State v. Rich , 2013 Ohio 857 ( 2013 )

[Cite as State v. Rich, 2013-Ohio-857.]
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO
BUTLER COUNTY
STATE OF OHIO, :
Plaintiff-Appellee, : CASE NO. CA2012-03-044
: OPINION
- vs - 3/11/2013
:
ARON LAURENCE RICH, :
Defendant-Appellant. :
CRIMINAL APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
Case No. CR2011-09-1434
Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, Michael A. Oster, Jr., Government
Services Center, 315 High Street, 11th Floor, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for plaintiff-appellee
Strauss Troy Co., LPA, Martin S. Pinales, Candace C. Crouse, Federal Reserve Bldg., 150
East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, for defendant-appellant
RINGLAND, J.
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Aron Laurence Rich, appeals from his conviction in the
Butler County Common Pleas Court for complicity to trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in
cocaine, possession of cocaine and a major drug offender specification. For the reasons that
follow, we affirm Rich's conviction.
{¶ 2} On August 27, 2011, Hamilton Police Detective Joey Hamilton was investigating
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a drug operation involving Rich and several others, including Daniel Rodriguez Rubio (Rubio)
and Santiago Ayon-Sanchez (Sanchez), when he received information from a confidential
informant (CI) that Rubio was waiting on a drug shipment to come into the area, that Rubio
wanted the CI to rent a vehicle to be used in a drug transaction, and that Sanchez was going
to be flown in from Los Angeles to participate in the transaction.
{¶ 3} Upon receiving this information, Detective Thompson rented a Chevy HHR and
attached a magnetic Global-Positioning-System (GPS) tracking device underneath the
vehicle's rear bumper to allow the detective to monitor the vehicle's movements via a GPS
website and relay this information to his fellow police officers who would be conducting
physical surveillance of the vehicle. Detective Thompson then transferred the vehicle to the
CI. The CI used the HHR to pick up Rubio, and the two of them drove to the Dayton airport
and picked up Sanchez, and then the three of them returned to Hamilton. The police had
outfitted the CI with a wire, and therefore his conversations with Rubio and Sanchez were
recorded.
{¶ 4} On August 29, 2011, Rich, along with Horacio Bernabe and Bhoj Ghale,
traveled in a Chevy Aveo to the Wal-Mart on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Butler County, Ohio
(the Butler County Wal-Mart) and went inside the store. Shortly thereafter, Rubio and
Sanchez, traveling in the HHR that Detective Thompson had provided to the CI, arrived at the
Butler County Wal-Mart. Surveillance video from the store's parking lot shows that Rich,
Bernabe and Ghale arrived at 6:11 p.m.; Rubio and Sanchez arrived nine minutes later.
{¶ 5} At 6:38 p.m., Rich, Bernabe and Ghale walked back to the Aveo in which they
had arrived. After the three shook hands, Bernabe and Ghale got into the Aveo, while Rich
entered the HHR that had been driven there by Rubio and Sanchez. Then the two vehicles
left the Butler County Wal-Mart, with Bernabe and Ghale leaving together in the Aveo and
Rich leaving, alone, in the HHR. Surveillance video from inside the Butler County Wal-Mart
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showed that Rubio and Sanchez were still in the store at the time Rich left in the HHR.
{¶ 6} Cincinnati Police Officer Dan Kowalski, who was wearing plain clothes and
driving an unmarked vehicle, was conducting physical surveillance of the suspects at the
Butler County Wal-Mart. When Officer Kowalski saw Rich get into the HHR and drive away,
he and several of his fellow officers began following Rich in the HHR and Bernabe and Ghale
in the Aveo, as those two vehicles drove south into Hamilton County, Ohio and exited the
highway onto Glendale-Milford Road, at which time the HHR and Aveo split up into different
directions.
{¶ 7} Cincinnati Police Officer Colleen Deegan, who was also conducting physical
surveillance of the suspects, saw the HHR drive near to the Wal-Mart on Glendale-Milford
Road, Hamilton County, Ohio (Hamilton County Wal-Mart), and then saw the HHR execute
an illegal U-turn and head in the opposite direction on I-75 North. Officer Deegan saw that
the HHR was being driven by a white male. Rich is white; Bernabe and Ghale, like Rubio
and Sanchez, are Hispanic.
