State v. Baker

• Decision Date: 30 December 2020
• Docket Number: No. 19 MA 0080,19 MA 0080
• Citation: 166 N.E.3d 601
• Parties: STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dashonti BAKER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

166 N.E.3d 601

STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Dashonti BAKER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 19 MA 0080

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Seventh District, Mahoning County.

Dated: December 30, 2020

Atty. Paul J. Gains, Mahoning County Prosecutor, Atty. Ralph M. Rivera, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, 21 West Boardman Street, 6th Floor, Youngstown, Ohio 44503, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Atty. Kimberly Kendall Corral, Atty. Megan M. Patituce, Patituce & Associates, LLC, 16855 Foltz Industrial Parkway, Strongsville, Ohio 44149, for Defendant-Appellant.

BEFORE: Carol Ann Robb, Cheryl L. Waite, Judges, and Stephen W. Powell, Judge of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals, Sitting by Assignment.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY

Robb, J. {¶1} Defendant-Appellant Dashonti Baker appeals after being convicted in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court of murder with a firearm specification and having a weapon while under disability. Appellant sets forth six assignments of error, raising issues with: the admissibility of a detective's testimony on cell phone location evidence; the denial of a mistrial motion alleging juror bias; the admissibility of firearm-related evidence found during a search; speedy trial; the sufficiency of the evidence; and the manifest weight of the evidence. For the following reasons, the trial court's judgment is affirmed.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

{¶2} On June 23, 2017, at 12:27 in the afternoon, the police were summoned to Oneta Avenue on the west side of Youngstown after multiple shots were fired inside a vehicle parked on the road. Raevenne Faircloth Thomas was found dead in the driver's seat with gunshot wounds to the right side of her body. She had been shot six times. Neighbors saw a man exit the victim's vehicle after the shooting and flee to a car that quickly pulled into a driveway near the scene.

{¶3} After the shooter entered the vehicle, the car pulled away, turned the corner, and entered the nearby freeway. (Tr. 691-692, 747). The car was described as a silver-gray Chevrolet Impala from the early-2000's; in addition, the rear passenger side door was dented, the window above that door was missing (or down), and a patterned blanket or rug was covering the opening. (Tr. 691-697, 717, 721, 738, 747-748, 754, 820-821).

{¶4} The shooter was described by the three witnesses as follows: (A) short and stocky black male with a beard, estimated at 5'8? and 200 pounds, wearing a red shirt and black pants; (B) heavyset black male, estimated at over 6' and 230-240 pounds, wearing a gray "spring jacket" and pants (viewed from behind and from a second story window); and (C) "real stocky" black male, estimated at 5'7?-5'8? and 160-170 pounds, wearing a red shirt and dark jeans with a large cuff. (Tr. 691, 719, 721, 726-727, 731, 748-749). Witness B watched the shooter alight from the SUV and wipe the interior passenger door with a red "rag" before the shooter fled. (Tr. 716, 720). The driver of the get-away car was described by Witness C as a heavyset black female with shoulder-length hair. (Tr. 752-753).

{¶5} A police dispatch describing the shooter and the silver Impala caused a Youngstown police officer to think about a prior experience he had with Appellant and his vehicle. (Tr. 834). Around 3:00 p.m., the officer drove to Appellant's address on Millet Avenue, which was less than a mile from the scene of the shooting. Parked in the driveway was a silver Impala with a missing rear passenger window and a dented rear passenger door. (Tr. 840, 1571; St.Ex. 113). A blanket patterned in red, white, and black was on the back seat. (Tr. 1535, 1540). Witness A identified Appellant's vehicle and the blanket as matching what he saw at the scene of the shooting. (Tr. 696-697; St.Ex. 113).

{¶6} Appellant exited the house while the officer was walking up the driveway. (Tr. 835). The officer noticed Appellant's official record reported his height as 5'7?, and a detective described Appellant as "heavy" in appearance. (Tr. 858, 1535). Appellant was wearing black pants and a red shirt and had a beard. (Tr. 1535, 1685). Barraya Hickson, who was Appellant's girlfriend, was detained as she quickly attempted to walk away from the house; a detective said she was heavyset with shoulder-length hair. (Tr. 844-845, 1534, 1537).

{¶7} The trunk of Appellant's silver Impala was almost completely filled with clothes; much of the clothing was red. As there were no clothes on hangers inside the house and the trunk was messily packed, the detective formed the impression that Appellant quickly filled the car with all of his clothing. (Tr. 1541). The glove compartment contained a property deed from the victim to Appellant for a house on East Warren Avenue. (Tr. 1544).

{¶8} Appellant said he owned the house on Millet, the vehicle, and the clothes in the trunk. (Tr. 836, 842, 1536, 1554). Appellant also said: he owed the victim money for a house; he considered the victim to be a sister; he did not see or communicate with the victim that day; the vehicle had not been driven that day; the rear passenger window of his car was broken; and it had been a long time since he last fired a gun. (Tr. 1554-1557). Appellant and the victim grew up together as her mother dated his father. (Tr. 663).

{¶9} The detective who interviewed Appellant on video left the room to notify the crime lab technician that Appellant consented to a gunshot residue (GSR) test. While the detective was out of the room, Appellant seemed to be licking and sucking his fingers, and this could be heard on the video; he then wiped his right hand on his shirt. (Tr. 1563-1565). The sample taken from Appellant's left hand tested positive for gunshot residue. (Tr. 1312-1314). Because a GSR test can affect the availability of DNA, Appellant's shirt was not subjected to a GSR test as the lab would test the shirt for DNA if blood was discovered on it. (Tr. 1570). DNA swabs from casings, the car door, and the victim's fingernails showed DNA was not suitable for comparison, was not present, or belonged to the victim. (Tr. 1189-1195, 1202).

{¶10} Appellant was arrested the same day as the shooting. A few days later, a person fishing by a trail in Mill Creek Metroparks found a bag containing a gun in the water and called the police. A park police officer recovered the gun which was a Smith & Wesson 9mm. (Tr. 1111). An expert at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) matched the marks on a cartridge test-fired from this firearm to those on the six 9mm casings found at the scene of the shooting and matched a test-fired bullet to the bullets recovered from the victim's body. (Tr. 1270-1271, 1274).

{¶11} Appellant and Barraya Hickson were jointly indicted on August 3, 2017 for aggravated murder and murder, both with firearm specifications. Appellant was also indicted for having a weapon while under disability, and Hickson was additionally indicted for obstructing justice. Appellant's case was tried to a jury in April 2019.

{¶12} In addition to the above information, the state presented the testimony of an attorney who prepared a deed transferring the house on East Warren Avenue to the victim in May 2017. (Tr. 1355). On June 6, 2017, the victim returned to the attorney's office with Appellant, requested a deed transferring the property to Appellant, and signed the deed before a notary. (Tr. 1357; 1359). An hour later, the victim successfully sought a refund of the $140 she paid the attorney. She did not ask for the deed, and the attorney retained it in his file. (Tr. 1357). An hour after that, Appellant appeared at the attorney's office and was upset when he learned about the refund; he asked, "how could she do me like that[?]" (Tr. 1358-1359). Appellant then paid $80 to have the deed recorded, and the attorney had it recorded the next day. (Tr. 1359).

{¶13} The victim's boyfriend testified that the victim grew up with Appellant and referred to him as her brother. (Tr. 1379). He said the victim was upset because Appellant still owed $2,000 for her grandmother's house which she agreed to sell to Appellant for $10,000. (Tr. 1383-1385, 1428-1431). Appellant complained about appliances not working and opined the victim "was trying to play me." (Tr. 1432).

{¶14} On the day she was killed, the victim's boyfriend heard her on a phone call around noon. He said the victim left their house on the west side at approximately 12:15 p.m. to stop at her sister's house (on the same side of town). (Tr. 1386-1387, 1430). At 12:20 p.m., the victim texted her boyfriend "need two more" and sent a mad emoji face at 12:26 p.m. (after he asked "two more what"). (Tr. 1390-1391, 1494). Around 3:00 p.m., this witness learned that his girlfriend had been killed. He called Appellant, who did not ask any details and said he would call him back as he was on his way to a waterpark. (Tr. 1394-1395).

{¶15} Appellant's self-reported phone number (matching the phone seized on his arrest) was saved in the victim's phone under the name "Big Bra." (Tr. 1550, 1552-1553). On the day before her death, the victim texted this number asking, "So when you gone bring me the rest of that money[?]" (Tr. 1468).

{¶16} On the day of her death at 12:07 p.m., the victim texted a number saved in her phone under the name "Deshawnte." (Appellant's first name is Dashonti.) The call lasted 19 seconds, and it was not established whether the call was answered by the recipient. (Tr. 1462-1463; 1689). The detective heard a recorded jail call wherein Appellant mentioned he had two phones before he was arrested. (Tr. 1551).

{¶17} Upon subpoenaing cell phone records, the detective learned Appellant's self-reported phone number was not communicating with the provider's towers between 11:59 a.m. and 1:12 p.m. The detective testified that this led him to conclude Appellant's phone was turned off at the time (or on airplane mode). (Tr. 1597). He also recited some location data as to where Appellant's phone was located before and after this time and where Hickson's phone and the victim's...