Court Opinion

ID: 9882390
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-05 22:09:07.888186+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:02:17.290085
License: Public Domain

[Cite as State v. Samueal, 2023-Ohio-3322.]

                          IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
                      FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO
                           HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

 STATE OF OHIO,                               :   APPEAL NO. C-220641
                                                  TRIAL NO. B-2005986
         Plaintiff-Appellee,                  :

                                              :     O P I N I O N.
   VS.
                                              :

 ARREON SAMUEAL,                              :

       Defendant-Appellant.                   :

Criminal Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed and Cause Remanded

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: September 20, 2023

Melissa A. Powers, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Sean M. Donovan,
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff-Appellee,

Brian T. Goldberg, for Defendant-Appellant.
                     OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

CROUSE, Presiding Judge.

       {¶1}    Defendant-appellant Arreon Samueal was convicted by a jury of murder

and felonious assault, both with firearm specifications, and having weapons while

under disability. On appeal, Samueal contends that the court erred in failing to declare

a mistrial after an instance of alleged juror misconduct and in instructing the jury on

the credibility of expert testimony. He also challenges the evidence supporting his

convictions and argues that the aggregate sentence included in the judgment entry is

erroneous. For the reasons that follow, we remand the cause for the trial court to

correct the discrepancy in the judgment entry, but we affirm the trial court’s judgment

in all other respects.

                     I. Factual and Procedural Background

       {¶2}    On the night of November 7, 2020, Roberto Williams was shot and

killed in the parking lot of the New Generations Event Center (“Event Center”) on

Paddock Road in Hamilton County, Ohio.

       {¶3}    Clifford Gaither testified that he and Williams were finishing up a night

of work at the Event Center and that he was planning to drive Williams home. Gaither

testified that after locking the doors of the Event Center he noticed a white “Chevrolet

or Impala” parked next to his truck on the driver’s side. Both vehicles were pulled

straight-in, facing the building. Gaither testified that Williams was standing outside of

the truck, by its ajar passenger-side door, talking to another person. Gaither got into

his truck to wait for Williams. Gaither could not see the other person due to Williams

obstructing his view. Gaither explained that he heard Williams say, “my big brother is

getting ready to take me home,” to which the other person responded, “your big

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

brother is taking you home, huh?” Gaither testified that he then heard three or four

gunshots in rapid succession.

       {¶4}   Gaither got out of his truck, and ran around its front end to check on

Williams. At the same time, the shooter ran around the back of the truck to get into

the white sedan. Gaither testified that it was so dark that he could not see the person’s

face, but he could see that he was shorter than Williams, had a goatee, and was wearing

a red, black, and white hooded jacket and a black skullcap.

       {¶5}   Gaither called 9-1-1, relayed these details to the operator, and waited for

police to arrive. Police arrived and processed the scene.

       {¶6}   That night, Gaither told police that he recognized the shooter’s voice,

but admitted that he could not quite place it. Gaither testified that, “It just stayed on

my mind. I just kept thinking over and over, that voice, I have heard it before.” Days

later, Gaither went back to the police and told them that the shooter’s voice was that

of his great-nephew, Samueal. Gaither testified that he was “200 percent” sure that

the voice he heard was Samueal’s.

       {¶7}   Police also tracked down the white Chevrolet identified at the scene that

they discovered, during the course of their investigation, was registered to Jahlen

Price. After making several attempts to speak to Price, an attorney representing Price

called police and agreed to a meeting. Price’s car was processed, and a black skullcap

was found inside.

       {¶8}   Price testified that he was Samueal’s childhood friend, and that Samueal

had been staying with his mother, Vicki Price. On the night of the shooting, Samueal

and Price went to Ms. Price’s apartment together. Price’s description of Samueal’s

clothing on the night of the shooting matched Gaither’s description: a red, black, and

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                     OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

white jacket, and a black skullcap. Price also said Samueal was wearing black pants.

Price testified that Samueal showed him a handgun, “either a .38 or a .380” and its

bullets, while en route to Ms. Price’s apartment.

       {¶9}    Samueal and Price then left Ms. Price’s apartment together in Price’s

car. Price testified that, later in the evening after running a few errands, Samueal asked

Price to take him to the Event Center. Price obliged. Price testified that, upon arrival,

Samueal “[h]opped out, [and] said, I be right back.” Price waited in the car. Several

minutes later, Price heard multiple gun shots. He testified that Samueal got back into

his vehicle and said, “drive, drive, drive.” Price “got out of there as fast as [he] could.”

