Court Filings

The Fifth District Court of Appeals reviewed Joseph Toth’s guilty pleas and sentence for two first-degree drug felonies. The court affirmed Toth’s prison terms but reversed the trial court’s orders imposing mandatory fines and directing sale of his 2018 Cadillac to pay those fines. The appellate court held the trial court lacked statutory authority to order forfeiture/sale because no forfeiture specification or civil forfeiture proceeding was invoked, and the court failed to give the required oral Reagan Tokes advisements at sentencing. The case is remanded for re-sentencing limited to providing the required advisements and correcting the fines/vehicle order.

The Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals affirmed Walter Jackson’s convictions and sentence following his March 2023 jury trial and May 15, 2023 sentencing in Scioto County Common Pleas Court. Jackson was convicted on a 12-count indictment (drug trafficking/possession, weapons offenses, and related counts with firearm specifications). He raised five assignments of error including ineffective assistance, absence from trial, failure to merge allied offenses, improper consecutive sentences, and insufficiency/manifest-weight challenges. The court found the record supported the convictions and the consecutive sentences, and that the evidence (including circumstantial evidence and forensic lab results) was sufficient and not against the manifest weight.

The Ninth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded Kaelyn Smith’s felony-murder judgment because the trial court failed to complete statutorily required notice and form under Ohio’s violent-offender law (Sierah’s Law, R.C. 2903.41 et seq.) before sentencing. Smith had pleaded guilty to felony murder with a firearm specification; the parties and judge discussed the violent-offender form and defense counsel waived reading the paperwork, but the record does not contain an executed form or an affirmative on-the-record advisement. Because the trial court did not provide the required pre-sentencing notice, the appellate court found plain error and ordered further proceedings for proper notice and signature.

The First District Court of Appeals reversed the municipal court's denial of a victim's request for restitution and remanded for a restitution hearing. Defendant Adam Winkle had pleaded guilty/no contest to several driving-related offenses after side‑swiping multiple cars while intoxicated. Victim M.L. submitted a victim impact statement with documentation that she paid a $500 insurance deductible for damage to her vehicle. The appellate court held the trial court erred in refusing restitution based on the existence of insurance and directed a hearing to determine restitution for the deductible.

The court reviewed Cierra Snow’s appeal of her domestic-violence conviction for punching her ten-year-old daughter after an argument. The appeals court held that Snow’s use of force was not reasonable parental discipline because she presented no evidence to meet her burden and the video showed a harmful blow. The court affirmed the conviction and rejected Snow’s argument that she should have been charged only under the child-endangering statute. However, the court found the trial court failed to credit Snow for one day of jail time and remanded solely to correct that sentencing credit.

The First District Court of Appeals reversed Patricia Hauser’s municipal-court conviction for theft and discharged her. Hauser pleaded no contest after the State recited facts that she left a bar without paying a $69.33 tab when her credit card was declined. The appellate court held the State’s explanation of circumstances affirmatively showed the bar owner consented to her possession of the drinks when he served them, which negated an essential element of the charged theft offense. Because the explanation could not support the conviction under R.C. 2913.02(A)(1), the court reversed and discharged Hauser.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals denied Alan Harris Jr.’s App.R. 26(B) application to reopen his 2025 direct appeal. Harris argued appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising challenges to his sentence and plea, and he filed a late supplemental claim that his plea was involuntary because of alleged deficiencies outside the record. The court found the supplement untimely, held that the plea waived many challenges (including failure to file a suppression motion), and determined the plea colloquy and sentencing record did not show reversible error. The application to reopen was denied for lack of merit and timeliness.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed the Delaware County Common Pleas Court's August 27, 2025 prison sentence for Adam Stone. Stone pleaded guilty to telecommunications fraud and attempted impersonation of a peace officer; the trial court imposed consecutive prison terms (36 months and 18 months). On appeal Stone argued the consecutive sentences were disproportionate and that the convictions should have merged as allied offenses. The appellate court found the trial court made the required statutory consecutive-sentence findings and that the two convictions arose from separate, distinct conduct, so it affirmed the sentence.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed Shawn Atchley’s conviction for trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound following his arrest at a tavern. Officers found a handgun, $1,200, and about 1.5 grams of fentanyl divided into 11 tied baggies in Atchley’s sock. Atchley admitted possessing the drugs and firearm but insisted the fentanyl was for personal use and sharing, not sale. The court held the jury’s verdict was not against the manifest weight of the evidence because the drug packaging, officer testimony about trafficking indicators, and Atchley’s own admission about sharing supported the trafficking conviction.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed Timothy A. Smith’s aggregate 88-month prison sentence imposed by the Guernsey County Court of Common Pleas. Smith had pleaded guilty to weapons under disability, two counts of gross sexual imposition, and one count of retaliation as part of a plea agreement. On appeal he argued the trial court gave only cursory consideration to statutory sentencing factors. The appellate court held the trial court expressly considered the purposes of sentencing and listed the specific factors from R.C. 2929.12 it applied, sentenced within the statutory ranges, and therefore the sentence was not contrary to law.

The Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals reviewed Johnnie J. Wappner’s convictions for felonious assault, felony murder, and reckless homicide following a jury trial. The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the defense-of-others for Wappner’s intentional act of striking the victim and on accident for his separate act of shooting the victim; both defenses could apply to different acts alleged by the prosecution. Because that instructional error was not harmless and affected Wappner’s felonious assault and felony murder convictions, those convictions were reversed and the case remanded for a new trial as to those counts; the reckless homicide conviction was affirmed.

The Ohio Fifth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the convictions of Travis Ratcliff because the trial court misinformed him at his plea-change hearing about the nature and maximum length of the prison terms he faced. Ratcliff had pleaded guilty to seven counts, including two second-degree felonies that, under Ohio law after the Reagan Tokes Act, carry mandatory indefinite sentences. The trial judge told Ratcliff those counts carried definite two-to-eight year terms and the written plea form repeated that error. The appeals court concluded this was a complete failure to comply with Criminal Rule 11(C)(2)(a) and vacated the pleas without requiring a showing of prejudice.

The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals affirmed the Fulton County Common Pleas Court’s June 5, 2025 judgments sentencing James Pontious to an aggregate 24-month prison term. Pontious was convicted after a bench trial of tampering with evidence for submitting an Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous meeting sign-in sheet he knew to be false and intended to mislead his probation officer. The appeals court rejected arguments that trial errors, discovery violations, admission of testimony, insufficiency and weight of the evidence, and Miranda problems required reversal, finding any evidentiary errors harmless and the proof sufficient and not against the manifest weight.

The Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court's September 16, 2025 sentence of five consecutive one-year prison terms (aggregate five years) after Matthias Merritt Lewis pleaded guilty to five counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor. Lewis challenged only his sentence, arguing the record did not support the statutory findings for consecutive terms and that the trial court improperly considered societal harms of child pornography. The appellate court found the record, including Lewis’s admissions about two years of viewing and trading images across multiple platforms and the graphic nature of the materials, supported consecutive sentences and that considering societal impact was authorized by statute.

The appellate court affirmed Jennifer Hefner’s convictions and sentences from the Lake County Court of Common Pleas. Hefner was convicted after a jury trial of complicity to aggravated burglary, complicity to kidnapping, burglary, and having weapons while under disability (several counts merged at sentencing). The court found the State presented sufficient evidence—including phone records, surveillance, witness testimony, and Hefner’s own statements—that she knowingly assisted or encouraged the home invasion and related assaults. The court also rejected challenges to the denial of Crim.R. 29 acquittal, weight-of-the-evidence claims, and an ineffective-assistance claim regarding joinder of two cases for trial.

The Court of Appeals reversed a Warren Municipal Court order that denied the State leave to dismiss an aggravated menacing charge against Christopher Glover. The municipal court refused dismissal despite the prosecutor’s detailed statement that the named victim (A.H.) did not see a gun and did not fear Glover, two on-scene officers could not corroborate aggravated menacing, and the defendant joined the dismissal request. The appellate court held the trial court abused its discretion by substituting a sufficiency-of-the-evidence inquiry for the narrow leave-of-court review required when a prosecutor seeks dismissal.

The Eleventh District Court of Appeals dismissed Albert DiTomaso’s appeal because the trial court’s judgment was not a final, appealable order. DiTomaso was tried and convicted on six of eight indictment counts, but two counts (one OVI count and an assured-clear-distance minor misdemeanor) were not resolved in the record and were not presented to the jury. Because unresolved "hanging" charges remain, the appellate court concluded it lacks jurisdiction to review the convictions and therefore dismissed the appeal.

The Third District Court of Appeals affirmed Andrew Myers’ conviction for operating a vehicle while under the influence of a listed controlled-substance metabolite. Myers was stopped for speeding early on the morning of December 30, 2023; police observed signs of impairment, conducted field sobriety tests, arrested him, and obtained a urine sample showing marijuana metabolite. Myers moved to suppress the field test results and the urine test results; the trial court denied suppression. On appeal the court found the officer had reasonable suspicion to expand the stop, the officer substantially complied with sobriety-test standards, and the lab substantially complied with Ohio health regulations, so the convictions and sentence were affirmed.

The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals reviewed Jeremy Long’s convictions for multiple sex offenses against minors following a jury trial in Crawford County. The court held that the trial judge improperly allowed the prosecutor to amend two rape counts just before trial in a way that changed the identity of the charged offenses, so those two convictions (Counts 1 and 3) were reversed. The court affirmed Long’s remaining convictions (one rape count, three rape counts as renumbered, and two gross-sexual-imposition counts) because the evidence was not so weak or inconsistent that the jury clearly lost its way. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the Van Wert County Common Pleas Court. Ryan E. Houser pleaded no contest to murder (Count Two) under a plea agreement; other counts were dismissed. Houser had sought to withdraw his plea before sentencing and moved to suppress cloud-based cellphone data. The trial court denied his motion to withdraw and denied suppression; on appeal the court held the warrant was sufficiently particular and supported by a probable-cause nexus to the phone and associated cloud data, and alternatively police relied in good faith on the warrant. The appellate court therefore affirmed the conviction and sentence.

