State v. Trigg, 2016 Ohio 2752

Defendant Johnny L. Trigg assaulted his girlfriend, Deanna Kelli-Ellison, inside the Waterhouses’ home after she had gone there with her children following an argument with Trigg.
Trigg arrived late, Mr. Waterhouse opened the door and allowed him to enter; Trigg spoke with Kelli-Ellison for 10–15 minutes, then began punching her.
Mrs. Waterhouse witnessed the assault and testified Trigg did not have permission to enter to beat Kelli-Ellison and that the victim (a guest) could tell him to leave.
Kelli-Ellison sustained serious injuries (facial lacerations requiring stitches, swollen eyes, and broken/chipped teeth) and was hospitalized.
A jury convicted Trigg of aggravated burglary (R.C. 2911.11(A)(1)), felonious assault, and domestic violence; the trial court imposed concurrent sentences.
On appeal Trigg challenged sufficiency of evidence for the trespass element of aggravated burglary and argued felonious assault and domestic violence should have been merged as allied offenses of similar import.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that Trigg "trespassed" for aggravated burglary	State: evidence showed Trigg’s privilege to remain was terminated when he began assaulting the victim, making him a trespasser	Trigg: he was permitted entry by Mr. Waterhouse and spoke with the victim for 10–15 minutes; no evidence he deceived to gain entry or intended to assault beforehand	Court: Evidence sufficient — even if entry was permissive, privilege was revoked when assault began, satisfying trespass element
Whether felonious assault and domestic violence are allied offenses of similar import	State (on appeal): concedes trial court erred in not merging convictions; requests plain-error correction	Trigg: offenses are allied and should have been merged; failure to merge prejudiced him	Court: Plain error; offenses arose from same conduct, same animus, and caused not separate/identifiable harms — convictions must be merged; remanded for resentencing with State to elect one offense

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Steffen, 31 Ohio St.3d 111 (1987) (permission to enter is terminated when the entrant commits a violent offense inside the home)
State v. Ruff, 143 Ohio St.3d 114 (2015) (tests for whether offenses are allied offenses of similar import)
State v. Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385 (2015) (failure to raise allied-offense issue at trial forfeits all but plain error)