Beauchamp v. Petit
| Decision Date | 29 March 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 17AP-591,17AP-591 |
| Parties | Dennis A. Beauchamp, Appellant-Appellant, v. Don Petit, Registrar, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Appellee-Appellee. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
(REGULAR CALENDAR)
DECISION
On brief: E. Scott Shaw, for appellant. Argued: E. Scott Shaw.
On brief: Michael DeWine, Attorney General, and Peter L. Jamison, for appellee. Argued: Brian R. Honen.
APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
{¶ 1} Appellant-appellant, Dennis A. Beauchamp, appeals from the judgment entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas affirming the final adjudication order of appellee-appellee, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles ("Ohio BMV" or "appellee"), ordering the cancellation of appellant's driver's license pursuant to R.C. 4507.19. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the trial court.
{¶ 2} On November 5, 2015, appellee sent appellant a written notice of proposed cancellation of appellant's driver's license pursuant to R.C. 4507.19. After several continuances, a hearing on the matter was held on February 3, 2016.
{¶ 3} Appellant testified that "Dennis Alexis Beauchamp" is his full name and that he was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico to parents Olga Rodriguez and Dennis Beauchamp, who were "twenty-something" and about 31, respectively, when he was born. (Tr. at 13, 14.) According to appellant, he did not know if his mother worked or how many siblings or half-siblings he had. He was an abused child; he grew up away from his parents and did not have a close relationship with them. Appellant left Puerto Rico around the age of 15 when a family member, who he could not recall specifically, bought him a plane ticket and put him on a plane.
{¶ 4} Appellant testified that once in the United States, he went to New York for a year or two, while travelling back and forth. Appellant ended up in Massachusetts, where he spent most of his time and held a driver's license. In 1996, when appellant was around 18 or 19, appellant was convicted of selling drugs and sentenced to approximately seven years in a Massachusetts prison. At that point, appellant says his parents "turned my back on me" and he does not "have much contact with them at all." (Tr. at 15.) After appellant was released from prison, appellant testified he lived with his friend, a DEA police officer, and detailed cars out of his house. Appellant then moved to Providence, Rhode Island and opened up a shop, but things did not go well and appellant moved back to New York. Appellant moved to Ohio after a friend who once lived here then told him about the potential to open a business in Ohio.
{¶ 5} In Ohio, appellant has owned his own business for the past nine or ten years and currently has two businesses: a towing company and a body shop. He has a girlfriend with whom he has a son, and the two are planning to marry. He has not been married before but has another biological child who lives in Providence, Rhode Island and a stepdaughter who is the biological child of his current girlfriend. Appellant testified he has not travelled back to Puerto Rico, or anywhere, since he was released from prison. Appellant does not have a United States passport.
{¶ 6} According to appellant, in March 2014, an investigator from the Ohio BMV contacted him about an issue with his driver's license and address. Appellant provided documents to show the investigator who he was, and appellant believed an investigator came to the shop that summer to do an inspection of the dealership. Someone told appellant he had to change the address on his license, and appellant explained he had been living where he was working and ultimately fixed the address problem on his license.
{¶ 7} BMV Investigator John Shidell testified that he began investigating appellant in February 2014 due to appellant using his work address as a home address on his driver's license. During his research, Shidell noticed a Florida driver's license was issued under the same name and social security number but with photographs of different men. At that time, Shidell believed appellant had been a victim of identity theft or "was [a] fraud." (Tr. at 29.) In March 2014, Shidell met with appellant, and appellant was able to show proof of his Puerto Rican birth certificate and a social security card. According to Shidell, "[t]hey were both real documents" that "met the requirements for proof of citizenship." (Tr. at 30.) Shidell told appellant he needed to change his address on the driver's license.
{¶ 8} Shidell testified that in August 2014, he reached out to appellant again and told him he still needed to change his address, which appellant did do. Shidell additionally told appellant "we need to talk about his citizenship, that there was a possible duplicate person in Florida; and at that time, he could have been a victim of identity theft." (Tr. at 32.) Shidell wanted to meet with appellant again to ask him "a series of questions * * *, personal questions that only the real Dennis Beauchamp would know." (Tr. at 32.) According to Shidell, he attempted to meet with appellant and called appellant, but appellant never called Shidell back. Shidell put a note in their system to place a hold on appellant's documents when he next attempted to renew his driver's license, which would force appellant to meet with Shidell. However, for unknown reasons, appellant was able to renew his license without meeting with Shidell.