He testified that once they were on the highway, he saw Samueal taking bullets out of

his gun. Yet, on cross-examination, Price admitted that he told police that he had not

seen Samueal with a gun after the shooting.

       {¶10} Price dropped Samueal back off at Ms. Price’s apartment, and then left.

One hour later, Price got an alert on his phone that someone had been shot in the

parking lot of the Event Center and that the suspect had fled in a white sedan. Price

testified that he immediately went to Ms. Price’s apartment and told Samueal to leave

“[b]ecause if you put two and two together, he just shot that man where we was just

at.” Price testified that when he arrived, Samueal was no longer wearing the same

clothes.

       {¶11} Days later when Price met with police, he brought a plastic bag

containing several articles of clothing that, according to Ms. Price’s testimony, she

found in her laundry room. The bag contained the red, black, and white jacket, a shirt,

black pants, and a pair of shoes.

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

       {¶12} Samueal was identified as the source of the major DNA profile obtained

from the skullcap, t-shirt, and black pants, but was excluded as the source of the major

DNA profile obtained from the jacket. No blood was found on any of the clothing, but

gunshot residue was found on the sleeves of the red, white, and black jacket.

Additionally, Samueal’s fingerprints were identified inside the vehicle, and his

cellphone records placed him in the area at the time the shooting occurred.

       {¶13} The state also offered evidence of the projectiles found at the scene and

in Williams’s hip. Kelsey Cramer, Firearm Toolmark Examiner for the Ohio Bureau of

Criminal Identification and Investigation testified that the projectile found at the

scene matched the projectile found in Williams’s hip. Cramer testified that both

projectiles were fired from the same weapon and were consistent with a .38-caliber

weapon, though she admitted that there was a “very long list” of other possible

weapons.

       {¶14} The jury found Samueal guilty on all counts: count one for murder in

violation of R.C. 2903.02(B), with firearm specifications; count two for murder in

violation of R.C. 2903.02(A), with firearm specifications; count three for felonious

assault in violation of R.C. 2903.11(A)(2), with firearm specifications; and counts four

and five for heaving weapons under disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) and

(3). The court merged counts two and three with count one and sentenced Samueal to

15 years to life in the Ohio Department of Corrections for murder. The court also

merged the first firearm specification with the second, and imposed a three-year

sentence, consecutive to the sentence in count one. Finally, the court merged count

five with count four, and imposed a three-year sentence for having weapons under

disability. The sentences for counts one and four were ordered to be served

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                     OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

consecutively for a total aggregate sentence of 21 years to life in the Ohio Department

of Corrections.

       {¶15} Samueal timely appealed.

                                 II. Juror Misconduct

       {¶16} In his first assignment of error, Samueal contends that a juror’s

comment about a defendant’s decision to testify materially affected his substantial

rights, such that a new trial should be granted. Samueal did not raise this issue below

and has therefore waived all but plain error. See State v. West, 168 Ohio St.3d 605,

2022-Ohio-1556, 200 N.E.3d 1048, ¶ 22; State v. Crawford, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-

070816, 2008-Ohio-5764, ¶ 49.

       {¶17} To establish plain error, an appellant must demonstrate that “an error

occurred, that the error was obvious, and that there is ‘a reasonable probability that

the error resulted in prejudice,’ meaning that the error affected the outcome of the

trial.” State v. Bailey, Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-4407, ¶ 8, quoting State v.

McAlpin, 169 Ohio St.3d 279, 2022-Ohio-1567, 204 N.E.3d 459, ¶ 66, quoting State v.

Rogers, 143 Ohio St.3d 385, 2015-Ohio-2459, 38 N.E.3d 860, ¶ 22. “Notice of plain

error under Crim.R. 52(B) is to be taken with the utmost caution, under exceptional

circumstances and only to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice.” State v. Long, 53

Ohio St.2d 91, 372 N.E.2d 804 (1978), paragraph three of the syllabus. Even where

plain error is identified, the court is not obligated to correct it. State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio

St.3d 21, 27, 759 N.E.2d 1240 (2002).

