State v. Rivera, 2019 Ohio 3296

Carmelo Rivera pleaded guilty to two counts: abuse of a corpse (R.C. 2927.01(B), fifth-degree felony) and tampering with evidence (R.C. 2921.12(A)(1), third-degree felony) arising from transporting and dumping Tiffany Chambers’s body in a wooded lot.
The State alleged Rivera moved the body knowing an investigation had begun or was imminent to make the corpse unavailable as evidence and that abandoning it would outrage community sensibilities.
The trial court convicted Rivera on both counts and imposed consecutive sentences (36 months for tampering; 12 months for abuse of a corpse), for a total of 48 months.
Rivera did not raise merger at sentencing; he raised it for the first time on appeal, arguing the offenses are allied offenses of similar import and therefore must be merged.
The court applied the Ohio Supreme Court’s Ruff framework to decide whether the offenses are allied or dissimilar in import.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether convictions for tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse must merge as allied offenses of similar import under R.C. 2941.25	State: offenses are distinct because they cause separate harms (unavailability of evidence vs. outrage to community sensibilities)	Rivera: offenses arose from the same conduct and same motivation, so they are allied and should merge into a single conviction	Court: Held dissimilar in import—separate, identifiable harms—so convictions may stand separately

Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784 (Double jeopardy protects against multiple punishments)
State v. Ruff, 34 N.E.3d 892 (Ohio 2015) (articulates three-part allied-offenses test and instructs focus on separate, identifiable harms)
State v. Johnson, 942 N.E.2d 1061 (Ohio 2010) (prior merger test superseded by Ruff)