State v. Wilson , 2022 Ohio 1146 ( 2022 )


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  • [Cite as State v. Wilson, 
    2022-Ohio-1146
    .]
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
    TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO
    FAYETTE COUNTY
    STATE OF OHIO,                                    :
    Appellee,                                  :      CASE NO. CA2021-10-023
    :           OPINION
    - vs -                                                     4/4/2022
    :
    BILLIE J. WILSON,                                 :
    Appellant.                                 :
    CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM FAYETTE COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
    Case No. CRI 20210132
    Jess C. Weade, Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney.
    Steven H. Eckstein, for appellant.
    S. POWELL, J.
    {¶ 1} Appellant, Billie J. Wilson, appeals from her conviction in the Fayette County
    Court of Common Pleas after a jury found her guilty of single counts of failure to comply
    with an order or signal of a police officer and obstructing justice. For the reasons outlined
    below, we affirm Wilson's conviction.
    Fayette CA2021-10-023
    Facts and Procedural History
    {¶ 2} On June 1, 2021, Sergeant Mike Ross with the Ohio State Highway Patrol
    filed a complaint in the Fayette County Municipal Court charging Wilson with the two above-
    named offenses. According to the affidavit of facts submitted by Sergeant Ross, the
    charges against Wilson arose on May 29, 2021 after Wilson "hindered the apprehension"
    of her son, Kaleb Hensley, who was at that time "being actively chased on foot by state
    troopers stemming from a motor vehicle pursuit." According to Sergeant Ross' affidavit of
    facts, Wilson then "allowed the suspect," Hensley, to "get into her motor vehicle at the
    intersection of Jane and Smith Street [in the village of Jeffersonville, Fayette County, Ohio]
    knowing he was being actively chased by troopers."
    {¶ 3} Sergeant Ross' affidavit of facts further states that once Hensley was inside
    Wilson's vehicle that "Ms. Wilson fled and nearly struck another state trooper," Trooper
    Brian Parsons, "head on in his patrol car while attempting to escape." Sergeant Ross'
    affidavit of facts additionally states that, "[a] short vehicle pursuit ensued again into the
    Village of Jeffersonville." Sergeant Ross' affidavit of facts alleges Wilson then "stopped her
    vehicle and her son," Hensley, "got out and ran on foot again into a residence." Sergeant
    Ross' affidavit of facts concludes by alleging Wilson then "continued on around the block
    and later returned to the scene where she was taken into custody."
    {¶ 4} On June 8, 2021, Wilson appeared before the municipal court and waived a
    preliminary hearing. Upon Wilson waiving a preliminary hearing, the municipal court set
    Wilson's bond at $20,000 and bound the matter over to the Fayette County Court of
    Common Pleas for further proceedings. Approximately six weeks later, on July 23, 2021,
    the Fayette County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Wilson with one count of
    failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B),
    a third-degree felony under R.C. 2921.331(C)(5)(a)(ii). The indictment also charged Wilson
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    with one count of obstructing justice in violation of 2921.32(A)(2), a fifth-degree felony under
    R.C. 2921.32(C)(3).
    {¶ 5} On July 27, 2021, Wilson appeared at her arraignment hearing and entered a
    not guilty plea to both failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and
    obstructing justice charges. After the conclusion of several other unrelated proceedings,
    the matter ultimately proceeded to a one-day jury trial held on October 5, 2021. During trial,
    the jury heard testimony from just two witnesses, Trooper Parsons and Wilson. The jury
    also viewed video footage of the incident taken from Trooper Parsons' cruiser camera. The
    following is a summary of Trooper Parsons' and Wilson's trial testimony and evidence
    presented at that one-day jury trial.
    Trooper Parsons' Trial Testimony
    {¶ 6} Trooper Parsons, a four-year veteran with the Ohio State Highway Patrol,
    testified that he was on duty working "in tandem" with Sergeant Ross on the afternoon and
    early evening hours of May 29, 2021. Trooper Parsons testified that while on duty that day
    he conducted several traffic stops. Trooper Parsons testified that one of those traffic stops
    occurred on southbound I-71 near mile marker 63. Trooper Parsons testified that he
    "discontinued" that traffic stop, however, after receiving word that Sergeant Ross had
    attempted to pull over a red/maroon Dodge Caravan minivan, but that the driver, later
    identified as Wilson's son, Hensley, "was not stopping."1 Trooper Parsons testified that he
    did this in order to "get in position" to provide Sergeant Ross with backup because he knew
    he was "the closest unit to Sergeant Ross."