{¶ 9} Shidell reopened his investigation into appellant in May 2015 when the BMV received a complaint from a Dennis Alex Beauchamp in Florida ("Florida Beauchamp") claiming to be a victim of identity theft. Shidell spoke with the Florida Beauchamp, and the Florida Beauchamp faxed Shidell his birth certificate, which had a different stamp than appellant's birth certificate, social security card, Florida driver's license, and the social security card and birth certificate of Florida Beauchamp's son, who was born in 2006. (Tr. at 37.) On the son's birth certificate, the father's name is listed as Dennis Alexis Beauchamp Rodriguez.
{¶ 10} As part of his investigation, Shidell testified he contacted the Puerto Rican Fusion Center, immigration, the State Department, and the Social Security Administration, and conducted an interview with the Florida Beauchamp. The Puerto Rican Fusion Center provided Shidell with an arrest record containing a photograph of the Florida Beauchamp and arrests in 2005 or 2006. Immigration could not match a photograph of appellant to any known persons. On objections, Shidell did not testify as to what information the State Department provided since he did not present documentation at the hearing. The Social Security Administration provided Shidell with a list and applications documenting the 14 applications for duplicate social security cards made under the social security number indicated on both the Ohio and Florida Beauchamps' driver's licenses. In response to a question of what he found interesting or relevant about the social security duplicate card application, Shidell testified the application from July 23, 2003, the application originating from Massachusetts, had a signature line that was "totally different" from the rest of the applications. (Tr. at 46.)
{¶ 11} As part of his investigation, Shidell learned appellant had been incarcerated in Massachusetts. According to Shidell, he contacted the Department of Corrections in Massachusetts and received information regarding appellant's seven-year time in prison. In July 2015, Shidell conducted an interview with the Florida Beauchamp "[t]o ask him questions regarding his life, to see if he could be able to provide information that we would be able to verify." (Tr. at 41.) According to Shidell, Florida Beauchamp told him his mother's name, and the Ohio BMV was able to verify that name through independent investigation. Florida Beauchamp additionally stated to Shidell that he never lived in Massachusetts. Florida Beauchamp initiated another phone call with the Ohio BMV one week prior to the hearing to receive an update on the status of the case. Shidell testified that on completing his investigation, he believes the Florida Beauchamp "is the right Dennis Beauchamp." (Tr. at 67.)
{¶ 12} On cross-examination, Shidell testified that he did not send both certificates to Puerto Rican law enforcement to see if they were valid, that he contacted the Massachusetts State Police to receive appellant's arrest file record but had not received it yet, and that he had used the "LEADS, OLEG, [and] TLO" databases and not used the "NCIC" database. (Tr. at 51, 52.) Shidell also agreed that some of the applications for duplicate social security cards were made while appellant was in prison.
{¶ 13} Todd Ballinger, chief of the investigations section of the Ohio BMV, testified that he served as Shidell's direct supervisor at the time of the investigation into appellant's driver's license, participated in the interview between the Florida Beauchamp and the Ohio BMV, and obtained documents from government agencies. From the Puerto Rican Police Department, by way of the Puerto Rican Fusion Center, Ballinger obtained a driver's license for a Dennis Alexis Beauchamp Rodriguez with a photograph that does not appear to be appellant and an arrest photograph and arrest records of the Florida Beauchamp. On cross-examination, Ballinger testified he had no reason to doubt the validity of the documents from the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
{¶ 14} Appellee's Exhibit A, pages 1 through 35, were admitted into evidence without objection, and, with the hearing examiner's permission, appellee substituted a legible copy of page 36. Appellee's exhibits included appellant's driving record and license renewal, birth certificates and social security cards from both appellant and the Florida Beauchamp, the driver's license of the Florida Beauchamp, the social...
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