State v. Martin L. Hatton

• Decision Date: 19 April 1999
• Docket Number: 97 CA 34,99-LW-1428
• Parties: STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. MARTIN L. HATTON, Defendant-Appellant Case
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. MARTIN L. HATTON, Defendant-Appellant

No. 97 CA 34.

99-LW-1428 (4th)

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fourth District Pickaway

April 19, 1999

COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT:^[1] Jack Harrison, 643 Warren Street Dayton, Ohio 45409.

COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: P. Eugene Long, P.O. Box 910, 124 West Franklin Street, Circleville, Ohio 43113.

DECISION

ABELE J.

This is an appeal from a Pickaway County Common Pleas Court judgment of conviction and sentence. The jury found Martin L Hatton, defendant below and appellant herein, guilty of the following offenses: (1) aggravated burglary in violation of R.C. 2911.11; (2) kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01; (3) felonious assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11;1 (4) rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02; and (5) theft in violation of R.C. 2913.02.

Appellant raises the following assignments of error for review:

FIRST ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"APPELLANT WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS RIGHT TO THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN VIOLATION OF THE SIXTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, [SECTION] 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION."

SECOND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"APPELLANT'S RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL WAS DENIED BY PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL IN CONCERT WITH THE JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT OF PASSIVITY OR PERMISSIVENESS TOWARD SUCH CONDUCT."

THIRD ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"THE STATE'S FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE MATERIAL TO APPELLANT'S INNOCENCE DEPRIVED HIM OF A FAIR TRIAL IN VIOLATION OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE I, [SECTION] 16 OF THE OHIO CONSTITUTION."

FOURTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"APPELLANT'S CONVICTIONS ARE AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE."

FIFTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"THE RAPE AND FELONIOUS ASSAULT CHARGES SHOULD HAVE BEEN MERGED AND THE THEFT CHARGE DISMISSED."

SIXTH ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

"APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL UNDER RC [SIC] 2945.71."

Our review of the record reveals the following pertinent facts. On January 18, 1997, at approximately 1:17 a.m., seventeen year old Jillian awoke to the sound of footsteps in her bedroom. Shortly thereafter, Jillian felt a gloved hand covering her mouth and saw a strange man's face inches away from her. The man held a knife to Jillian's neck and told her that she "better really love [her] parents, that if [she] screamed or made any noise he was going to kill" her family. The man raped Jillian in her bedroom and then took her downstairs to the family room. Once downstairs in the family room, a second man raped Jillian. While the second man was raping Jillian, the first man left the room. When the first man came back, he told the second man that they had to leave. The second man stated that he was not ready to leave because he was "not done" with Jillian.

Jillian and the two men heard footsteps upstairs. Jillian's father, Paul, hearing footsteps in the house, had woken up to investigate. As he proceeded down the stairs, he heard someone say "Let's get the hell out of here. Someone's coming." Paul saw the first man fleeing the residence. The second man ran into Paul. The two men struggled. During the struggle, the second man was yelling, "Marty, Marty, Marty!" He told Paul, "My buddy's got a gun, he will come in and kill you all." Paul asked the second man who Marty is, and the man replied, "I don't know why I am here. I came with Marty Hatton. "

As Paul was struggling with the second man, Jillian ran upstairs to her parents' bedroom to find her mother. Jillian told her mother what happened and telephoned 911.

Between 2:17 and 2:30 a.m., the police arrived. Circleville Police Sergeant Wayne Gray and Circleville Police Officer David Haynes were the first officers on the scene. As Sergeant Gray entered the front door, he saw Paul standing over the second man, who was laying on the floor and was yelling, "Where's Marty?" The second man said several times that he had been at the residence with "Marty". Sergeant Gray told the man that he did not know who "Marty" was. The second man stated it was "Marty Hatton." The officers learned that the second man was Ricky Dunn. The officers arrested Dunn and, when additional officers arrived on the scene, began searching for Hatton. The officers did not, however, find Hatton.

After looking through the house, Paul learned that his wife's wedding and engagement rings and his wife's watch, which his wife took off to do the dishes and had placed by the kitchen sink, were missing. Additionally, two money clips, a small amount of cash, a cam corder, and a cam corder case were missing from Paul's office. A set of keys was missing from one of the cars.