       {¶18} To demonstrate juror misconduct necessitating a mistrial, Samueal

must show that the misconduct materially affected his substantial rights. State v.

McGlothin, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-060145, 2007-Ohio-4707, ¶ 16, citing State v.

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

Taylor, 73 Ohio App.3d 827, 833, 598 N.E.2d 818 (4th Dist.1991). Where issues of

perceived bias arise, the juror’s impartiality must be “coupled with a lack of juror

rehabilitation or juror assurance of impartiality” to warrant his or her dismissal from

the jury. State v. Kirkland, 160 Ohio St.3d 389, 2020-Ohio-4079, 157 N.E.3d 716, ¶

74, quoting Miller v. Webb, 385 F.3d 666, 675 (6th Cir.2004).

       {¶19} In this case, Juror Number 15 came forward and alleged that Juror

Number 9 had said that “If she were on trial for murder, she would take the stand and

risk perjury versus being convicted of murder” while approximately half of the jurors

were within earshot in the jury room. Juror Number 9 told the court that she said “I

would get on the stand if it was me. Perjury versus murder is kind of extreme.” She

said one juror responded by saying “the best thing is going to be to sit there and say

nothing.” She assured the court that she was speaking generally and “wasn’t talking

about this case, in particular.” She also assured the court that she could remain

impartial and had not formed any opinions about the case.

       {¶20} After this discussion, the state moved for Juror Number 9’s removal

based on bias. The defense opposed the removal of the juror, arguing that it was an

“off-the-cuff comment,” and that she assured the court she was not referring to this

case in particular, and indicated that she had not yet formed an opinion about the case.

Defense counsel argued that had other jurors been bothered by this comment, they

would have come forward like the other juror had.

       {¶21} The court agreed with defense counsel and, relying on the Supreme

Court’s guidance in Kirkland, 160 Ohio St.3d 389, 2020-Ohio-4079, 157 N.E.3d 716,

at ¶ 74, found that Juror Number 9 was “very sincere in her concern about trying to be

impartial and fair in this case.” The court stated further that, “I do not find that she

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                      OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

has any clear or overwhelming bias. Even if she did, I find that she has been

rehabilitated and provided adequate assurances of her impartiality. I find no

indication that the jury has been tainted in any way by this comment.”

        {¶22} The trial court appropriately handled the issue by discussing the

comment with the juror and receiving assurances from her that she could remain

impartial. See McGlothin, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-060145, 2007-Ohio-4707, at ¶ 16

(holding no abuse of discretion in failing to declare mistrial where trial court discussed

alleged impropriety with the juror and was satisfied that she could remain fair and

impartial). Moreover, the comment was not directly related to Samueal’s case, and no

other jurors expressed an issue with the comment. While Samueal contends that the

trial court erred by not conducting a full voir dire of the entire jury, he has presented

no caselaw to support this proposition. In fact, he opposed further inquiry of the issue

at the trial court.

        {¶23} For these reasons, there was no error, much less an obvious error, in the

proceedings. Samueal has not demonstrated a reasonable probability that but for the

juror’s comment and the trial court’s failure to conduct a full voir dire of the entire

jury, the result of the trial would have been different. See Bailey, Slip Opinion No.

2022-Ohio-4407, at ¶ 8. The first assignment of error is overruled.

                               III. Jury Instructions

        {¶24} In his second assignment of error, Samueal contends that the court

erred when it failed to provide a credibility instruction related to expert testimony. The

state asserts that the general credibility instruction given to the jury adequately

instructed the jury on credibility.

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

       {¶25} Samueal acknowledges that this issue was not raised in the trial court

and thus is also subject to plain-error review. See State v. Owens, 162 Ohio St.3d 596,

2020-Ohio-4616, 166 N.E.3d 1142, ¶ 7 (“When a defendant fails to object to the jury

instructions, she waives all but plain error.”); Crim.R. 30(A) (“On appeal, a party may

not assign as error the giving or the failure to give any instructions unless the party

objects before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating specifically the matter

objected to and the grounds of the objection.”).

       {¶26} We consider the effect of an alleged erroneous jury instruction not in

isolation, but viewed in context with the overall charge. State v. Harrison, 2015-Ohio-

1419, 31 N.E.3d 220, ¶ 71 (3d Dist.); State v. Price, 60 Ohio St.2d 136, 398 N.E.2d 772

(1979), paragraph four of the syllabus.

