State v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 22 February 2022
• Docket Number: 1-20-46
• Citation: 185 N.E.3d 176
• Parties: STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Eric D. WILSON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Ohio Court of Appeals

185 N.E.3d 176

STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.Eric D. WILSON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.

NO. 1-20-46

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Third District, Allen County.

Date of Decision: February 22, 2022

Markus L. Moll, for Appellant.

Jana E. Emerick, Lima, for Appellee.

WILLAMOWSKI, J.

{¶1} Defendant-appellant Eric D. Wilson, Jr. ("Wilson") appeals the judgment of the Allen County Court of Common Pleas, alleging (1) that his convictions are not supported by sufficient evidence; (2) that his convictions are against the manifest weight of the evidence; (3) that he was denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel; (4) that the trial court improperly allowed a witness to testify as an expert; (5) that the trial court erred in granting a witness immunity; (6) that the trial court erred in admitting an expert report; and (7) that the trial court erred in imposing his sentence. For the reasons set forth below, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Facts and Procedural History

{¶2} On June 14, 2019, Detective Callie Basinger ("Detective Basinger") of the Allen County Sheriff's Office received a report of a shooting on Lark Avenue in Lima, Ohio. Tr. 182. Detective Basinger went to the scene where she observed the victim of the shooting lying face down near the property line between two residences. Tr. 183, 190. Ex. 4-5. She approached the victim and determined that he was deceased. Tr. 183. The victim was later identified as Christian Laws ("Laws"), who was also known by the nickname "Mad Maxx." Tr. 183.

{¶3} A neighbor informed the police that he followed two individuals involved in the shooting to an address on St. Clair where a Willie Banks, Sr. ("Willie Sr.") and Lakendra Blackman ("Lakendra") lived. Tr. 188, 190-191. The police went to the house at this address and discovered a number of people at the residence besides Willie Sr. and Lakendra. Tr. 190-193. Several of the individuals who were at the residence were placed into police cruisers and brought to the police station for interviews regarding Laws's death, including Willie Banks, Jr. ("Willie Jr."); Dontez Smith ("Smith"); and Jolade Omosikeji ("Omosikeji"). Tr. 192-194. In an interview with Detective Steven J. Stechschulte ("Detective Stechschulte"), Omosikeji confessed to having shot and killed Laws. Tr. 197. The police learned that Smith was with Omosikeji at the time that Laws was shot. Tr. 686.

{¶4} Patrolman Sam Crish ("Patrolman Crish") was a part of the initial investigation into the shooting of Laws. Tr. 359-360. He later testified that he expected retaliation in response to Laws's death. Tr. 361. Patrolman Crish explained that he had learned, from his experience as a police officer and by working with Detective Stechschulte, that Laws had been associated with East Side gangs ("East Side"). Tr. 362, 364. Smith and Omosikeji were associated with North Side gangs ("North Side"). Tr. 624, 679. Patrolman Crish testified that East Side and North Side gangs were rivals. Tr. 363. The police believed that Omosikeji shot Laws as part of an "ongoing feud" between them. Tr. 641.

{¶5} On June 14, 2019, believing that retaliation was possible, Patrolman Crish drove his cruiser to McKibben Street in Lima, Ohio and parked about one block away from where a Romelo Blackman ("Romelo") lived. Tr. 362, 366-367. Romelo was Lakendra's son in addition to being Smith and Willie Jr.’s brother. Tr. 362, 365, 410, 687. Romelo was also associated with a North Side gang. Tr. 362. Given these connections, Patrolman Crish believed that Romelo's address might be a potential site for retaliatory action. Tr. 362, 365.

{¶6} After he parked his cruiser, Patrolman Crish got out of his car and walked on foot towards Romelo's address. Tr. 367. Within about twenty minutes of his arrival, he observed a vehicle driving past Romelo's house and heard some yelling. Tr. 367. He then "heard a couple gunshots go off and then a car quickly sped away." Tr. 367. Patrolman Crish saw several people from Romelo's house get into a vehicle and drive after the car. Tr. 368. "A couple minutes after that from farther west of us we could hear more shots go off." Tr. 368.

{¶7} Patrolman Crish testified that the police continued to "ke[ep] eyes on [Romelo's] house" given the continued potential for retaliation. Tr. 369. He also stated that the police "then kept tabs on when the funeral for Christian [Laws] was going to be" because, in his experience, retaliatory events have been known to occur after funerals in similar situations. Tr. 369, 371. The police became aware that Laws's funeral was going to occur on June 21, 2019 in the vicinity of the intersection of Cole Street and Edgewood Drive in Lima, Ohio. Tr. 371, 373.

