State v. McRae, 2020 Ohio 773

Shortly after midnight on March 12, 2017, Damion McRae produced a 9mm Kel‑Tec rifle in a well‑lit apartment courtyard and fired one shot at Cincinnati police officers Kenneth Grubbs and William Keuper; the gun jammed after the single discharge.
Officer Grubbs was struck (groin wound) and seriously injured; Keuper fired at McRae and initially believed he had been hit; body‑worn camera corroborated the officers’ positions and the shooting.
McRae was indicted on multiple counts including two counts of attempted murder (one for each officer), felonious assault charges (merged), weapons‑under‑disability counts, carrying a concealed weapon, and an assault for the earlier domestic incident.
Following a bench trial the court found McRae guilty on all counts, merged several counts at sentencing, and imposed an aggregate sentence of 43½ years in prison.
McRae appealed raising five assignments of error: (1) sufficiency/weight of evidence on attempted‑murder convictions, (2) ineffective assistance of counsel, (3) trial court’s refusal to merge allied offenses, and (4) that consecutive sentences constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency/weight of evidence for two attempted‑murder convictions	State: evidence (shot fired in officers’ direction, bodycam, injury to Grubbs, proximity) supports purpose to kill	McRae: shot was accidental or "suicide by cop"; did not intend to kill Keuper and bullet location shows lack of intent to kill Grubbs	Court: Evidence—shooting in victims’ direction, proximity, bodycam, statements—supports inference of specific intent; convictions affirmed (sufficient and not against manifest weight)
Ineffective assistance of counsel	State: counsel’s decisions were reasonable trial strategy	McRae: counsel failed to present firearm‑discharge and mental‑state experts	Court: Counsel reasonably relied on cross‑examination of state expert; no prejudice shown; claim fails
Allied‑offense merger of two attempted‑murder counts	State: separate victims support separate convictions	McRae: same conduct, no separate animus, counts should merge	Court: Offenses victimized two distinct persons; merger improper; convictions may stand separately
Cruel and unusual punishment for consecutive sentences	State: sentences are within statutory ranges and focus is on individual terms	McRae: aggregate 43½ years is grossly disproportionate	Court: Eighth Amendment proportionality review targets individual terms; each term lawful and not grossly disproportionate; consecutive terms do not alone constitute cruel and unusual punishment

State v. Dean, 54 N.E.3d 80 (Ohio 2015) (attempted murder requires purpose to kill)
State v. Herring, 762 N.E.2d 940 (Ohio 2002) (intent may be inferred from circumstances)
State v. Widner, 431 N.E.2d 1025 (Ohio 1982) (firearm is inherently dangerous; shooting in victim's direction supports inference of intent to kill)
State v. Thompson, 23 N.E.3d 1096 (Ohio 2014) (relying on cross‑examination of state expert can be reasonable trial strategy)
State v. Nicholas, 613 N.E.2d 225 (Ohio 1993) (same principle regarding expert testimony strategy)
State v. Ruff, 34 N.E.3d 892 (Ohio 2015) (merger test: dissimilar import, separate conduct, or separate animus; multiple victims justify multiple convictions)
State v. Hairston, 888 N.E.2d 1073 (Ohio 2008) (Eighth Amendment proportionality review focuses on individual sentences)
State v. Williams, 983 N.E.2d 1245 (Ohio 2012) (de novo review for R.C. 2941.25 merger determinations and principles on sentencing legality)
State v. Madrigal, 721 N.E.2d 52 (Ohio 1999) (courts should not find ineffective assistance when alleged benefits of omitted evidence are speculative)
State v. Gann, 796 N.E.2d 942 (Ohio App. 2003) (no ineffective assistance absent record showing what a defense expert would have said)