State v. Barnes
2017 Ohio 383
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2017Background
- On Dec. 21, 2013, Bruce was shot after leaving Ariel Cabbell’s house; he suffered serious internal injuries (punctured lung, ruptured kidney and liver, torn diaphragm).
- Cabbell witnessed the shooting and initially told police the shooter’s nickname was “Teetee.” She later located an Instagram account she believed belonged to the shooter.
- Detectives obtained a warrant for the Instagram account, captured images showing a person with guns, and an officer recognized that person as Termaine Barnes; a photo array followed and Cabbell identified Barnes.
- Barnes was indicted for attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, and having weapons while under disability (other charges were dismissed). He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years.
- Barnes appealed asserting: (1) insufficient evidence/erroneous denial of Crim.R. 29 motion; (2) convictions against manifest weight; (3) admission of unauthenticated photo-array (and ineffective assistance) was error; and (4) trial court erred by imposing court costs despite finding him indigent.
- The court affirmed convictions, rejected challenges to the photo array, but agreed the sentencing entry erroneously imposed costs and remanded to correct the journal entry.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for attempted murder and felonious assault | State: eyewitness (Cabbell) and victim injuries plus photo-ID support convictions | Barnes: evidence insufficient to prove elements beyond reasonable doubt | Court: Evidence sufficient; Crim.R. 29 denial proper |
| Manifest weight of the evidence | State: Cabbell’s credible, uncontradicted eyewitness ID supports verdicts | Barnes: jury lost its way; testimony unreliable | Court: Not against manifest weight; jury could credit Cabbell |
| Admission/authentication of pretrial photo array; alleged ineffective assistance | State: detectives properly authenticated Instagram-derived photos and used blind administrator for array | Barnes: identification was unauthenticated/plain error and counsel ineffective for not objecting | Court: Photo array properly authenticated; no plain error; assignment overruled |
| Imposition of court costs despite indigency | State: (concedes) clerical/journal entry error | Barnes: sentencing entry incorrectly imposed costs | Court: Agreed; vacated costs portion and remanded for nunc pro tunc correction |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (distinguishes sufficiency and weight-of-the-evidence standards)
- State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (defines sufficiency review standard for criminal convictions)
- Pons v. Ohio State Medical Board, 66 Ohio St.3d 619 (1993) (abuse of discretion standard explanation)
- State v. Lyles, 42 Ohio St.3d 98 (1989) (appellate review of evidentiary rulings and prejudice standard)
- State v. Miller, 127 Ohio St.3d 407 (2010) (limits on proper use of nunc pro tunc entries)