{¶ 8} About 20 minutes later, Officer Deegan saw the HHR with the white male driver
return to the Hamilton County Wal-Mart. The surveillance video from the Hamilton County
Wal-Mart shows that at 7:17 p.m., Rich parked the HHR, got out and went inside the store.
At 7:31 p.m., Rubio and Sanchez arrived at the store in Rubio's Lincoln Continental. Several
minutes later, Rubio entered the HHR, which had been driven there by Rich, while Sanchez
returned to the Lincoln. Rich, Bernabe and Ghale got into the Aveo. All three vehicles left
the Hamilton County Wal-Mart, and shortly thereafter, all three vehicles were stopped by the
police.
{¶ 9} No drugs were found in the Lincoln, which had been driven to the Hamilton
County Wal-Mart by Rubio and then was driven away from that store by Sanchez, who was
driving the vehicle at the time it was stopped. However, eight kilos of cocaine were found
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inside a toolbox in the back of the HHR, which was being driven by Rubio at the time it was
stopped by police. An additional two kilos of cocaine were later discovered in Rich's storage
locker in a storage facility located on East Kemper Road, Hamilton County, Ohio. The street
value of all the cocaine recovered was estimated to be $1.2 million dollars.
{¶ 10} The police discovered the cocaine in Rich's storage locker as a result of
information they gathered from the GPS tracking device attached to the HHR. The police
learned from the tracking device that after the HHR made the illegal U-turn witnessed by
Officer Deegan, the vehicle traveled to the storage facility on East Kemper Road and stayed
there for approximately ten minutes. The police learned from the storage facility's manager
Amberlie Lawson that Rich had the rented storage locker in 2010 and that Lawson
recognized Rich because he often came to his storage locker. After a drug dog "alerted" on
Rich's storage locker, the police obtained a search warrant for the locker. When the police
executed the warrant, they discovered two toolboxes that contained cocaine and crack
cocaine. The police also found fingerprints on one of the toolboxes that were later
determined to be Rich's fingerprints.
{¶ 11} An 11-count indictment was handed down against Rubio, Rich and Sanchez,
charging them with various counts of complicity to trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine
and possession of cocaine, with a major drug offender specification attached to each count.
Five of the 11 counts in the indictment were directed at Rich, who was indicted on one count
of complicity to trafficking in cocaine (Count Four), two counts of trafficking in cocaine
(Counts Five and Seven), and two counts of possession of cocaine (Count Six and Eight),
with a major drug offender specification attached to each of those five counts. Rubio and
Sanchez subsequently entered into plea bargains with the state, while Rich chose to proceed
to trial.
{¶ 12} Prior to trial, Rich moved to suppress the evidence seized by police as a result
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of their warrantless use of the GPS tracking device to monitor the movements of the HHR
that he drove on the day in question. Rich asserted that the police's warrantless use of the
tracking device violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and
seizures.
{¶ 13} A hearing was held on Rich's motion to suppress, at which Detective Thompson
testified for the state and Rich testified for the limited purpose of establishing that he had
standing to bring a Fourth Amendment challenge to the police's warrantless use of the GPS
tracking device. Rich testified that he received permission to use the HHR from one of his
co-conspirators, Bernabe, but acknowledged that he did not know from whom Bernabe had
received permission to use the vehicle.
{¶ 14} At the close of the hearing, the trial court overruled Rich's motion to suppress
for two reasons:
{¶ 15} First, the trial court, citing Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S. Ct. 421 (1978),
noted that a defendant must have standing in order to challenge the constitutionality of a
search or seizure; that nonowners of a vehicle generally do not have standing to raise such a
challenge; and that even if a defendant is legitimately present in a vehicle, that fact does not
necessarily give the defendant a legitimate expectation of privacy. The trial court found that
the question of whether a person has a legitimate expectation of privacy turns on the facts
and circumstances of each case, and that under the facts and circumstances of this one,
Rich did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the HHR since he had obtained
possession of that vehicle "several times removed" from the person who had rented it, i.e.,
Detective Thompson.
{¶ 16} Second, the trial court noted that leaving aside the issue of whether or not Rich
had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the police's warrantless use of a GPS
tracking device, the police did not need to obtain a warrant to install and use the GPS
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tracking device on the HHR to track the vehicle's movements, given this court's decision in
State v. Johnson, 190 Ohio App. 3d 75, 2010-Ohio-5808 (12th Dist.). Following Rich's
conviction, this court's decision in Johnson was vacated by the Ohio Supreme Court in State
v. Johnson, 131 Ohio St. 3d 301, 2012-Ohio-975.