    {¶ 7} Trooper Parsons testified that after discontinuing his traffic stop, he
    1. The record indicates that, because of this incident, Hensley pled guilty to one count failure to comply with
    an order or signal of a police officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B), a third-degree felony under R.C.
    2921.331(C)(5)(a)(ii), for which he was sentenced to a 24-month prison term.
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    proceeded southbound on I-71 heading towards US 35. Trooper Parsons testified that after
    driving southbound on I-71 for a short while that he "could see them out in the distance," as
    well as the lights from Sergeant Ross' cruiser. Trooper Parsons testified that he then
    continued "just trying to play catch up and get behind the pursuit" as Sergeant Ross followed
    Hensley onto northbound SR 729 towards Jeffersonville, Fayette County, Ohio. Trooper
    Parsons testified that during this pursuit he had his lights on, his siren blaring, and that he
    was traveling at a high rate of speed. Trooper Parsons' testimony is confirmed by video
    footage taken from his cruiser camera.
    {¶ 8} Explaining what happened next, and with the video footage taken from
    Trooper Parsons' cruiser camera playing in the background, Trooper Parsons testified:
    So, as I come into Jeffersonville, I didn't know where Sergeant
    Ross had went. He advised me that they were on an unnamed
    alley. That the male suspect driving the vehicle had fled on foot.
    As I rounded that corner there, I saw the suspect running down
    the road and start to (unintelligible) things around the building
    behind him. I was trying to close distance with my car and I saw
    the suspect jump into this a (sic) grey [F]ord here, at the time
    we didn't know if it was a carjacking.
    {¶ 9} Trooper Parsons testified that he then "positioned [his] patrol car to keep the
    gray vehicle from leaving" and that he "just tried to get the vehicle in a position where [he]
    can stop the person" he was pursing, i.e., Hensley, from escaping. There is no dispute that
    the gray vehicle Trooper Parsons saw Hensley get into was being driven by his mother,
    Wilson. There is also no dispute that Wilson did not stop her vehicle when approached by
    Trooper Parsons in his cruiser. Trooper Parsons testified that Wilson instead sped off and
    "nearly struck [his] patrol car as she pull[ed] away." Trooper Parsons testified that Wilson
    then proceeded to drive away from him at an "excessively fast" rate of speed. Trooper
    Parsons testified that Wilson then ran a stop sign. Trooper Parsons' testimony is again
    confirmed by the video footage taken from his cruiser camera.
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    {¶ 10} Trooper Parsons testified that given Wilson's behavior in speeding away from
    him rather than just stopping her vehicle that he believed Wilson "was running from [him]."
    Trooper Parsons also testified when asked if Wilson slowed back down after speeding away
    from him:
    No, she, she pulls away nearly strikes my patrol car, she pulls
    away, like I said, to me at the time I've been in several pursuits
    in my career, it felt like I was getting into a vehicle pursuit at that
    moment. She pulls away, she makes a left hand turn there onto
    729. Um, if I recall correctly there was even somebody standing
    in his yard right there at that intersection with 729 when she
    makes a left, ah and he was holding up his hands stopping traffic
    because he knew I was coming through. This wasn't a situation
    where anybody in the public would have looked at that and said
    I wasn't in pursuit with that vehicle.
    Trooper Parsons' testimony is once again confirmed by the video footage taken from his
    cruiser camera.
    {¶ 11} Describing what happened next, Trooper Parsons testified:
    I get back into pursuit through Jeffersonville here. Camera
    doesn't pick it up, they [i.e., Wilson along with her son, Hensley,]
    make this right hand turn here onto 729 heading north. As I
    make this right hand turn I can see through my passenger
    window that [Hensley] just bailed on foot. The car continues. I
    stop here and I can see [Hensley] running through this parking
    lot [and] the rest of what happens here will be off camera.
    {¶ 12} Trooper Parsons later testified that he did not believe Wilson actually stopped
    to let Hensley out of her vehicle, but that "she just slowed down to a slow roll and he jumped
    out while the vehicle was moving." Trooper Parsons also testified when re-watching the
    video footage taken from his cruiser camera, in pertinent part, the following:
    This is the final right hand turn unto north 729. As I made that
    right hand turn, I looked through my passenger side window in
    the front. I saw the vehicle slow down and [Hensley] exit. As I
    complete the right hand turn the dash cam picks the vehicle
    back up. I stop, exit the vehicle and go back into foot pursuit [of
    Hensley].
