State v. Whatley, 2016 Ohio 5713

Whatley, who had an on‑again/off‑again relationship with Jarmon and had stayed at her apartment before, was indicted for aggravated burglary, felonious assault, kidnapping, and two counts of rape after a multi‑day incident at Jarmon’s apartment in November 2014.
Jarmon testified Whatley entered her apartment while she was absent, later hid in her bedroom with a butcher knife, forced sexual acts, and spent the night; subsequent confrontations involved a butcher knife, scissors, and a pocketknife.
Jarmon suffered severe lacerations to her hands while trying to defend herself and was stabbed in the lower back; Whatley allegedly called 911 and told responders she had fallen on glass.
A jury convicted Whatley of aggravated burglary (R.C. 2911.11(A)(2)) and felonious assault; jurors deadlocked on rape and kidnapping, which were later dismissed.
The trial court sentenced Whatley to consecutive prison terms (11 and 4 years). Whatley appealed, challenging the sufficiency and weight of the evidence for the aggravated burglary conviction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was sufficient to support aggravated burglary under R.C. 2911.11(A)(2)	State: Viewing evidence favorably, jurors could find Whatley trespassed with purpose to commit an offense and had a deadly weapon under his control during the trespass	Whatley: No proof he had a deadly weapon when he entered; pocketknife is not a "deadly weapon"	Affirmed: A rational juror could find intent formed during trespass and that pocketknife, butcher knife, or scissors were deadly weapons or were used as weapons
Whether conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence	State: Victim testimony and other evidence supported jury credibility findings	Whatley: Jury lost its way; testimony inconsistent	Affirmed: Court declined to overturn jury credibility findings; not an exceptional case warranting new trial

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (Ohio 1991) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Fontes, 87 Ohio St.3d 527 (Ohio 2000) (defendant may form intent to commit offense at any time during trespass)
State v. Powell, 59 Ohio St.3d 62 (Ohio 1991) (trespass continues while defendant remains in structure)
State v. Gardner, 118 Ohio St.3d 420 (Ohio 2008) (intent to commit offense may arise before or during trespass)
State v. Dean, 146 Ohio St.3d 106 (Ohio 2015) (standard for weighing evidence and granting new trial on manifest‑weight grounds)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (discussion of manifest‑weight standard)
State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (Ohio Ct. App.) (standard for exercising discretion to grant new trial)