State v. Houston
| Decision Date | 25 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | APPEAL NO. C-190598 |
| Citation | 2020 Ohio 5421 |
| Parties | STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SHAWNDRE HOUSTON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Criminal Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas
Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed
Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Judith Anton Lapp, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee,
Timothy J. McKenna for Defendant-Appellant.
{¶1} Following a jury trial, defendant-appellant Shawndre Houston was convicted of aggravated murder under former R.C. 2903.01(A), with an accompanying firearm specification. We find no merit in his seven assignments of error, and we affirm the trial court's judgment.
{¶2} The record shows that Heywood Thompson owned the Indulge VSP Lounge ("the lounge") in Springdale, Ohio. Various promoters rented the facility to host events, and the lounge would provide food, drink, and security. Thompson hired private security guards for the events. He generally stationed two security guards inside the facility and one in the parking lot. Thompson prohibited weapons in the club and used a "double pat-down" system where patrons were patted down both at the entrance to the building and again inside the bar. Security cameras were placed in numerous locations.
{¶3} On January 26, 2017, the club was rented for an event involving exotic dancers. Thompson had three security guards in the club that night, and one in the parking lot. The guard in the parking lot was Bobbie Long, a retired police officer. The promoter also brought two of her own security guards.
{¶4} A fight started on the dance floor and security was able to get it under control. The fight resumed a short time later near the men's restroom. David Salter and his friends attacked Houston and his friends. Thompson saw Salter "sucker-punch" a guard in the back of the head while that guard was restraining another patron. Thompson then ordered a "code black," and all patrons were asked to pay their tabs and leave. All doors were then locked.
{¶5} Footage from the security cameras showed security guards trying to restrain Salter while he kept trying to attack Houston. It also showed Houston with facial bruises and a black eye. The security guards separated the men and forced them out a side door into an alley that divided the lounge's parking lot from the lot of an adjacent Super 8 Motel. Long had come in from the parking lot and was waiting in the alley.
{¶6} Thompson and the security guards formed a wall to separate Salter and Houston, who continued to yell at each other. Long pushed Salter and his friends behind him to prevent Houston and his friends from reaching them. He said that Salter was trying to de-escalate the situation, telling his friends that it was "not that big of deal" and to calm down.
{¶7} Long ordered the men to leave, and Houston walked to a gray Hyundai Sonata. Thompson said that Houston opened the car door and appeared to be searching for something on the driver's side, which was illuminated by a dome light. Houston then got in his car.
{¶8} LaRay Bush, one of Houston's friends, threatened Salter and the security guards, stating "I carry heat, I'll get you," although no one saw him with a weapon. Bush refused orders to leave, so Long tased him. But Bush wore a "bubble coat" that prevented the barbs of the Taser from touching his skin. He pulled the barbs out of his coat. Bush was still being loud and aggressive, but he retreated to Houston's car and got into the back seat on the driver's side.
{¶9} Houston drove his car around the parking lot, but he did not leave the area. Thompson said that "we felt that there was probably about to be something going on that we needed to be concerned about." Houston drove his car through theSuper 8 parking lot and back through the lounge's parking lot at least two times, possibly three. Long described the car as doing "a loop-around thing."
{¶10} In the meantime, Salter had been trying to get back in the building. Thompson and the security guards were trying to get Salter to leave. They chased him, but he ran a few feet ahead of them. Thompson was about two feet away from Salter when he saw a "muzzle flash" and heard five gunshots.
{¶11} Salter was near the club's entrance when Houston's car drove by him. The driver's side of the car faced Salter, and the driver's side window was halfway down. Long was about ten feet away from Salter when he heard a scream and four to five gunshots. Afterward, Salter was on the ground, and Houston's car drove away. Five shell casings from a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson were later found in the parking lot.
{¶12} The Springdale Police Department put out a broadcast asking other police departments to be on the lookout for a gray late-model Hyundai Sonata involved in a shooting. Green Hills Police Officer Zachary Clark heard the broadcast about 1:30 a.m. Within five minutes, he saw the Hyundai driving south on Winton Road. He called for backup, and when other police officers arrived, he pulled over the car. Houston was driving, and Bush and Keonta Hardy were in the back seat. All three were placed in handcuffs and detained for Springdale police.
