State v. Wynn, 2014 Ohio 621

Defendant Antonio Wynn was convicted by a jury of complicity to commit felony murder for the shooting death of Deonta Beans; surveillance video and eyewitness testimony implicated Wynn aiding co-defendant George Turner.
Turner pled guilty before Wynn’s trial and testified that Wynn gave Turner a gun and gloves, entered the store with Turner, punched Beans twice while Turner held a gun, and Turner shot Beans in the neck.
Wynn filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief under R.C. 2953.21 alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel, supported by his affidavit, his mother’s affidavit, and four inmate affidavits asserting knowledge of a third person known as “Little E.”
Wynn’s affidavits claimed (1) a third person (“Little E” / Eric) was in Turner’s car at the time, (2) Wynn took the gun from Turner’s car (not his house), (3) Wynn attempted to dissuade Turner from shooting, and (4) trial counsel failed to call his mother and did not investigate "Little E."
Trial counsel’s post-conviction letter stated no investigator was hired; the trial court denied Wynn’s petition without an evidentiary hearing, finding the alleged missing testimony speculative and that Wynn failed to show prejudice.
The appellate court affirmed, reasoning Wynn did not present operative facts showing counsel’s deficiency or prejudice given the video, eyewitness testimony, and the lack of an affidavit from "Little E."

Issue	Wynn's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to locate/produce “Little E”	Counsel failed to investigate and locate a material witness who could exculpate Wynn	No evidentiary showing on what "Little E" would testify; locating him speculative; counsel’s performance was not deficient	Denied — speculative; no affidavit from “Little E” and no showing of prejudice
Whether counsel failed to investigate generally	Counsel hired no investigator and did not conduct appropriate investigation	Counsel conducted discovery, litigated suppression, listed witnesses, interviewed co-defendant, cross-examined effectively	Denied — record shows counsel investigated and litigated competently
Whether failure to call Wynn’s mother prejudiced the defense	Mother’s affidavit would contradict State’s claim that Wynn retrieved the gun from his house	Mother’s affidavit does not contradict other evidence that Wynn aided Turner (glove, punching, entering with Turner)	Denied — no reasonable probability outcome would differ
Whether procedural or pretrial motions were handled pro forma	Counsel’s motions were perfunctory and ineffective	Issue was or could have been raised on direct appeal; res judicata; petition did not substantively raise it	Denied — res judicata or not raised in petition

Kapper v. State, 5 Ohio St.3d 36 (Ohio 1983) (petitioner must submit evidentiary documents with operative facts showing lack of competent counsel and prejudice)
Jackson v. State, 64 Ohio St.2d 107 (Ohio 1980) (same standard for initial burden in ineffective-assistance claims)
Calhoun v. State, 86 Ohio St.3d 279 (Ohio 1999) (trial court may deny post-conviction petition without hearing when files and records fail to show operative facts meriting relief)
Reynolds v. State, 79 Ohio St.3d 158 (Ohio 1997) (res judicata bars claims that could have been raised on direct appeal)