State v. Dahms
2017 Ohio 4221
| Ohio Ct. App. | 2017Background
- April 21, 2015: Subway in Fostoria broken into; cash drawer stolen; surveillance shows single, unidentifiable perpetrator. Police learned from Kira (defendant’s girlfriend) that Dahms confessed and had cash.
- Dahms repeatedly contacted/allegedly pressured two acquaintances (Sarah Thornton and Teresa Brown) to provide an alibi statement that he stayed at Thornton’s on April 20–21, 2015; he promised repayment of money owed and threatened to report Thornton to the Housing Authority. Recorded letters and jail calls documented these contacts.
- Grand jury indicted Dahms on breaking-and-entering, bribery (R.C. 2921.02(C)), intimidation of a witness (R.C. 2921.04(B)(2)), and attempted complicity to tampering with evidence. Jury convicted on all counts.
- Trial court sentenced Dahms to consecutive prison terms totaling 102 months and imposed post-release control; Dahms appealed raising five assignments of error.
- Appellate court affirmed convictions (sufficiency and manifest weight), rejected ineffective assistance (speedy-trial) and discovery/Brady claims, but held the trial court erred in imposing mandatory 3-year post-release control for the bribery count and remanded for correction as to that count.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Dahms) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for bribery and witness intimidation | Evidence (letters, recorded calls, witness testimony) shows Dahms intended to corrupt/coach Thornton and offered a valuable thing/benefit to secure an alibi; threats amounted to coercion | No intent to corrupt because Dahms only asked Thornton to tell the truth and offered to repay a loan; threats were truthful reports, not unlawful | Affirmed: evidence sufficient for bribery and intimidation (corrupt form of bribery proven; threats met predicate coercion) |
| Manifest weight of evidence for all convictions (breaking/entering, bribery, intimidation, tampering) | Witnesses’ consistent accounts, recovered safe box, calls/letters, and investigative corroboration support convictions | Defense points to weak or inconsistent testimony, possible alternative suspect (Yonikuss), and lack of direct ID from video | Affirmed: jury’s credibility determinations reasonable; no miscarriage of justice |
| Ineffective assistance re: failure to move to dismiss for speedy trial violation | N/A (State) | Trial counsel should have moved to dismiss on speedy-trial grounds | Overruled: speedy-trial clock ran ~56 days before tolled by defense motions; any dismissal motion lacked reasonable probability of success, so no prejudice under Strickland |
| Due process / Brady / discovery (undisclosed jail calls) | N/A (State) | State withheld 181 jailhouse calls; defense entitled to continuance or sanction; Brady violation | Overruled: calls were received pretrial (no Brady violation); trial court acted within discretion under Crim.R.16(L) and imposed sanction (barred use of undisclosed material) rather than continuance; denial of continuance not an abuse of discretion |
| Post-release control length | N/A (State) | Mandatory 3-year post-release control improperly imposed on bribery (not an offense of violence) | Affirmed in part and reversed in part: mandatory 3 years properly imposed for intimidation (statutorily an offense of violence), but mandatory 3 years improperly imposed for bribery; remanded to correct post-release control for bribery count |
Key Cases Cited
- Thompkins v. Ohio, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (distinguishing sufficiency and manifest-weight standards)
- Jenks v. Ohio, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1989) (sufficiency standard; viewing evidence in light most favorable to the prosecution)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) (prosecution suppression of material exculpatory evidence violates due process)
- State v. Cress, 112 Ohio St.3d 72 (2006) (threat must be unlawful; coercion as predicate for witness-intimidation statute)