{¶8} On the afternoon of June 21, 2019, Romelo asked a friend, Jayden Cartagena ("Cartagena") to drive him to Wally's Fillin’ Station ("Wally's") in Lima, Ohio because he wanted to buy some food. Tr. 268-269. Wally's is located near the intersection of Cole Street and Edgewood Drive. Tr. 451. Ex. 114. Cartagena met Romelo at his address on McKibben and then drove him to Wally's in his (Cartagena's) pickup truck. Tr. 270-271. Cartagena parked his vehicle at Wally's, and Romelo went inside. Tr. 271, 273. A few moments later, Romelo came back from the gas station store with a pizza and got into the passenger side of Cartagena's vehicle. Tr. 273, 275.

{¶9} In between 2:45 P.M. and 3:00 P.M., Cartagena began to drive his vehicle out of Wally's parking lot and onto the street. Tr. 275, 383. He testified that,

[w]hen I pulled up to the road I had glanced to my left and the * * * I didn't see anything and then all of a sudden I just heard shots fired and then I * * * just started like yelling at Romelo. I'm like, ‘What—what is going on,’ you know, I end up pressing on the gas and taking off and * * * that's when we're going south * * * on Cole Street going towards Robb.

Tr. 276. He further testified that he "heard several gunshots. It wasn't just one. It just was * * * repeatitive [sic] * * *. Tr. 276.

{¶10} Cartagena then began driving to a nearby relative's house. Tr. 277. Cartagena later testified that, during this portion of the drive, he asked Romelo "what [was] * * * going on" and that Romelo "didn't say nothing." Tr. 278. When he got to his relative's house, Cartagena called the police. Tr. 277. Romelo contacted his mother, who picked him up and took him home. Tr. 289. Cartagena testified that he did not speak to Romelo after this incident because he "was obviously upset, you know, that [Romelo] * * * wasn't telling * * * [him] what was—what he got himself into." Tr. 289-290.

{¶11} At the time of the shooting, Cynthia Wall ("Wall") was doing yardwork outside of her house across the street from Wally's on Cole Street. Tr. 230-232. At first, she "thought some fireworks was [sic] going off * * *." Tr. 231, 232. She testified that she "look[ed] up and there was some young fellow that stepped out of the third bay [of the carwash next to Wally's] and was shooting off a gun." Tr. 232, 235. Wall said that "[h]e was waiving [sic] the gun * * * and then he aimed it right at me and I took off running because I was scared to death that the bullets was going to come flying to me." Tr. 236. Wall testified that she could only see one shooter at this carwash and later identified Wilson as the young man who she had seen firing the gun on June 21, 2019. Tr. 237-238, 241.

{¶12} At this time, Paul Custer ("Custer") was also outside of his house on the opposite side of Cole Street as Wally's. Tr. 246. He was installing a screen door at his house with his stepson when they "heard what [they] * * * believed to be shots from a weapon." Tr. 248. They "looked down the street towards Wally's Fillin[’] Station and * * * s[aw] activity down there * * *." Tr. 248. Custer later inspected the exterior of his house and "found that a round had went through two of my windows and lodged in the frame of [the] * * * window to my laundry room." Tr. 248. Ex. 11-17.

{¶13} Charles Kamler ("Kamler") was also in the vicinity of Wally's at the time of this shooting. Tr. 219. He was driving one of two charter buses that were carrying a total of forty-eight children who were returning to Lima after visiting a residential camp. Tr. 216. Kamler testified that his bus was at a stoplight at the intersection of Cole Street and Edgewood Drive when he "heard a couple of quick pop, pop, pop, pop * * *." Tr. 217. He turned towards the sound and, from his vantage point, could see "two guys and they were firing pistols." Tr. 218. He could not provide a description of the shooters beyond confirming that they were wearing black clothing and that one of them was firing his pistol with his left hand. Tr. 220, 228.

{¶14} Kamler "told the kids to get down" and then called 9-1-1. Tr. 221. He later testified that he was concerned because he saw the shooters go in the same direction that the buses were headed. Tr. 224. For this reason, when the buses arrived at the church where the parents were to pick up the children, Kamler immediately brought the children inside the building and "locked everything down * * *." Tr. 225. The buses were equipped with video cameras. Tr. 217. The State obtained footage from the charter bus cameras and played the recordings at trial. Ex. 7. Tr. 222-223.

{¶15} Kayaunna Mayer ("Mayer") testified that she was in a car with her cousin at a stoplight at the intersection of Cole Street and Edgewood Drive on the afternoon June 21, 2019. Tr. 203-204. She saw "two people, maybe three," who were "behind the carwash, we seen someone hiding behind a pole, somebody beside like the carwash." Tr. 205, 206. Mayer recognized one of these individuals as Hezekiah Williams ("Hezekiah"), who was a friend of her cousin. Tr. 207. She testified that Hezekiah "wasn't doing anything." Tr. 207. She then heard gunshots but could not see who was firing the gun. Tr. 208-209.

{¶16} However, Mayer did testify that "it didn't look like he [Hezekiah] was shooting at...