State v. Elder, 2017 Ohio 292

On Nov. 20, 2015, S.S. (age 14) was shot multiple times; he lost an eye and a bullet remains lodged near his spine. The incident followed neighborhood rumors about a prior killing.
Police responded to 911 reports describing a shooter in a white-striped shirt and dark jacket who entered a gray Chevy Impala (one headlight, spoiler) and drove onto a one-way street behind a school.
Officers located the gray Impala nearby; Elder was on the porch of the house where the car was found, wearing the clothing described by the 911 caller and possessing the car keys; three guns were found on or near Elder and he tested positive for gunshot residue.
Potts (co-defendant) was found with a .25 caliber pistol matching the casing at the scene and was identified by the victim as the shooter.
A jury acquitted Elder of attempted murder and felonious assault but convicted him of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises (R.C. 2923.162(A)(3)); the trial court sentenced Elder to 11 years and the sentencing entry ordered court costs though costs were not imposed at the hearing.
On appeal, the court affirmed the conviction and sentence as to prison term but reversed and remanded solely to allow Elder to seek a waiver of court costs because costs were not pronounced in open court.

Issue	State's Argument	Elder's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for discharge of firearm on/near prohibited premises	Circumstantial evidence (911 description, car located nearby, Elder had keys, matching clothing, guns near him, positive GSR) supports conviction	No direct evidence Elder fired; Potts was identified as shooter	Affirmed — circumstantial evidence sufficient to support conviction
Manifest weight of the evidence	The circumstantial proof and victim identification of Potts do not undermine conviction for Elder’s charge	Jury lost its way because no eyewitness tied Elder to shooting into air causing victim’s injuries	Affirmed — not an exceptional case warranting reversal
Sentencing compliance with R.C. 2929.11/2929.12	Trial court’s journal entry states it considered required factors; consideration is presumed and record supports sentence	Trial court failed to state on the record it considered statutory factors; sentence excessive given acquittals on more serious counts	Affirmed — journal and record suffice; 11-year term within statutory range and supported by facts
Imposition of court costs without pronouncement at sentencing	Statute permits courts to include costs in sentence but case law requires costs be pronounced in open court so defendant can seek waiver	Imposition in journal only denied opportunity to assert indigency and seek waiver	Reversed in part — remanded for limited purpose to allow defendant to move for waiver of costs

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (on weight-of-the-evidence standard)
State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (circumstantial evidence may support conviction)
State v. Joseph, 125 Ohio St.3d 76 (trial court may not impose court costs in journal when not pronounced at sentencing)
State v. White, 103 Ohio St.3d 580 (costs of prosecution are generally included even if defendant is indigent)