{¶ 17} Several days later, the trial court overruled Rich's motion to compel the state to
produce "all officer notes and summaries of actions taken in furtherance of the investigation
of this matter by law enforcement." Rich's motion was made in response to the defense's
having seen Detective Thompson refer to certain written notes during his testimony at the
suppression hearing. The notes related to Detective Thomson's investigation of Rich and his
co-conspirators. The trial court overruled the motion to compel, finding that the notes were
"work product" and thus were exempt from disclosure under Crim.R. 16(J)(1).
{¶ 18} At Rich's three-day jury trial, the state presented testimony from a number of
witnesses, including Detective Thompson and his fellow officers who followed and then
arrested Rich on the day in question. The state also presented testimony from its fingerprint
expert, Detective Mark Henson, who testified that the fingerprints found on one of the
toolboxes in Rich's storage locker were Rich's fingerprints. The jury acquitted Rich of one
count of trafficking in cocaine and one count of possession of cocaine, but convicted him of
the remaining charges and specifications. The trial court sentenced Rich to serve ten years
in prison and to pay a $10,000 fine.
{¶ 19} Rich now appeals, assigning the following as error:
{¶ 20} Assignment of Error No. 1:
{¶ 21} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY DENYING APPELLANT'S MOTION TO
SUPPRESS.
{¶ 22} Assignment of Error No. 2:
{¶ 23} THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING RICH'S CRIM.R. 29 MOTION FOR
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ACQUITTAL.
{¶ 24} Assignment of Error No. 3:
{¶ 25} THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT FAILED TO
EXCLUDE THE STATE'S EXPERT WITNESS AT TRIAL.
{¶ 26} Assignment of Error No. 4:
{¶ 27} THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT FAILED TO
REQUIRE THE STATE TO TURN OVER A POLICE REPORT PRIOR TO TRIAL.
{¶ 28} In his first assignment of error, Rich argues the trial court erred in denying his
motion to suppress from evidence any information gathered by police through their
warrantless use of the GPS tracking device they installed on the HHR. Rich asserts that
contrary to what the trial court held, he did have standing to challenge the warrantless use of
a GPS device to track the HHR's movements because he had permission to drive the HHR.
He cites several cases in support of his argument, including State v. Brooks, 12th Dist. No.
CA99-01-002 (Dec. 6, 1999); and State v. Mack, 6th Dist. No. S-95-030, 1996 WL 21048, *3
(Jan. 19, 1996).
{¶ 29} Rich further argues the trial court erred when it found that even if he had
standing to raise a constitutional challenge to the warrantless installation and use of a GPS
tracking device on the HHR, the police still were not required to obtain a warrant prior to
using the GPS tracking device to monitor the vehicle's movements, given this court's decision
in Johnson, 190 Ohio App. 3d at 758, 2010-Ohio-5808. Rich contends that United States v.
Jones, __ U.S. __, 132 S. Ct. 945 (2012) "suggests that the [United States Supreme] Court is
leaning toward concluding that the use of GPS technology to monitor a person's movements
on public streets is a search under the Fourth Amendment." (Emphasis sic.) Therefore, Rich
requests that this court find that the police's warrantless use of a GPS tracking device on the
HHR to track the vehicle's movements was "an unconstitutional violation of [his] Fourth
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Amendment rights, requiring suppression of all evidence gathered against him as 'fruits of the
poisonous tree.'"
{¶ 30} In Johnson, the police attached a GPS tracking device to the undercarriage of a
van owned by Johnson, a suspected drug trafficker. The officers placed the GPS tracking
device on Johnson's van while it was parked at his home. The officers' use of the tracking
device led to Johnson's arrest for drug trafficking. Johnson moved to suppress the evidence
seized from him, arguing the warrantless installation and use of a GPS tracking device
violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The trial
court overruled the motion, and Johnson was convicted.
