State v. Tipton, 2020 Ohio 3680

Defendant Fred Tipton III was charged with one count of aggravated menacing after an incident on May 9, 2019; following a bench trial he was convicted and received a suspended 180-day jail sentence plus anger-management and evaluation orders.
Tipton called his sister Renee (who had custody of his daughter) and, while angry, threatened to kill her, to have someone beat her up, and to "shoot up" her house; the call was on her fiancé Marvin McDermott’s phone with speakerphone on.
Renee and McDermott (who were together at a restaurant) heard the threats and Renee called police; officers observed Renee as frightened.
Tipton testified he did not know McDermott had turned on speakerphone and therefore did not know Renee heard the threats.
The municipal court found Tipton guilty; on appeal he argued the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence because he lacked knowledge that Renee would hear or be conveyed the threats.

Issue	State's Argument	Tipton's Argument	Held
Whether Tipton’s aggravated-menacing conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence	Tipton knowingly caused Renee to believe he would cause serious physical harm; threats made to her fiancé on speakerphone were likely to be conveyed to her	Tipton did not know the call was on speakerphone and did not know Renee heard or would be told the threats	Affirmed — conviction not against the manifest weight. Court found Tipton was aware his conduct would probably cause Renee to believe she faced serious harm and should have expected McDermott to convey the threats

State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (1997) (sets standard for reviewing manifest-weight challenges)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (1983) (articulates test for when a conviction is against the manifest weight of the evidence)