State v. Cain, 2017 Ohio 9061

On Sept. 28, 2015, two Toledo bike officers observed Deshawn Cain walking, notice them, turn and walk away; officers stopped him.
An officer observed about 1.5 inches of a handgun butt protruding from Cain’s front pants pocket; the remainder of the weapon was concealed and the barrel pointed downward.
Officers recovered the loaded handgun from Cain’s pocket; Cain claimed he had a permit but did not.
Cain was indicted for carrying a concealed weapon in violation of R.C. 2923.12(A)(2); he waived a jury, was found guilty at a bench trial, and sentenced to two years community control (no jail).
Cain appealed, arguing insufficiency of the evidence and that the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency: whether evidence proved knowingly carrying a concealed handgun	State: sighting of 1.5" of butt and recovery of loaded gun from pocket supports conviction	Cain: partially exposed handle negates “concealed” element or at least creates reasonable doubt	Affirmed — viewing evidence in prosecution's favor, a rational trier of fact could find elements proven beyond a reasonable doubt
Manifest weight: whether verdict was against manifest weight of evidence	State: testimony and physical recovery support credibility and elements	Cain: trial court lost its way given partial exposure and his ownership/registration of the weapon	Affirmed — appellate court found no miscarriage of justice; trial court did not lose its way

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 574 N.E.2d 492 (establishes Ohio sufficiency-of-evidence standard)
State v. Prescott, 190 Ohio App.3d 702, 943 N.E.2d 1092 (sets forth standard for manifest-weight review)