{¶ 31} On direct appeal, we affirmed the trial court's denial of Johnson's motion to
suppress. This court held that a criminal defendant does not have a reasonable expectation
of privacy in the undercarriage of his vehicle and that "placing the GPS on Johnson's van and
monitoring its movements did not constitute a search or seizure under either the federal or
Ohio constitutions." However, our decision in Johnson was vacated by the Ohio Supreme
Court, which remanded the cause to the Butler County Common Pleas Court for application
of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945. State v. Johnson,
131 Ohio St. 3d 301, 2012-Ohio-975, ¶ 1.
{¶ 32} In Jones, the United States Supreme Court held that the government's
attachment of a GPS tracking device to a vehicle and its subsequent use of that device to
monitor the vehicle's movements on public streets, constitutes a "search," for purposes of the
Fourth Amendment. Id. at 949. Rich acknowledges that Jones cannot be viewed as
controlling in this case, since Jones involved a "classic trespassory search," see id. at 954, in
which the government attached a GPS device to a vehicle registered to the wife of the
defendant in that case, Jones. Jones' wife who had given him permission to drive the
vehicle, and the government acknowledged that Jones was the "exclusive driver" of the
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vehicle, and the defendant was in possession of the vehicle at the time the device was
attached. Id. at 948.
{¶ 33} In this case, by contrast, the police installed the GPS tracking device on the
HHR before Rich took possession of the vehicle, and therefore there was no trespass in this
case. Nevertheless, Rich argues the Jones court recognized that "trespass" is not the
exclusive test for determining whether a Fourth Amendment violation occurred and that under
Jones, situations involving merely the transmission of electronic signals without trespass
remain subject to the analysis called for by Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S. Ct. 507
(1967).
{¶ 34} The Katz approach to whether Fourth Amendment protections apply in a given
circumstance involves a two-part inquiry: (1) whether the individual exhibited a subjective
expectation of privacy, and (2) whether the individual's subjective expectation of privacy is
one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. See United States v. Knotts, 460
U.S. 276, 280-281, 103 S. Ct. 1081 (1983) (discussing Katz).
{¶ 35} Rich argues he had a subjective expectation of privacy that the police would not
use a GPS tracking device to track his every move and that his subjective expectation of
privacy should be recognized by society as an objectively reasonable one. We disagree.
The facts show that Rich received permission to use the HHR from one of his co-
conspirators, Bernabe, who had received permission to use the vehicle from another of their
co-conspirators, Rubio, who had received permission to use the vehicle from the CI, who had
received the vehicle from Detective Thompson. We agree with the trial court that under
these circumstances in which Rich was "several times removed" from the person who rented
the vehicle, i.e., Detective Thompson, Rich did not have an objectively reasonable
expectation of privacy in the vehicle.
{¶ 36} There is an additional reason for upholding the trial court's ruling in this case.
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In Davis v. United States, __ U.S. __, 131 S. Ct. 2419, 2423-2424 (2011), the court held that
"searches conducted in objectively reasonable reliance on binding appellate precedent are
not subject to the exclusionary rule." (Emphasis added.) In so holding, the United States
Supreme Court relied on the "good faith" exception to the exclusionary rule set forth in United
States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 907-921, 104 S. Ct. 3405 (1984) and its progeny. Relying on
Davis, other courts have found that the good-faith exception, as discussed in Davis, will apply
where binding appellate precedent had previously authorized warrantless GPS monitoring.
See, e.g., United States v. Aquilar, D.Idaho No. 4:11-cr-298-BLW, 2012 WL 1600276 (May 7,
2012); and United States v. Heath, D.Mont. No. CR 12-4-H-DWM, 2012 WL 1574123 (May 3,
2012).
{¶ 37} In this case, there was "binding appellate precedent" that previously authorized
warrantless GPS monitoring in this appellate district, namely, our decision in Johnson. Our
decision in Johnson was adopted by the First District in State v. Winningham, 1st Dist. No. C-
110134, 2011-Ohio-6229, which like Johnson, was later vacated by the Ohio Supreme Court
and remanded to the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court for application of Jones. State
v. Winningham, 132 Ohio St. 3d 77, 2011-Ohio-1998, ¶ 2.
{¶ 38} Rich points out that there were other appellate districts in this state that
disagreed with our decision in Johnson; that the issue of whether or not warrantless GPS
monitoring was constitutional had been appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court; and that Jones
was pending before the United States Supreme Court at the time Rich was being tried in this
case. However, the police in this district had both a right and a duty to follow this court's
decision in Johnson until it was overruled by a higher court, which did not occur until after
Rich was convicted and sentenced in this case. As a result, we find that the "good-faith" or
"binding appellate precedent" exception set forth in Davis applies to this case, and therefore
this case is not subject to the exclusionary rule. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in
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overruling Rich's motion to suppress.
