¶15} In this matter, the evidence presented by the city demonstrated that
    Tschappat waited at the intersection of Brookpark Road at Greyton Road while the light
    was red.   He stated that he began traveling through the intersection only after getting a
    green light. As he proceeded through the intersection with the right of way, the 2005
    Honda struck him broadside, smashing in the driver’s side of his car. Tschappat had to
    crawl out of the passenger side in order to exit the car.     As he exited, Wells approached
    him and admitted that he had not been paying attention. According to Tschappat, Wells
    repeatedly apologized for the collision.      Further investigation revealed that Wells’s
    driver’s license was under suspension during the time of the collision, and that the license
    plates on the vehicle were for a 2008 Chevrolet. Although Wells told EMS personnel
    that he was not driving the 2005 Honda, when police spoke with individuals at the
    hospital regarding the collision, no other person claimed to be the driver, and a female
    near Wells stated that she was a passenger.    In the intervening months after the accident
    and prior to the time of trial, no individuals claimed responsibility for the collision. At
    the conclusion of the trial, the court determined on the record that Tschappat was
    credible, but Diloreto was not credible.
    {¶16} In light of all of the foregoing, we are unable to conclude that the
    convictions are supported by insufficient evidence.         Viewing all of the evidence in a
    light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the
    essential elements of the offenses proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
    {¶17}   The assigned error is without merit.
    {¶18}   Judgment affirmed.
    It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant costs herein taxed.
    The court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal.
    It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this court directing the Cleveland
    Municipal Court to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant’s conviction
    having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated.
    A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of
    the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
    PATRICIA ANN BLACKMON, JUDGE
    MARY EILEEN KILBANE, P.J., and
    MELODY J. STEWART, J., CONCUR
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 105208

Citation Numbers: 2017 Ohio 8403

Judges: Blackmon

Filed Date: 11/2/2017

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/2/2017