State v. Jerome R. Crouse, 99-LW-5206
| Decision Date | 06 December 1999 |
| Docket Number | 99-LW-5206,CA98-10-016 |
| Parties | STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. JEROME R. CROUSE, Defendant-Appellant. CASE |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Steven Eckstein, Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney, Shari L Barton, 214 West Market Street, Washington Court House, Ohio 43160, for plaintiff-appellee
Hapner & Hapner, Jon C. Hapner, 127 N. High Street, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133, for defendant-appellant
Plaintiff-appellant, Jerome R. Crouse, appeals his convictions and sentences in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas for burglary and vandalism. We affirm the trial court's decision.
On March 23, 1998, appellant was arrested and indicted on one count of burglary in violation of R.C. 2911.12(A)(2), a second-degree felony, and on one count of vandalism in violation of R.C. 2909.05(A), a fourth-degree felony. Appellant remained in jail in lieu of bail throughout the proceedings. On March 30, 1997, appellant pled not guilty to the charges. A jury trial commenced in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas on August 27, 1998.
Appellant and Harlena Crouse married on December 27, 1989. In 1994, they purchased a home located at 11488 State Route 41 North ("marital home"), Greenfield, Fayette County Ohio where they lived with their son, Jake. On July 4, 1997, Mrs. Crouse had appellant arrested on domestic violence charges and a temporary protection order ("TPO") was issued. On July 21, 1997, the day the TPO was dropped, another incident of domestic violence occurred and appellant and Mrs. Crouse separated. Since there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, appellant moved out of the marital home the same day leaving behind only a few personal items, i.e., razors and cologne. The record reveals that appellant's whereabouts were not always known, but part of the time he stayed in Texas and Tennessee.
On July 22, 1997, Mrs. Crouse obtained a TPO from Washington Court House Municipal Court in Fayette County ordering that:
JEROME CROUSE MUST STAY AWAY FROM HARLENA CROUSE AT PLACE OF RESIDENCE, EMPLOYMENT, SCHOOL OR ANYWHERE HARLENA CROUSE MAY BE FOUND AND THAT Crouse Jerome refrain from entering the residence, school, business, or place of employment of HARLENA CROUSE[.] Defendant is further ordered to stay away from complainant, wherever he/she may be found, even if invited.
On August 8, 1997, Mrs. Crouse filed for divorce in the Highland County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. On August 11, 1997, she obtained a restraining order from that court restraining appellant "from molesting and harassing [her] in her home or in public places."
After the separation, Mrs. Crouse testified that she and Jake lived with her parents at 322 Mirabeau Street, Greenfield, Ohio. Mrs. Crouse further stated that she stayed part of the time at her parents' home and part of the time at the marital home. Mrs. Crouse testified that she maintained the marital home and that she paid all the utility bills since July 1999. Mrs. Crouse stated that she kept food, Jake's toys and her dogs at the marital home. However, Mrs. Crouse explained that she had her mail pertaining to her legal matters sent to her parents' home for safekeeping.
At the divorce hearing on December 1, 1997, the judge awarded Mrs. Crouse the marital home and the household goods therein. Appellant did not attend the hearing, but within two days he called Mrs. Crouse and found out about the outcome. On December 4, 1997, Mrs. Crouse spent the evening cleaning the marital home until 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. and then she spent the night at her mother's home.
Sarah Best, Mrs. Crouse's mother, testified that on December 5, 1997 at approximately 8:15 a.m., she and her husband went to Mrs. Crouse's marital home to feed the dogs and discovered that the marital home and the household goods therein had been damaged.
Sergeant James Sears of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office testified that the sliding patio doors had been completely shattered out of their frames, and other windows had been broken. Inside the marital home, there was extensive damage done to the refrigerator, the kitchen door and frame, an antique fireplace mantel and mirror, ceiling light, toilet, medicine cabinet, microwave, telephone, and the washing machine causing water to run onto the floor. Sears stated that the markings on the damaged items indicated that the damage had been caused by a heavy object such as a claw hammer. Mrs. Crouse testified that the value of damaged property was $10,400.
After investigating the damage, Sears went to the Washington Court House Municipal Court where appellant and Mrs. Crouse were scheduled to attend a hearing on a domestic violence charge. At the courthouse, appellant refused to speak with Sears and appellant went to a Volkswagen car parked nearby. Sears observed appellant enter the Volkswagen car, but appellant left in another car.
