Warren man granted new trial after successful appeal
WARREN — The Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals granted a new trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for a Warren man convicted ... The Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals has granted a new trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for Antonio Cleveland Sr. who was convicted of stealing six motorized scooters from a store in August. Cleveland argued that his conviction was secured using unauthenticated evidence and hearsay evidence was improperly admitted during his trial. The case will be remanded back to common pleas court for the new trial, set to begin June 16. The appeals court stated that testimony from the alleged victim, Tina Davis, was problematic due to her testimony relating to a photo receipt given to her by an employee of a scrap recycling company. The court also stated that without the "improperly admitted evidence" there was minimal evidence linking Cleveland to the crime.
Publicado : hace 11 meses por en Environment
WARREN — The Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals granted a new trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for a Warren man convicted of stealing six motorized scooters from a Larchmont Avenue store.
Antonio Cleveland Sr. 61, argued he had ineffective counsel as his conviction was secured using unauthenticated evidence and hearsay evidence was improperly admitted during his trial.
The case will be remanded back to common pleas court for a new trial that will begin June 16, according to the 13-page opinion written by Judge Robert Patton and backed by Judges Mary J. Trapp and John Eklund.
Cleveland was convicted in August in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean O’Brien following the completion of a one-day trial where jurors deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict finding him guilty on a felony theft charge.
The property was valued to be between $1,000 to $7,500 which lessened the charge from a fifth to fourth-degree felony.
According to court records, the scooters ended up at Youngstown U-Pull-It. By the time the victim tried to recover the equipment, two scooters were crushed, three were “severely” damaged and one was never accounted for.
In October, Cleveland was sentenced to 15 days in the Trumbull County jail, five years of community control, 100 hours of community service and he was ordered to pay restitution amounting to $15,000.
The appeals court wrote that testimony from the alleged victim, Tina Davis, became “problematic” when testifying to contents of a photo receipt given to her by an employee of the scrap recycling company. According to the receipt, the scooters were sold for about $27.
The appeals court said Davis was “not a qualified witness to testify as to the receipt as a business record,” declaring her testimony as hearsay.
The appeals court says a second attempt to authenticate the same hearsay evidence through the testimony of Detective Frank Tempesta also amounted to him not being qualified to speak to the truth of the documents.
The receipt, the appeals court said, was the “linchpin of the State’s case” that identified Cleveland as a suspect. However, the state failed to “produce any witness or certifying document to authenticate,” the business record.
The appeals court said Cleveland’s rights were prejudiced because without the “improperly admitted evidence” there was “minimal” evidence linking him to the crime.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Sanders was the prosecuting attorney during the trial and argued in the appeals hearing. Cleveland was represented during the trial by public defender Alexander Keane but his appeal case was argued on his behalf by Stow based attorney Michael A. Partlow.
Temas: Environment-ESG