{¶ 39} In light of the foregoing, Rich's first assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 40} In his second assignment of error, Rich asserts that the trial court erred in
denying his Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal because the state failed to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that Butler County was the proper venue for trial on any of the counts with
which he was charged and convicted. This argument lacks merit.
{¶ 41} In reviewing a trial court's denial of a Crim.R. 29 motion for acquittal, this court
applies the same standard used for determining whether a conviction is supported by
sufficient evidence, i.e., we examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such
evidence, if believed, would convince the average mind of the defendant's guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. State v. Roy, 12th Dist. No. CA2009-06-168, 2010-Ohio-2540, ¶ 29; and
State v. Hibbard, 12th Dist. Nos. CA2001-12-276, CA2001-12-286, 2003-Ohio-707, ¶ 9.
"After viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, the relevant inquiry is
whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven
beyond a reasonable doubt." Id., citing State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St. 3d 259, paragraph two of
the syllabus.
{¶ 42} Article I, Section 10 of the Ohio Constitution requires a criminal defendant to be
tried in "the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed." R.C. 2901.12(A)
provides that venue lies in any jurisdiction in which an offense or any element thereof is
committed. Although venue is not a material element of an offense, it is a fact that the state
must prove at trial beyond a reasonable doubt unless waived. State v. Draggo, 65 Ohio
St.2d 88, 90 (1981). "For venue to be proper there must be a 'significant nexus' between
one or more of the elements of an offense and the county in which the charge is brought."
Id.
{¶ 43} R.C. 2925.02(A)(3) prohibits a person from preparing a controlled substance for
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shipment. The state presented ample evidence at trial to show that the planning and
preparation for Rich's crimes of conspiracy to trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine, and
possession of cocaine took place in Butler County. The state's evidence showed that the
HHR Rich drove was rented in Butler County. Moreover, Rich's actions that culminated in his
convictions were part of a "course of criminal conduct," under R.C. 2901.12(H). While Rich's
crimes may have been finished in Hamilton County, they were started in Butler County, and
therefore Butler County was a proper venue for Rich's trial. Id.
{¶ 44} Therefore, Rich's second assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 45} In his third assignment of error, Rich argues the trial court abused its discretion
when it permitted the state's fingerprint expert, Detective Henson, to testify at trial because
the state failed to provide the defense with a "complete expert report," prior to trial, as
required by Crim.R. 16(K). Therefore, Rich contends, the trial court was required under that
rule to exclude Detective Henson's expert testimony. We find this argument unpersuasive.
{¶ 46} Crim.R. 16(K) states in pertinent part:
(K) Expert Witnesses; Reports. An expert witness for either
side shall prepare a written report summarizing the expert
witness’s testimony, findings, analysis, conclusions, or opinion,
and shall include a summary of the expert’s qualifications. The
written report and summary of qualifications shall be subject to
disclosure under this rule no later than twenty-one days prior to
trial, which period may be modified by the court for good cause
shown, which does not prejudice any other party. Failure to
disclose the written report to opposing counsel shall preclude the
expert’s testimony at trial.
{¶ 47} Prior to trial, the state provided the defense with an "Evidence Submission
Form" prepared by Detective Henson, which discussed two fingerprint images taken from one
of the toolboxes found in Rich's storage locker. The evidence submission form indicated that
one of the fingerprint images contained seven characteristics that matched Rich's "#2" finger,
and the other contained five characteristics that matched Rich's "#3" finger. The form
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concluded that the fingerprint images "are simultaneous latent prints with 12 total matching
characteristics of fingers #2 & #3, simultaneous fingers of Aaron [sic] Rich."
{¶ 48} Immediately before calling Detective Henson to the witness stand, the state
provided the defense with Detective Henson's PowerPoint presentation which he intended to
present to the jury. The presentation stated that one of the two latent fingerprints found on
the toolbox actually had eight, and not just seven, matching characteristics with Rich's known
fingerprint, and that a third latent fingerprint had been found on the toolbox that had at least
four characteristics that matched Rich's known fingerprint. The presentation concluded that
the "[s]imultaneous latent prints [found on the toolbox] matched against the simultaneous
known prints of Aaron [sic] Rich have a total of 17+ matching characteristics."