       {¶27} In Harrison, just like this case, the trial court instructed the jury only

on witness credibility generally, despite the director of a crime lab providing expert

testimony. Harrison at ¶ 68. The appellant did not object in the trial court, nor did he

articulate how the result of the trial would have been any different with the expert

instruction. Id. at ¶ 71. The appellate court held that “it was not error, let alone plain

error, for the trial court to not instruct the jury specifically concerning the credibility

of expert witnesses.” Id. The same is true here.

       {¶28} In this case, the state’s final witness, Emily Weber, a Trace Evidence

Examiner at the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, was qualified as an expert witness

and provided expert testimony on the presence of gunshot residue. The following day,

the parties presented their closing arguments, and the jury was instructed. On

credibility, the court instructed the jury as follows:

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

       Credibility. You, the jury, are the sole judges of the facts, the credibility

       of the witnesses, and the weight of the evidence. To weigh evidence you

       must consider the credibility of each person who testifies. You will apply

       the tests of truthfulness which you apply in each of your daily lives.

       These tests include the appearance of each witness upon the witness

       stand, his or her manner of testifying, the reasonableness of his or her

       testimony, the opportunity he or she had to see, hear, and to know those

       things about which he or she testified, his or her accuracy of memory,

       frankness, or lack of it, intelligence, interests, and bias, if any, together

       with all the facts and circumstances surrounding the testimony of the

       witness. Applying these tests, you will assign to the testimony of each

       witness such weight as you deem proper.

       You are not required to believe the testimony of any witness simply

       because he or she was under oath. You may believe or disbelieve all or

       any part of the testimony of any person who testified. It is your province

       to determine what testimony is worthy of belief and what testimony is

       not worthy of belief.

       {¶29} Samueal insists that the following additional instruction should have

been given for the expert testimony:

       As with other witnesses, upon you alone rests the duty of deciding what

       weight should be given to the testimony of the expert. In determining

       its weight, you may take into consideration his * * * skill, experience,

       knowledge, veracity, familiarity with the facts of this case, and the usual

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                     OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

       rules for testing credibility and determining the weight to be given to

       testimony.

Ohio Jury Instructions, CR Section 409.21.

       {¶30} Samueal has not demonstrated a reasonable probability that but for the

trial court’s failure to provide the instruction on expert testimony, the result of the trial

would have been different. See Bailey, Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-4407, at ¶ 8. On

the facts of this case, the general instruction on credibility was sufficient to guide the

jury on issues of credibility. We overrule the second assignment of error.

                                   IV. The Evidence

       {¶31} In his third assignment of error, Samueal argues that the jury’s verdict

was based on insufficient evidence and runs counter to the manifest weight of the

evidence.

       {¶32} When faced with a sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge, this court asks

“whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any

rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven

beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Walker, 150 Ohio St.3d 409, 2016-Ohio-8295,

82 N.E.3d 1124, ¶ 12, quoting State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 574 N.E.2d 492 (1991),

paragraph two of the syllabus, superseded by constitutional amendment on other

grounds as stated in State v. Smith, 80 Ohio St.3d 89, 102, 684 N.E.2d 668 (1997), fn.

4. The court’s role is to ask “whether the evidence against a defendant, if believed,

supports the conviction.” (Emphasis sic.) State v. Jones, 166 Ohio St.3d 85,

2021-Ohio-3311, 182 N.E.3d 1161, ¶ 16.

       {¶33} A manifest-weight argument on the other hand “challenges the

believability of the evidence.” State v. Staley, 1st Dist. Hamilton Nos. C-200270,

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                     OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

C-200271, and C-200272, 2021-Ohio-3086, ¶ 10. When this court reviews a challenge

to the manifest weight of the evidence, it must “review the entire record, weigh the

evidence, consider the credibility of the witnesses, and determine whether the trier of

fact clearly lost its way and created a manifest miscarriage of justice.” State v. Powell,

1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-190508, 2020-Ohio-4283, ¶ 16, citing State v. Thompkins,

78 Ohio St.3d 380, 387, 678 N.E.2d 541 (1997).

       {¶34} Samueal’s primary sufficiency-of-the-evidence argument is that no

witnesses saw him shoot Williams. However, the state presented a significant amount

of circumstantial evidence that was more than sufficient to establish that fact. The

Ohio Supreme Court has consistently held that “[c]ircumstantial evidence and direct

evidence inherently possess the same probative value” and “[i]n some instances

certain facts can only be established by circumstantial evidence.” Jenks at 272.

