State v. Battles, 2021 Ohio 310

La’Sha Battles was indicted for felonious assault (R.C. 2903.11(A)(1), second-degree felony) and aggravated menacing (R.C. 2903.21(A), first-degree misdemeanor) arising from a June 24, 2017 liquor-store incident.
At trial the victim (store manager/cashier) testified Battles hit him in the face with a pen, left a mark, cursed, kicked, and threatened “I will send my men to finish with you.”
Minutes later Battles’s brother and another man (blue hoodie) entered; the man in the hoodie punched the victim, who lost consciousness, struck his head, and later was diagnosed with a concussion and ongoing balance/vision/headache problems.
The state prosecuted Battles on a complicity theory for felonious assault; surveillance video and victim testimony were admitted at trial.
A jury convicted Battles on both counts; the court imposed concurrent community-control sanctions and postrelease control; Battles appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency (Crim.R. 29) of evidence for felonious assault (complicity)	Evidence showed serious physical harm (blackout, concussion, prolonged symptoms) and facts from which complicity could be inferred	Injuries were not "serious" (delayed/limited medical care, short hospital stay, over-the-counter meds); she did not share principal’s intent	Overruled — evidence sufficient to prove serious physical harm and complicity; conviction upheld
Manifest weight of the evidence (both counts)	Surveillance and testimony supported convictions; injuries and threats were credible	Verdict against weight: evidence shows minor injuries, delay in treatment, and lack of shared intent	Overruled — court finds no miscarriage of justice; verdicts not against manifest weight
Jury instruction/plain error (complicity instruction included conspiracy)	Any error in including conspiracy language did not affect outcome; other complicity theories applied	Inclusion of conspiracy instruction was plain error and misleading because felonious assault is not a listed conspiracy offense	Overruled — no plain error affecting substantial rights; no reasonable probability of prejudice

State v. Tenace, 109 Ohio St.3d 255 (2006) (Crim.R. 29/sufficiency standard)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (benchmark for sufficiency review)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (manifest-weight standard)
State v. McKnight, 107 Ohio St.3d 101 (2005) (interpretation of statutory "serious physical harm")
State v. Golston, 71 Ohio St.3d 224 (1994) (collateral consequences of felony conviction)
State v. Price, 60 Ohio St.2d 136 (1979) (jury instructions judged in context of entire charge)
State v. Nievas, 121 Ohio App.3d 451 (1997) (accomplice intent may be inferred from presence, companionship, conduct)
State v. Diar, 120 Ohio St.3d 460 (2008) (failure to object waives all but plain error)
State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio St.3d 21 (2002) (definition and standard for plain error)
State v. Kirkland, 160 Ohio St.3d 389 (2020) (plain-error requires reasonable probability of prejudice)
State v. Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385 (2015) (prejudice standard for plain error)
State v. Long, 53 Ohio St.2d 91 (1978) (historical plain-error doctrine)