{¶ 49} Upon receiving a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, Rich requested that it be
excluded from evidence because it had not been turned over to the defense as required by
Crim.R. 16. The trial court overruled Rich's objection, finding that Crim.R. 16(K) required only
a summary of the expert witness's testimony and not "the finished product or exact word for
word." However, the trial court stated that if Detective Henson's testimony regarding his
PowerPoint presentation contained any new information that had not been contained in the
material provided to the defense during discovery, including the evidence submission form,
the defense was to call that to the trial court's attention, at which time the trial court would
strike any of the new information from Detective Henson's testimony. The trial court also
agreed to adjourn the trial early that day following Detective Henson's direct examination so
that the defense could carefully examine his PowerPoint presentation.
{¶ 50} Detective Henson presented his PowerPoint presentation to the jury, informing
them that two fingerprints had been found on the toolbox that had a total of 13 (and not just
12) characteristics that matched Rich's known fingerprints, and that a third fingerprint was
also found on the toolbox that had at least four characteristics that matched Rich's known
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fingerprint, for a total of 17-plus (and not just 12) characteristics that matched Rich's known
fingerprints.
{¶ 51} The following day, the defense renewed its objection to not receiving Detective
Henson's PowerPoint presentation before trial. When the trial court asked the defense if
Detective Henson had testified to anything that had not been contained in the material that
had been provided to them prior to trial, including the evidence submission form, the defense
responded that Detective Henson had testified "[m]ore completely" in that he "testified with
his analysis and how he reached it, and it is the analysis that is contained in [the PowerPoint
presentation]." When the trial court asked the defense if there was anything else, the
defense responded, "no."
{¶ 52} In support of his assertion that the state violated Crim.R. 16(K) by failing to
provide him with "a complete expert report[,]" Rich calls to our attention that Detective
Henson's PowerPoint presentation contained new information that had not been contained in
the evidence submission form, namely, that there were three fingerprints uncovered from the
toolbox, and not just two, with 17-plus total characteristics, and not just 12, that matched
Rich's known fingerprints. However, Rich is ignoring the trial court's instruction to the
defense to bring to its attention any new information contained in Detective Henson's
testimony at trial regarding his PowerPoint presentation that had not been contained in the
material provided to the defense before trial, including the evidence submission form. Rich is
also ignoring the trial court's offer to strike any such new information from Detective Henson's
testimony if the defense brought it to the trial court's attention. However, the only objection
the defense raised to Detective Henson's testimony was that Detective Henson had testified
"[m]ore completely[,]" in that he testified as to his analysis and how he arrived at it.
{¶ 53} Therefore, the only issue properly before us is Rich's argument that Detective
Henson's expert report regarding the fingerprints found on the toolbox should have been
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"more complete." What Rich means by this is, while the state provided him with a summary
of Detective Henson's conclusions, the state failed to provide him with a summary of
Detective Henson's analysis, and therefore the trial court was obligated under Crim.R. 16(K)
to exclude Detective Henson's testimony for this reason. We find this argument
unpersuasive.
{¶ 54} Crim.R. 16(K) requires an expert witness for either side to "prepare a written
report summarizing the expert witness's testimony, findings, analysis, conclusions, or
opinion[.]" (Emphasis added.) Rich is essentially asking this court to interpret Crim.R. 16(K)
to require expert witnesses to provide a written report with a summary of the expert's
testimony, a summary of the expert's findings, a summary of the expert's analysis, a
summary of the expert's conclusions, and a summary of the expert's opinion. However, Rich
has failed to cite any case law that supports his suggested interpretation of Crim.R. 16(K),
nor are we aware of any. We conclude that the state complied with Crim.R. 16(K) when,
during pretrial discovery, it provided the defense with the evidence submission form prepared
by Detective Henson which contained a summary of Detective Henson's findings and
conclusions that the fingerprints found on the toolbox were Rich's fingerprints.
{¶ 55} Furthermore, the state's purpose in admitting Detective Henson's fingerprint
expert testimony was to provide additional circumstantial evidence that tied Rich to the
cocaine found in his storage locker. However, this testimony was merely cumulative to other
overwhelming circumstantial evidence that the state presented that tied Rich to his storage
locker in which a large amount of cocaine was discovered in the toolboxes located there.