       {¶35} The evidence in this case, if believed, thoroughly supports the

conviction. No contrary evidence was presented to refute Samueal’s presence at the

Event Center that evening, which was established by Gaither’s identification of his

voice. In addition to Gaither’s identification of Samueal’s voice, Gaither’s description

of the person at the scene matched the description provided by both Jahlen and Vicki

Price. While Samueal’s DNA was not found on the jacket itself, gunshot residue was

identified on the sleeves of the jacket, and Samueal’s DNA was identified on other

distinctive clothing seen on the shooter, including the black skullcap and the black

pants. Moreover, Price’s testimony established that Samueal had a firearm that night.

       {¶36} Regarding the manifest weight of the evidence, Samueal argues that

even if the evidence is to be believed, the lack of eyewitnesses and the gaps in the state’s

evidence cast doubt on his convictions. He also speculates that an unrelated

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

investigation at the Event Center could have motivated another individual to shoot

Williams. However, defense counsel presented that theory to the jury several times

throughout the trial—during the cross-examination of witnesses and in closing

argument. The jury was “free to accept or reject any and all of the evidence offered by

the parties * * *.” State v. Gasper, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-220218, 2023-Ohio-1500,

¶ 75. And while Price’s testimony had a few inconsistencies compared to the statement

he gave police, “ ‘such inconsistencies do not render defendant’s conviction against the

manifest weight or sufficiency of the evidence.’ ” Id., quoting State v. Fether, 5th Dist.

Stark No. 2011-CA-00148, 2012-Ohio-892, ¶ 44, quoting State v. Craig, 10th Dist.

Franklin No. 99AP-739, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 1138, 10 (Mar. 23, 2000).

       {¶37} The third assignment of error is overruled.

                                   V. The Sentence

       {¶38} Finally, Samueal contends that the court erred in its judgment entry by

imposing a sentence for his murder conviction that was inconsistent with the sentence

announced at the sentencing hearing. The state concedes the error and agrees that the

judgment entry should be corrected.

       {¶39} The total aggregate sentence in the sentencing entry mirrors the total

aggregate sentence pronounced in open court: 21 years to life. However, the judgment

entry does not reflect the sentence pronounced in open court for the murder

conviction. At the sentencing hearing, the court imposed 15 years to life for the murder

conviction pursuant to R.C. 2903.02(B)(1). But, the judgment entry states that the

sentence for the murder conviction is 15 years to 22 years, 6 months.

       {¶40} Crim.R. 36 provides that “[c]lerical mistakes in judgments, orders, or

other parts of the record, and errors in the record arising from oversight or omission,

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                    OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

may be corrected by the court at any time.” “A nunc pro tunc entry may be used to

correct a sentencing order, as long as the nunc pro tunc entry reflects what the court

actually did, and is not an attempt to modify the court’s judgment.” State v. Houston,

1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-130429, 2014-Ohio-3111, ¶ 42, citing State v. Breedlove, 46

Ohio App.3d 78, 81, 546 N.E.2d 420 (1st Dist.1988).

       {¶41} Here, the record clearly demonstrates the court intended to impose the

sentence of 15 years to life for the murder conviction. The court stated that the

sentence for the murder conviction was to be served consecutively to the three-year

sentence for the firearm specification, and that the sentence for the weapons-under-

disability conviction was also to be served consecutively, totaling 21 years to life. The

aggregate term of 21 years to life provided in the judgment entry reaffirms that the

sentence for the murder conviction under count one in the judgment entry was a

clerical error.

       {¶42} Thus, we sustain the fourth assignment of error, and remand the cause

for the limited purpose of correcting this error with a nunc pro tunc judgment entry.

                                   VI. Conclusion

       {¶43} In light of the foregoing analysis, we overrule the first, second, and third

assignments of error, but sustain the fourth. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s

judgment, but remand for the trial court to issue a nunc pro tunc judgment entry

correcting the sentencing error with regard to count one.

                                                Judgment affirmed and cause remanded.

WINKLER and KINSLEY, JJ., concur.

Please note:

       The court has recorded its entry on the date of the release of this opinion.

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