State v. Bryant
| Decision Date | 13 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | s. 111206,111522 |
| Citation | 199 N.E.3d 919 |
| Parties | STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Edwonte BRYANT, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Megan Helton, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
Joseph V. Pagano, Akron, for appellant.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
{¶ 1} In this consolidated appeal, defendant-appellant, Edwonte Bryant ("Bryant"), appeals from his convictions and sentence. He raises the following assignments of error for review:
{¶ 2} After careful review of the record and relevant case law, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
{¶ 3} On December 12, 2019, Bryant was named in a five-count indictment in Cuyahoga C.P. No. CR-19-646608-A. The indictment charged him with aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.01(A)(1), with one- and three-year firearm specifications (Count 1); robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.02(A)(2), with one- and three-year firearm specifications (Count 2); failure to comply in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B) (Count 3); having weapons while under disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2), with forfeiture specifications (Count 4); and carrying a concealed weapon in violation of R.C. 2923.12(A)(2), with a forfeiture specification (Count 5).
{¶ 4} On October 28, 2020, Bryant retracted his former plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, with a one-year firearm specification as amended in Count 1 of the indictment; failure to comply as charged in Count 3 of the indictment; and having weapons while under disability as charged in Count 4 of the indictment. The remaining counts were nolled.
{¶ 5} On November 17, 2020, Bryant was sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment on the firearm specification attached to Count 1, to run prior and consecutive to a minimum three-year term of imprisonment on the underlying aggravated robbery offense. The trial court further sentenced Bryant to a nine-month term of imprisonment on the failure to comply offense, to run consecutive to Count 1, and a one-year term of imprisonment on the having weapons while under disability offense, to run concurrently with Counts 1 and 3. Pertinent to this appeal, the trial court summarized Bryant's sentence as follows:
So this is a Reagan Tokes S.B. 201 case. You're going to have to serve the one-year prior to and consecutive to the minimum stated term. The minimum stated term is three years and nine months with a maximum term of five years and three months. That's a total stated prison term of four years, nine months; six years, three months.
(Tr. 30.)
{¶ 6} On March 30, 2021, Bryant was named in an eight-count indictment in Cuyahoga C.P. No. CR-20-658077-A. The indictment charged Bryant with rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), with a sexually violent predator specification and a furthermore clause that the defendant "purposely compelled the victim, who was under ten years of age at the commission of the offense, to submit by force or threat of force" (Count 1); kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(4), with sexual motivation and sexually-violent-predator specifications (Count 2); gross sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), with a sexually-violent-predator specification (Count 3); kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(4), with sexual motivation and sexually-violent-predator specifications (Count 4); rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), with a sexually-violent-predator specification and a furthermore clause that the defendant "purposely compelled the victim, who was under ten years of age at the commission of the offense, to submit by force or threat of force" (Count 5); gross sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), with a sexually-violent-predator specification (Count 6); gross sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), with a sexually-violent-predator specification (Count 7); and gross sexual imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), with a sexually-violent-predator specification (Count 8).
{¶ 7} Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment alleged that Bryant sexually assaulted the victim, D.M. (d.o.b. 03/29/2003), between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011. Counts 3 and 4 of the indictment alleged that Bryant sexually assaulted the victim, J.M. (d.o.b. 10/23/2004), between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011. Finally, Counts 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the indictment alleged that Bryant sexually assaulted the victim, C.W. (d.o.b. 10/24/2000), between January 1, 2008, and October 25, 2011.
{¶ 8} On November 1, 2021, the matter proceeded to a bench trial, where the following facts were adduced.