Included in this other circumstantial evidence is the fact that the storage locker had been
rented by Rich in June 2010, the manager of the storage facility, Lawson, was able to identify
Rich at trial because Rich had come to his storage locker often, and that, on the day in
question, Rich's storage locker was accessed at the same time he was observed driving to
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and from the area where the storage facility was located.
{¶ 56} Given the foregoing, Rich's third assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 57} In his fourth assignment of error, Rich argues the trial court abused its
discretion when it refused to compel the state to turn over to him, prior to trial, Detective
Thompson's written investigative notes, the existence of which came to light at the hearing
held on Rich's motion to suppress. Rich asserts that these notes constitute a "police report,"
for purposes of Crim.R. 16(B)(6), and that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing
to order the state to disclose them to the defense. We disagree.
{¶ 58} Detective Thompson's written notes summarize the conversations that occurred
between the CI, Rubio and Sanchez on their August 27, 2011 trip to and from the Dayton
Airport. The notes also record the movements of Rich, Rubio, Sanchez, Bernabe and Ghale
from 6:00 p.m. to 7:48 p.m. on August 29, 2011, and the observations of the suspects'
movements made by Detective Thompson's fellow officers that day. During his testimony at
the suppression hearing, Detective Thompson referred to the notes in question to refresh his
memory of the events surrounding his investigation of Rich. Rich's counsel argued that
Detective Thompson's notes constituted a police "report," for purposes of Crim.R. 16(B)(6),
and therefore the state was obligated under that rule to turn them over to the defense during
discovery. Several days later, Rich's counsel filed a motion to compel production of
Detective Thompson's notes. The trial court overruled Rich's motion to compel on the basis
that the notes he sought constituted "work product" and therefore did not need to be
disclosed under Crim.R. 16(J)(1).
{¶ 59} We note, parenthetically, that Rich's defense counsel failed to ask the trial court
to order the state to produce Detective Thompson's written investigative notes under Evid.R.
612. That rule provides that if a witness uses a writing to refresh his memory for purposes of
testifying, the adverse party is entitled to ask the trial court to order the writing to be produced
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so that the adverse party can inspect the writing and cross-examine the witness about it. Id.
The trial court may order the writing to be produced if the trial court determines it is
necessary and in the interests of justice to do so. Had Rich requested the trial court to order
that Detective Thompson's notes be produced under Evid.R. 612, Rich would have been
entitled to, at least, ask the trial court to determine that it was necessary and in the interests
of justice to require the state to produce the notes so that he could inspect them, cross-
examine Detective Thompson about them, and introduce into evidence any portion of them
relating to Detective Thompson's testimony. Id.
{¶ 60} Crim.R. 16, which was amended in 2010, provides in relevant part:
(B) Discovery: Right to Copy or Photograph. Upon receipt of a
written demand for discovery by the defendant, and except as
provided in division (C), (D), (E), (F), or (J) of this rule, the
prosecuting attorney shall provide copies or photographs, or
permit counsel for the defendant to copy or photograph, the
following items related to the particular case indictment,
information, or complaint, and which are material to the
preparation of a defense, or are intended for use by the
prosecuting attorney as evidence at the trial, or were obtained
from or belong to the defendant, within the possession of, or
reasonably available to the state, subject to the provisions of this
rule:
***
(6) All reports from peace officers * * * [.]
***
(J) Information Not Subject to Disclosure. The following items
are not subject to disclosure under this rule:
(1) Materials subject to the work product protection. Work
product includes, but is not limited to, reports, memoranda, or
other internal documents made by the prosecuting attorney or
defense counsel, or their agents in connection with the
investigation or prosecution or defense of the case[.]"
{¶ 61} The 2010 Staff Notes to Crim.R. 16 state that division (B) "expands the State's
duty to disclose [prior to trial] materials and information beyond what was required under the
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prior rule" and that division (J) "clarifies what information is not subject to disclosure by either
party for reasons of confidentiality, privilege, or due to their classification as documents
determined to be work product."
{¶ 62} Prior to 2010, Crim.R. 16 stated, in pertinent part:
(B)(2) Except as provided in subsection (B)(1)(a), (b), (D), (f),
and (g), this rule does not authorize the discovery or inspection
of reports, memoranda, or other internal documents made by the
prosecuting attorney or his agents in connection with the
investigation or prosecution of the case, or of the statements
made by the witnesses or prospective witnesses to state agents.
{¶ 63} In State v. Carballo, 12th Dist. No. CA88-02-006, 1989 WL 121077, *2-3 (Oct.