    {¶ 13} Trooper Parsons testified that once he exited his cruiser that he began issuing
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    commands for Hensley to stop. Trooper Parsons testified that Hensley "disregard[ed] those
    commands" and instead continued "to run on foot." Trooper Parsons testified that Hensley
    then went "up some steps behind The Village Pump," a local bar, towards "an apartment
    that sits above that bar." Trooper Parsons testified that Hensley then "continues into that
    apartment" and "disregards all of [his] commands." Trooper Parsons testified that Wilson
    then arrived at the scene driving her gray vehicle. When asked how long it took for Wilson
    to arrive back on the scene, Trooper Parsons testified, "[n]ot, not long, um, my estimation
    maybe five minutes at the most."
    {¶ 14} Describing what Wilson did once she arrived at the scene, Trooper Parsons
    testified that Wilson "parks as if nothing is going on." Trooper Parsons then testified:
    Miss Wilson exits the driver's seat of the vehicle. Um, at this
    point I'm holding lethal cover on the door and the window
    making sure that [Hensley is] not going to come out and shoot
    at me or the patrons that are coming out to see what's going on
    from the bar. Um, I pivot to [Wilson], start giving her commands,
    show me your hands, which she did comply. She showed me
    her hands. I told her to stop. She didn't stop. She continued
    up into the apartment as well.
    {¶ 15} Later describing this same event during his cross-examination, Trooper
    Parsons testified:
    [Wilson] exited the driver's seat of the vehicle, continued in front
    of me. I told her to show me your hands. She did. I told her to
    stop. We had an exchange of words. I don't remember what
    was said. Um, she continues up the steps and into the
    apartment.
    {¶ 16} Trooper Parsons testified that Sergeant Ross, as well as other units, then
    arrived at the scene to provide additional support. Trooper Parsons testified that shortly
    after backup arrived that "the door to the apartment opens." Trooper Parsons testified that
    Wilson then ordered her son, Hensley, "who was our initial suspect, out of the dwelling."
    Trooper Parsons testified that he and Sergeant Ross then took Hensley "into custody, walk
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    him down the steps, place him in the patrol car and then we go back up, we arrest Miss
    Wilson." Trooper Parsons testified that Wilson was at this time "rather upset" with Hensley.
    Trooper Parsons also testified that Wilson was somewhat argumentative, "slightly
    resistant," "kind of fought back with her hands," and "kind of tensed up," when he and
    Sergeant Ross took her into custody and placed her under arrest.
    Wilson's Trial Testimony
    {¶ 17} Wilson testified that on the day in question, May 29, 2021, she received a
    telephone call from her son, Hensley, asking her to pick him up because whatever vehicle
    he was driving that day "kept messing up." Wilson testified that during this conversation
    there was nothing to indicate Hensley was "running from the law," or that Hensley was in
    any trouble whatsoever. Wilson also testified that she did not hear any sirens in the
    background. Wilson further testified that she did not find it odd that he wanted her to pick
    him up. So, because of this, Wilson testified that she and Hensley's girlfriend agreed to go
    pick Hensley up. Explaining what happened next, Wilson testified:
    Um, me and [Hensley's girlfriend] um, decided we was going to
    go pick [Hensley] up so, we was sitting there and we was facing
    like as you turn on the road, we was on the left hand side. And
    ah, I started hearing sirens, I was like what's going on. So, I
    done a U-turn, I was sitting on the left side of the road again, but
    up by the curve and I serious like trying to figure out what was
    going on. And we was just sitting there and [Hensley's girlfriend]
    brought a bubble [i.e., a pipe to smoke methamphetamine] with
    her, I'm going to be honest.
    {¶ 18} Wilson then testified:
    Um, and [Hensley's girlfriend] started hittin it and I was, you
    know, I hit it once and we was just sittin there talking, you know
    just not even paying attention, but I was hearing sirens. I was
    trying to figure out what was going on. And we still conversatin
    (sic) and everything and next thing I know, I see a van just fly
    through and I'm like that's gonna be bad there's trees there, they
    aint even no road there. That's what I thought. I didn't even
    think there was any road there or anything.