Sergeant Steve Jennings of the Washington Court House Police Department testified that the Volkswagen car had Ohio temporary tags with the issue and expiration dates rubbed out. Jennings testified that he ran a check through the computer system of Bureau of Motor Vehicles which revealed that appellant was the owner of the car and the tags had expired three days ago. Jennings testified that cars with expired tags are required to be immediately removed from the street. Pursuant to police policy, Jennings conducted an inventory search prior to having the vehicle towed and found a claw hammer, a BB gun and a lock blade knife.
Later in the day, William Hatfield, a special agent of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation ("BCI"), met with Sears to inspect the damage at the marital home. Hatfield testified that in his opinion the damage was caused by a claw hammer. The refrigerator and dryer had specific marks on them that appeared to be from the end of a claw hammer and round marks caused by the head of a claw hammer. Hatfield cut out portions of the damaged refrigerator and other damaged items as evidence. Heather Pemberton, a BCI forensic scientist, testified that the damage to the evidence collected from the marital home was made by the claw hammer found in appellant's car.
Conrad Curren, Mrs. Crouse's divorce attorney, testified for the defense and stated that Mrs. Crouse lived with her mother after the separation and that her divorce was journalized on January 12, 1998. Appellant's mother, Carmen Crouse, testified that appellant was aware of the divorce proceedings. At the end of the state's case, and at the end of all evidence, appellant moved for a judgment of acquittal under Crim.R. 29(A). The trial court denied the motions.
Appellant proffered six jury instructions which the trial court did not include in its instructions to the jury. On August 28, 1998, the jury found appellant guilty of burglary and vandalism. The trial court ordered a presentence investigation report. On October 5, 1998, a sentencing hearing was held. In an October 8, 1998 entry of conviction, the trial court sentenced appellant to a definite term of seven years on the burglary count and a definite term of seventeen months on the vandalism count and ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. Appellant appeals this decision presenting seven assignments of error.
Assignment of error No. 1:
The case should have been dismissed by the Trial Court for failure to bring the matter to trial within the time prescribed by law.
Ohio's speedy trial statute requires that a person charged with a felony "be brought to trial within two hundred seventy days after his arrest." R.C. 2945.71(C)(2). The time within which an accused must be brought to trial may be extended by a period of delay necessitated by reason of a plea in bar or abatement, motion, proceeding, or action made or instituted by the accused, R.C. 2945.72(E); the period of any continuance granted on the accused's own motion, and the period of any reasonable continuance granted other than upon the accused's own motion. R.C 2945.72(H). In addition, "each day during which the accused is held in jail in lieu of bail on the pending charge shall be counted as three days." R.C. 2945.71(E).
One hundred fifty-seven days elapsed between appellant's arrest on March 23, 1998 and the date his trial began on August 27, 1998. Appellant remained in jail in lieu of bail throughout these proceedings, which required the state to bring him to trial within ninety days of his arrest. See R.C. 2945.71(E); State v. Singer (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 103, 105; see, also, State v. Greenwood (July 18, 1994), Clinton App. No. CA93-11-034, unreported. However, according to our calculations, the speedy trial statute was tolled several times by appellant's own actions and the total days chargeable to the state are well within the ninety days pursuant to R.C. 2945.71(E).
The speedy trial time began to run the day after appellant's arrest on March 23, 1998. See State v. Steiner (1991), 71 Ohio App.3d 249, 250-251. Eight days elapsed until appellant filed a request for discovery on March 31, 1998 which tolled the speedy trial time under R.C. 2945.72(E). See State v. Prather (July 10, 1995), Brown App. No. CA94-08-010, unreported, at 6. The state responded to the discovery request on April 9, 1998 and the speedy trial time began to run again. Twelve days elapsed until April 21, 1998 when appellant filed a motion for continuance due to his attorney's illness and the speedy trial time was again tolled under R.C. 2945.72(H) until June 1, 1998. See State v. Martin (1978), 56 Ohio St.2d 289. State v. Webb (Aug. 4, 1997), Fayette App. No. CA96-11-024, unreported, at 4. While the speedy trial time was still tolled, on May 19, 1998, appellant filed a motion to dismiss the...
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