{¶13} Springdale Police Detective Eric Langevin and his officers took Houston and his passengers to the Springdale Police Department. The police officers immediately took Houston's jacket for lab analysis. Houston was sweating profusely and was short of breath, so the police called paramedics. The paramedics attempted to cool him off by taking off his shirt and wiping down his upper body.
{¶14} Officer Clark had followed Houston for about a mile before pulling him over. Video footage from the cruiser showed that a gun was thrown from the car near Cherry Blossom and Winton Roads. It landed in a grassy area next to a driveway. About 2:40 p.m. the same day, a citizen called the police to report that a firearm was in his front yard. The police collected it and determined that it was the weapon used in the shooting.
{¶15} Houston's DNA was found on the magazine of the gun. All three occupants of the car were tested for the presence of gunshot residue. There was no gunshot residue on Houston's hands, but some was found on his jacket. Gunshot residue was found on both Bush's and Hardy's hands.
{¶16} Houston was charged with aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault, with accompanying firearm specifications. A jury trial resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial. After a second trial, a jury found Houston guilty as charged, except for one of the firearm specifications. The other charges were merged with the aggravated-murder charge. Houston was properly sentenced, and this appeal followed.
{¶17} In his first assignment of error, Houston contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. First, he argues that the state failed to present sufficient evidence to prove prior calculation and design.
{¶18} Houston was convicted of aggravated murder under former R.C. 2903.01(A). It provided that "[n]o person shall purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another * * *." To show prior calculation and design, the state must show a "scheme designed to implement the calculated decision to kill." State v. Coley, 93 Ohio St.3d 253, 263, 754 N.E.2d 1129 (2001). Evidence of purposedoes not automatically mean that the element of prior calculation and design also exists. State v. Walker, 150 Ohio St.3d 409, 2016-Ohio-8295, 82 N.E.3d 1124, ¶ 17. "All prior calculation and design offenses will necessarily include purposeful homicides; not all purposeful homicides have an element of prior calculation and design." State v Jones, 2020-Ohio-281, 151 N.E.3d 1059, ¶ 11 (1st Dist.), quoting Walker at ¶ 18. The phrase "prior calculation and design" suggests advance reasoning to formulate the purpose to kill. Evidence of an act committed on the spur of the moment or after momentary consideration is insufficient. Walker at ¶ 18.
{¶19} The Ohio Supreme Court has repeatedly held that there is no "bright-line test that emphatically distinguishes between the presence or absence" of prior calculation and design. Instead, each case turns on its own facts. Walker at ¶ 19; State v. Taylor, 78 Ohio St.3d 15, 20, 676 N.E.2d 82 (1997); Jones at ¶ 13. In determining whether a defendant acted with prior calculation and design, courts should consider three factors: (1) Did the accused and the victim know each other, and if so, was that relationship strained? (2) Did the accused give thought or preparation to choosing the murder weapon or murder site? and (3) Was the act drawn out or "an almost instantaneous eruption of events?" Walker at ¶ 20; Taylor at 19; Jones at ¶ 13.
{¶20} Nothing in the record shows that Houston and Salter knew each other prior to the fight. During the fight, Salter punched Houston several times, and Houston had a black eye and other injuries. Security had broken up the fight and forced the participants out a side door. Outside, security guards formed "a wall" between Salter and some of the other participants, including Bush. According to Long, Salter was trying to de-escalate the situation, telling his friends to calm down.
{¶21} When told to leave, Houston walked to his car, turned on the dome light, and appeared to be searching for something on or around the driver's seat. He drove his car through the lounge parking lot and the parking lot of the motel next door. He circled around the lot and passed the lounge entrance at least two, possibly three times. As soon as Salter started running away from the building, Houston drove by him with the driver's side of the car facing Salter. Salter was about two feet away from Thompson when Thompson saw a muzzle flash from the driver's side of the car and heard four or five gunshots. Salter fell to the ground bleeding and...
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