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    {¶ 19} Wilson testified that she and Hensley's girlfriend "s[a]t there for a minute"
    before Hensley "runs up to the car" from "down the road a little bit" in the same vicinity that
    she had just seen a van "just fly through." Wilson then testified that as Hensley is getting
    into her car that "the trooper comes like, I thought he was going to T-bone me." Wilson
    testified that she was "freaking out" upon seeing Trooper Parsons' cruiser approach her
    vehicle, so she "just gassed it and I went to the stop sign," stopped, and then turned left.
    Wilson then testified:
    I went turned left and when we was getting up through there
    [Hensley] was like, "they're after me mom" and that's when I
    started flipping out on [Hensley]. I wasn't paying attention to my
    speed cause I was going off. And right before I turned to get to
    the, right where the bank is, to turn um, I made [Hensley] get out
    of the car. I stopped the car. I made him get out. I said you
    brought me into something.
    {¶ 20} Wilson then testified that while Hensley was getting out of her car that she
    told him, "do not go to my house." Thereafter, when asked if, at that point, Wilson felt like
    she was being "chased" by the police, Wilson testified:
    No, I, I from the whole get go I never felt like I was being chased.
    Like even when I turned, I heard the sirens and everything but I
    was arguing with [Hensley] not paying attention to anything, you
    know what I mean? I'm beyond pissed now; you know what I
    mean? I'm sitting here telling [Hensley], "You know how can
    you bring me into this?" Because I'm going to be honest, I have
    a bad rep and I had my life together. I was the general manager
    of a store. I had a brand-new car. I had my life together.
    {¶ 21} Wilson testified that once she realized the police were not following her
    vehicle anymore that she drove back to her apartment, which, as the record indicates, was
    the apartment located above The Village Pump. Wilson testified that once she got to her
    apartment that she realized Hensley had gone to her apartment because "the cops were
    standing there." Wilson testified that this made her "even pissed, more." Wilson testified
    that she then went upstairs to her apartment "to go get [Hensley's] ass out of [her] house."
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    Wilson then testified that it was never her intention at any time to help her son, Hensley,
    evade apprehension by the police.
    Jury's Verdict and Wilson's Sentence
    {¶ 22} Once both parties rested, and after the trial court denied Wilson's Crim.R.
    29(A) motion for acquittal, the jury returned a verdict finding Wilson guilty as charged. The
    trial court then proceeded to sentencing. During sentencing, the trial court determined the
    offenses were allied offenses of similar import that would be merged for purposes of
    sentencing. The state then elected to proceed with sentencing Wilson on the failure to
    comply with an order or signal of a police officer charge. Following the state's election, the
    trial court sentenced Wilson to serve a 36-month prison term, less 61 days of jail-time credit.
    The trial court also ordered Wilson's driver's license be suspended for a period of ten years
    and notified Wilson that she would be subject to a mandatory three-year postrelease control
    term upon her release from prison. The trial court found this sentence was appropriate
    given Wilson's "twenty-year history of not only violation of the law but a complete disregard
    for authority in general and police officers in particular."
    Wilson's Appeal
    {¶ 23} Wilson now appeals the jury's verdict finding her guilty of failure to comply
    with an order or signal of a police officer, raising two assignments of error for review.2
    {¶ 24} Assignment of Error No. 1:
    {¶ 25} THE        TRIAL       COURT        ERRED         IN    DENYING          THE      DEFENDANT-
    APPELLANT'S CRIM.R. 29 MOTION AS THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED WAS
    INSUFFICIENT TO FIND GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT IN VIOLATION OF
    2. We note that, in her appellate brief, Wilson does not challenge the jury's verdict finding her guilty of
    obstructing justice. Therefore, we will limit our analysis to Wilson's conviction of failing to comply with an order
    of a police officer only.
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    HER RIGHTS TO DUE PROCESS AND A FAIR TRIAL UNDER THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND
    FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, AND
    ARTICLE I, SECTIONS 10 AND 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION.
    {¶ 26} In her first assignment of error, Wilson argues the trial court erred by denying
    her Crim.R. 29(A) motion for acquittal on the failure to comply with an order or signal of a
    police officer charge. We disagree.
    Insufficient Evidence Standard
    {¶ 27} The standard of review for a denial of a Crim.R. 29(A) motion for acquittal is
    the same as the standard of review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim. State v.
    Robinson, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2015-01-013, 
    2015-Ohio-4533
    , ¶ 37. "Whether the
    evidence presented is legally sufficient to sustain a verdict is a question of law." State v.
    Kaufhold, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2019-09-148, 
    2020-Ohio-3835
    , ¶ 9, citing State v.
    Grinstead, 
    194 Ohio App.3d 755
    , 
    2011-Ohio-3018
    , ¶ 10 (12th Dist.). When reviewing the
    sufficiency of the evidence underlying a criminal conviction, such as the case here, an
    appellate court examines the evidence to determine whether such evidence, if believed,
    would convince the average mind of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State
    v. Intihar, 12th Dist. Warren No. CA2015-05-046, 
    2015-Ohio-5507
    , ¶ 9. "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. Roper, 12th Dist. Clermont No. CA2021-05-019, 2022-Ohio-
    244, ¶ 39, quoting State v. Jenks, 
    61 Ohio St.3d 259
     (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.
    This test "requires a determination as to whether the state has met its burden of production
    at trial." State v. Boles, 12th Dist. Brown No. CA2012-06-012, 
    2013-Ohio-5202
    , ¶ 34, citing
    State v. Wilson, 12th Dist. Warren No. CA2006-01-007, 
    2007-Ohio-2298
    , ¶ 33.
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    Failure to Comply with an Order or Signal of a Police Officer
    {¶ 28} As noted above, Wilson was convicted of failing to comply with an order or
    signal of a police officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B). Pursuant to that statute, "[n]o
    person shall operate a motor vehicle so as willfully to elude or flee a police officer after
    receiving a visible or audible signal from a police officer to bring the person's motor vehicle
    to a stop." The term "willfully" is not defined within R.C. 2901.22, "which is the statutory
    provision that covers culpable mental states for criminal liability." State v. Cole, 3d Dist.
    Seneca No. 13-10-30, 
    2011-Ohio-409
    , ¶ 22. However, although not defined within R.C.
    2901.22, under Ohio law, the term "willfully" is considered synonymous with the terms
    "purposely" and "intentionally." State v. Cantrell, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 20AP-27, 2021-
    Ohio-180, ¶ 24.
    {¶ 29} "'Purpose is defined in terms of a specific intention either to cause a certain
    result, or to engage in conduct of a certain nature regardless of what the offender intends
    to accomplish through that conduct.'" State v. Roberts, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 91086,
    
    2008-Ohio-5750
    , ¶ 8, quoting 1974 Committee Comment to R.C. 2901.22. Therefore, to
    secure a conviction for failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer in violation
    of R.C. 2921.331(B), the state must prove "the operation of a motor vehicle and the willful
    eluding or fleeing from a police officer after receiving a visible or audible signal to stop, a
    purposeful flouting of a police officer's signal and an attempt to escape." State v. McDonald,
    
    137 Ohio St.3d 517
    , 
    2013-Ohio-5042
    , ¶ 21.
    {¶ 30} To support her first assignment of error, Wilson argues her conviction for
    failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer must be reversed because "the
    evidence she willfully, i.e., purposely, fled or eluded law enforcement is insufficient to
    convict her." This is because, according to Wilson:
    it is only the events from the time the trooper rounded the bend
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    in the road and saw the minivan driver enter the grey car as a
    passenger, to the time the grey car let out the minivan driver
    where there is any state's evidence of Defendant-Appellant
    willfully eluding or fleeing.
    {¶ 31} But, as a simple review of the record reveals, Wilson's summation of the
    evidence presented by the state leaves much to be desired. That is to say, contrary to
    Wilson's claim, the record contains more than enough evidence to support her conviction
    for failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer. This includes the video
    footage of the incident taken from Trooper Parsons' cruiser camera, video footage that, as
    noted above, confirms Trooper Parsons' testimony that Wilson did not stop her vehicle when
    approached by Trooper Parsons' cruiser with his lights flashing and siren blaring. This video
    footage also confirms Trooper Parsons' testimony that immediately after Hensley got into
    Wilson's vehicle that Wilson "nearly struck [his] patrol car as she pulls away" from his cruiser
    at an "excessively fast" rate of speed.