16, 1989), this court held that a police officer's notes and surveillance log of a defendant's
activities were police investigation materials that fell within former Crim.R. 16(B)(2), and thus
were not discoverable by the defense. See also State v. Lusane, 8th Dist. No. 42048, 1980
WL 355359, *4 (Dec. 11, 1980) (trial court properly refused to order that a police report be
included in the record, since "[t]he prosecution has no duty to reveal, and the [trial] court has
no authority to compel the prosecution to reveal, the work-product of the police"). However,
Carballo and Lusane were both decided before the current version of Crim.R. 16 became
effective in 2010. Crim.R. 16(B)(6) now requires "[a]ll reports" from "peace officers" like
Detective Thompson to be disclosed to criminal defendants like Rich upon written demand.
{¶ 64} The first question that must be addressed is whether Detective Thompson's
notes are a police "report" for purposes of Crim.R. 16(B)(6). Rich asserts that Detective
Thompson's notes should be deemed to be a police "report" under Crim.R. 16(B)(6), because
Detective Thompson used his notes "just like a police report, in that he referred to them
during his testimony at the suppression hearing in order to refresh his recollection regarding
the facts of the case." Rich further asserts that allowing the state to label all such reports as
"informal" or "personal notes" would render Crim.R. 16(B)(6)'s requirement of turning over
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"[a]ll reports from peace officers" meaningless.
{¶ 65} The state argues that only "official" reports, such as the initial reports of an
offense, reports of an incident taken at the scene and arrest reports, are the type of reports
that must be provided in discovery under Crim.R. 16(B)(6). The state asserts that a police
officer's notes are not a "report," under Crim.R. 16(B)(6), because "logic" dictates that
"Crim.R. 16(B)(6) only intended to include systematic, pre-existing forms created in
conjunction with incidents and arrests." (Emphasis sic.) The problem with this argument is
that if the drafters of Crim.R. 16(B)(6) had intended such an interpretation, it is difficult to
understand why they would not have expressly said so.
{¶ 66} The state argues, in the alternative, that a police officer's notes are entitled to
"work product" protection under Crim.R. 16(J)(1), which, the state contends, is "virtually
identical" to former Crim.R. 16(B)(2). Rich counters that the work product exception set forth
in Crim.R. 16(J)(1) does not apply to police reports since the police are not the "agents" of
the prosecuting attorney. However, Rich's argument ignores the language in Crim.R. 16(J)(1)
that states, "[w]ork product includes, but is not limited to * * *." We conclude that the work
product protection clause in Crim.R. 16(J)(1) can apply to the "work product" of the police, as
well as to that of prosecutors, defense attorneys or their agents. The question that remains
is whether Detective Thompson's notes constitute "work product" that is entitled to protection
under Crim.R. 16(J)(1).
{¶ 67} "Work product," as used in connection with the contents of police reports, has
been traditionally defined as those portions of the report that contain "'the officer's
investigative decisions, interpretations and interpolations[.]'" State v. Cunningham, 105 Ohio
St.3d 197, 2004-Ohio-7007, ¶ 43, quoting State v. Jenkins, 15 Ohio St. 3d 164, 225 (1984).
The portions of a police report that are found to constitute work product are "'privileged and
excluded from discovery under Crim.R. 16[.]" Cunningham, quoting Jenkins.
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{¶ 68} The information in Detective Thompson's notes could be interpreted as
containing material related to the "investigative decisions" of Detective Thompson and his
fellow officers. Even if they could not, we still would find any error the trial court may have
committed in not ordering the state to disclose the notes to Rich to have been harmless.
Most, if not all, of the information contained in the notes came out during the trial, none of the
information in the notes was exculpatory, and none of the information would have been of
material assistance to Rich in preparing his defense. See Crim.R. 16(B). Nevertheless, we
would call to the state's attention the language in the 2010 Staff Notes to Crim.R. 16(A),
which states that "[n]othing in this rule shall inhibit the parties from exchanging greater
discovery beyond the scope of this rule." The material the state refused to disclose to Rich
appears to be unremarkable, and it is puzzling to this court as to why the state would risk
reversal by not disclosing such information.
{¶ 69} In light of the foregoing, Rich's fourth assignment of error is overruled.
{¶ 70} Judgment affirmed.
HENDRICKSON, P.J., and M. POWELL, J., concur.
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