The Ohio Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the Henry County trial court's judgment in State v. Grond. Ashley Grond pleaded guilty to amended aggravated trafficking (a second-degree felony); the trial court sentenced her to 6–9 years, waived the statutory fine due to indigence, but imposed statutory court costs and stayed collection until 60 days after release. Grond argued the court erred by ordering costs without findings on her ability to pay or specifying which costs. The appellate court held the trial court complied with statutory duties: courts must impose costs and may—but are not required to—make ability-to-pay findings when denying waiver.

The Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the Auglaize County Municipal Court’s September 11, 2025 conviction of Abdullah M. Alqahtani for speeding. Alqahtani challenged admission of radar evidence, argued insufficient and against-the-weight evidence, and sought a continuance for additional discovery. The court held the trooper’s testimony and a radar certification provided adequate, case-specific proof of the device’s accuracy and operator qualifications, rejected claims of manifest-weight error, and found no abuse of discretion in denying a continuance because the State had provided the available discovery.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals granted the State's motion for reconsideration, vacated its earlier February 27, 2026 opinion, and affirmed the trial court's judgment revoking Jeffrey Heath's community control and imposing prison terms totaling 12–15 years. The court held that the trial court's September 2023 sentencing sufficiently notified Heath that prison terms (up to 20 years total across the counts) could be imposed upon violation of community control, and that the court properly reserved prison terms consistent with current R.C. 2929.19(B)(4). The court also held consecutive sentences were permissible under the circumstances because there was no existing prison term at the time the reserved terms were imposed.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed Terry L. Bickerstaff’s conviction for third-degree felony assault arising from an incident in a Mansfield Correctional Institution segregation recreation cell. The jury found that Bickerstaff swung through the bars at a corrections officer, J.N., and the court held the State presented sufficient evidence that he attempted to cause physical harm and that the victim suffered at least minor physical injury. The court relied on statutory language that assault includes attempts and on the victim’s testimony and bodycam footage to conclude a rational jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Ohio Second District Court of Appeals affirmed Nancy Jean Taylor’s 30-month prison sentence for felony theft from a person in a protected class. Taylor had pleaded guilty to stealing $7,504 from an elderly client and received a presentence investigation and restitution hearing. She argued on appeal that the trial court misapplied sentencing factors and that the sentence was excessive. The appeals court held the sentence was within the statutory range, the trial court indicated it considered the required sentencing statutes, and therefore the sentence was not contrary to law.

The Ohio Court of Appeals reviewed the trial court’s rulings in the death-penalty case of State v. Myers. The court affirmed the trial court’s decision to allow Myers to file a motion for a new trial, but it reversed the trial court’s grants of a new trial and of postconviction relief. The appellate court held the trial court abused its discretion and applied incorrect legal standards when it granted a new trial based on recently obtained DNA and forensic critiques, and the court lacked jurisdiction to grant postconviction relief because it failed to follow statutory gatekeeping procedures and applied the wrong legal tests.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals affirmed the Columbiana County Common Pleas Court judgment convicting Davante L. Jackson after he entered a no-contest plea to multiple drug and evidence-tampering charges. Jackson argued his trial counsel was ineffective for withdrawing a suppression motion without his knowledge and that his plea was not knowing, voluntary, or intelligent. The appeals court found the record does not show deficient performance or prejudice from counsel’s withdrawal of the motion, and the trial court substantially complied with plea procedures and ensured Jackson understood his rights and the plea consequences. The conviction and sentence (total 5½ to 7½ years) were affirmed.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of Kenneth Lewis’s postconviction application for DNA testing of a long-sleeved shirt recovered after a 2020 pawnshop robbery. The court concluded a prior DNA test by BCI was definitive because it showed Lewis was the major contributor of DNA on the shirt, and Lewis did not present evidence that prior testing was unreliable or that new testing would be outcome determinative. The court also relied on strong corroborating evidence (surveillance video, eyewitnesses, officer recovery of the shirt, license plate identification, cash and items on Lewis, and a jailhouse confession).

The Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed Charles Wright’s conviction and sentence following his guilty plea to sexual battery and two counts of endangering children. Wright claimed ineffective assistance of counsel because defense counsel did not ask the trial court to state the elements of sexual battery during the plea colloquy and did not move to withdraw his plea after Wright made statements at sentencing that he now contends were protests of innocence. The court found counsel’s performance was not deficient and Wright failed to show prejudice: the plea was knowing and voluntary and a withdrawal motion would not have succeeded.

The Ohio Court of Appeals reversed, vacated, and remanded a trial court order that granted R.T.’s petition to seal a 2003 federal conviction. The appeals court held that a state trial court may only order sealing of records that are maintained by Ohio state agencies under R.C. 2953.32, and cannot compel federal agencies to seal or disregard federal conviction records. Because the trial court’s order used broad boilerplate language (directing all official records sealed and directing service on federal and state agencies), the appellate court found the order exceeded the court’s limited authority and remanded for a more specific hearing narrowly identifying which state-maintained records, if any, may be sealed.