Jillian went to the hospital for a post-sexual assault examination. Dr. Alice Frazier performed the examination and found that Jillian's injuries and condition were consistent with her statement that she had been raped. Dr. Frazier collected various evidence, including pubic hair samples and fluid samples, to send to the police for analysis. During her collection of the pubic hair sample, Dr. Frazier discovered one black pubic hair.

Meanwhile, the law enforcement officers secured the scene.

Circleville Police Investigators Robert Chapman and Jack Clark

processed the crime scene. In the family room where the

individual later identified as Ricky Dunn raped Jillian, the

officers discovered a silver lock blade knife on the couch. The officers sent the knife to the Bureau of Criminal Identification

and Investigation ("BCI") to determine whether any fingerprints

were on the knife.

Sheryl L. Mahan, a BCI latent fingerprint examiner, testified that the knife did not contain any prints with sufficient ridge detail to provide a positive fingerprint identification. Specifically, her report stated: "An examination of the [knife] did not reveal any latent print that contained sufficient ridge detail for comparison purposes." Mahan translated the statement to mean that she examined the knife for latent prints and, while some fingerprints were on the knife, they were insufficient for comparison purpose. she testified that latent fingerprints are extremely fragile. If an individual improperly packages the item or if an individual smudges the print with his hand or with a glove the print likely will not contain sufficient detail to compare.

Following his arrest and at trial, Dunn explained the events surrounding the burglary and rape as follows. Dunn testified that he was with appellant on the night of January 17, 1997. Dunn and appellant went to the Match Box Tavern. After leaving the bar, Dunn and appellant went to Chatham Drive. Appellant told Dunn they were going to Chatham Drive to talk to a friend of appellant's. When they got to Chatham Drive, appellant told Dunn that he was going to rob a house. Dunn stated that he thought appellant was kidding. Appellant told Dunn that "he would leave [Dunn] laying on the ground if [Dunn] didn't do it." Appellant and Dunn went to one house, but could not open the door. They then went to the next house and walked around the side entrance to the garage. Appellant opened the door with a credit card. Appellant and Dunn entered the garage and appellant began looking through the cars. Appellant found a set of keys in one of the cars.

Appellant entered the house while Dunn remained in the garage. Some time later, appellant returned to the garage and told Dunn to come inside. When Dunn entered the house, he saw Jillian standing against the wall. Dunn said Marty was laughing, stating, "Look at this,"--"seventeen years old." Dunn told appellant, "Oh, no, don't do this. Let's get out of here." Dunn stated appellant would not listen to him.

Appellant told Dunn that he had sex with Jillian and that

Dunn was also going to have sex with her. Dunn told appellant,

"no way, I am not going to do that." Dunn again told appellant

that they should leave. Appellant grabbed Jillian, held the

knife to her neck and said if Dunn did not have sex with Jillian,

appellant would kill her.

Appellant led Jillian into the family room and told Jillian to lay down on the couch. Appellant told Dunn to get on top of her. Appellant held the knife to Jillian's neck and told her not to make any noise. Appellant shone a flashlight on Jillian and Dunn to make sure that Dunn was having sex with her. Dunn stated that he was not able to have sex with her because he was scared. Approximately five minutes later, Dunn heard someone coming downstairs. Appellant said, "Let's, get the hell out of here, somebody is coming." Dunn replied, "I am not ready yet." Dunn stated he did not want to leave with appellant because he was afraid appellant would kill him and Jillian. Dunn later informed the officers that appellant had been wearing a dark colored sweatshirt on the night in question.

On January 18, 1997, at approximately 8:36 a.m., Circleville Police Officer Kevin Clark and Pickaway County Sheriff's Department Sergeant Mike Wears went to appellant's house to question him about his whereabouts during the preceding night and about Dunn's allegations. The officers informed appellant that Dunn had stated that appellant had been involved in a burglary and a rape at the Chatham Drive residence during the overnight hours. Appellant told the officers that he had no idea what the officers were talking about. Appellant stated that he had not seen Dunn the previous evening. Appellant stated that on the previous evening, he returned home shortly before midnight. He and his wife watched a movie and went to bed.

Appellant informed the officers that he was willing to help out in any way that he could and that he was not involved in the crimes. The officers asked appellant for the clothes he had been wearing the previous evening, and appell...