    {¶ 32} The video footage of the incident taken from Trooper Parsons' cruiser camera
    further confirms Trooper Parsons' testimony that he believed Wilson "was running from
    [him]." This was in addition to Trooper Parsons' testimony that "[t]his wasn't a situation
    where anybody in the public would have looked at that and said I wasn't in pursuit with that
    vehicle." Therefore, because the record contains more than enough evidence to support
    Wilson's conviction for failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, Wilson's
    first assignment of error claiming her conviction of failure to comply with an order or signal
    of a police officer was not supported by sufficient evidence lacks merit and is overruled.
    {¶ 33} Assignment of Error No. 2:
    {¶ 34} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT ENTERED A JUDGMENT AGAINST
    APPELLANT, WHICH WAS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.
    {¶ 35} In her second assignment of error, Wilson argues her conviction for failing to
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    comply with an order or signal of a police officer was against the manifest weight of the
    evidence. We again disagree.
    {¶ 36} Unlike a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, a manifest weight of the
    evidence challenge examines the "inclination of the greater amount of credible evidence,
    offered at a trial, to support one side of the issue rather than the other." State v. Barnett,
    12th Dist. Butler No. CA2011-09-177, 
    2012-Ohio-2372
    , ¶ 14, citing State v. Wilson, 12th
    Dist. Warren No. CA2006-01-007, 
    2007-Ohio-2298
    , ¶ 34.                To determine whether a
    conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence, this court "must look at the entire
    record, weigh the evidence and all reasonable inferences, consider the credibility of the
    witnesses, and determine whether in resolving the conflicts in the evidence, the trier of fact
    clearly lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice that the conviction
    must be reversed and a new trial ordered." State v. Morgan, 12th Dist. Butler Nos. CA2013-
    08-146 and CA2013-08-147, 
    2014-Ohio-2472
    , ¶ 34, citing State v. Graham, 12th Dist.
    Warren No. CA2008-07-095, 
    2009-Ohio-2814
    , ¶ 66. But, even then, the determination of
    witness credibility is primarily for the trier of fact to decide, not this court on appeal. State
    v. Baker, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2019-08-146, 
    2020-Ohio-2882
    , ¶ 30, citing State v.
    DeHass, 
    10 Ohio St.2d 230
     (1967), paragraph one of the syllabus. This court, therefore,
    "will overturn a conviction due to the manifest weight of the evidence only in extraordinary
    circumstances when the evidence presented at trial weighs heavily in favor of acquittal."
    Kaufhold, 
    2020-Ohio-3835
     at ¶ 10, citing State v. Blair, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2014-01-
    023, 
    2015-Ohio-818
    , ¶ 43.
    {¶ 37} To support her second assignment of error, Wilson argues her conviction for
    failing to comply with an order or signal of a police officer was against the manifest weight
    of the evidence because "the evidence as the proof of 'fleeing or eluding' was negated by
    trial counsel's cross-examination and case-in-chief." In other words, Wilson argues her
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    conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence because she testified that the
    only reason she "guns it" up the street immediately after her son, Hensley, gets into her
    vehicle is because she believes Trooper Parsons might "hit" her vehicle. However, when
    considering the jury's verdict, the jury clearly found Wilson's testimony as to why she sped
    away from Trooper Parsons immediately after Hensley got into her vehicle lacked credibility.
    {¶ 38} Despite Wilson's claims, this finding was well within the jury's purview as the
    trier of fact and ultimate factfinder. State v. Tenbrook, 12th Dist. Butler No. CA2020-01-
    005, 
    2020-Ohio-5227
    , ¶ 27, citing State v. Graffius, 7th Dist. Columbiana No. 
    18 CO 0008
    ,
    
    2019-Ohio-4961
    , ¶ 11 ("[t]he jury was free to believe either version of the facts and, based
    on [a]ppellant's conviction, apparently believed the victim"). Therefore, because it is well-
    established that a conviction is not against the manifest weight of the evidence simply
    because the jury believed the prosecution testimony, see State v. Thomin, 12th Dist. Butler
    Nos. CA2019-11-188 and CA2019-12-199, 
    2020-Ohio-4625
    , ¶ 19, Wilson's second
    assignment of error claiming her conviction of failure to comply with an order of signal of a
    police officer was against the manifest weight of the evidence also lacks merit and is
    overruled.
    {¶ 39} Judgment affirmed.
    M. POWELL, P.J., and BYRNE, J., concur.
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