{¶ 9} On behalf of the state, Michael Bokmiller ("Bokmiller"), of the Cuyahoga County Division of Child and Family Services ("CCDCFS"), testified that in February 2019, he was assigned to investigate allegations of sexual abuse involving the minor child, J.M. Bokmiller specified that the circumstances that prompted his investigation pertained to a rape allegation that is unrelated to this case. In the course of his investigation into this unrelated matter, Bokmiller questioned J.M. about her sexual history and whether she had ever been sexually assaulted in the past. At that time, J.M. revealed that when she was approximately six years old her "cousin's half-brother," later identified as Bryant, "put his private part on her privates." (Tr. 130.) Upon further inquiry, Bokmiller confirmed that Bryant had access to J.M. during the pertinent time period. Accordingly, Bokmiller reported J.M.’s allegation to the Cleveland Police Department.
{¶ 10} Detective Richard Tusing ("Det. Tusing"), of the Cleveland Police Department, testified that in March 2019, he was assigned to investigate allegations of sexual abuse involving J.M. and her older sister, D.M. In the course of his investigation, Det. Tusing separately interviewed D.M., J.M., and their mother, A.W. Det. Tusing confirmed that D.M. and J.M. each disclosed instances of sexual assault committed by Bryant. Based on the information gathered from A.W., Det. Tusing was able to narrow the date of the alleged instances of sexual abuse to a weekend in May 2011. Det. Tusing testified that A.W. was confident that D.M. and J.M.’s only exposure to Bryant was during a weekend they spent at their aunt's home while A.W. recovered from a recent hospitalization.
{¶ 11} Det. Tusing testified that he also learned from A.W. that her niece, C.W., had also reported being sexually abused by Bryant when she was a child. He explained as follows:
When I spoke with [A.W.] on the phone, she had informed me that there was another family member who had disclosed to her that she had been molested by the same individual.
(Tr. 186-187.) In light of this information, Det. Tusing separately interviewed C.W., and documented her allegations against Bryant. Det. Tusing then collected all pertinent medical and counseling records and presented the case to the grand jury for indictment.
{¶ 12} At trial, D.M., then 18 years old, testified that when she was approximately eight years old, she and her younger sister, J.M., visited the home of their cousin, Renaja, in the summer of 2011. D.M. stated that Bryant lived in the same home as Renaja and was present at the time of the visit. D.M. explained that Bryant was Renaja's half-sibling and was not her blood relative. D.M. summarized her interaction with Bryant on the day of the visit as follows:
It was me and my sister and we came from church and then he [Bryant] was there and he asked if we want to play a game. I said yeah. And then he took me to a room and he put a cover over my head and then that's when he put his penis in me and I said, "I don't want to play no more," so he stopped.
(Tr. 58.) When asked if she could recall specific details of the incident, D.M. stated that she remembered that she was wearing "a white shirt and a pink skirt with white polka dots on it." (Tr. 60.) D.M. explained that she remembered her outfit because Bryant asked to adjust her skirt before he covered her face with a blanket. D.M. then clarified that Bryant "put his penis" in her vagina while she was laying on a bed. (Tr. 61.) D.M. stated that she immediately told Bryant that he was hurting her and that she did not want to play the game anymore. According to D.M., Bryant then left the bedroom and went into the living room.
{¶ 13} As a result of the incident, D.M. did not "go back over Renaja's when [Bryant] was there." (Tr. 63.) However, D.M. conceded that she did not tell anyone about Bryant's conduct at the time it occurred. D.M. explained her inaction as follows:
I really didn't know * * * like, what was going on because I was so young, but then as I got older and started thinking, I found out what happened.
(Tr. 62.) Thus, D.M. confirmed that she did not disclose the incident to her mother or the police until 2019.
{¶ 14} On cross-examination, D.M. was unable to recall whether the incident occurred during the beginning or end of the summer of 2011. However, D.M. was confident that it occurred at some point during the summer "because it was hot." (Tr. 64.) D.M. also reiterated her testimony that Bryant asked her to play a game, and took her into a nearby bedroom where he proceeded to cover her face with a blanket, remove her skirt, and put his penis in her vagina. D.M. conceded, however, that she never saw Bryant's penis and only felt something penetrate her.
{¶ 15} Regarding D.M.’s delayed disclosure of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial