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Man who stalked, shot wife after separation loses appeal
JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 19, 2014
A 5th District Court of Appeals panel recently affirmed a man’s convictions for felonious assault and menacing by stalking after he followed and shot his wife following their separation.
George Conrad was indicted on numerous charges, including attempted murder, felonious assault, improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, menacing by stalking, tampering with evidence and domestic violence following an altercation with his wife.
The facts of the case state that Conrad and his wife, Misty, separated in 2011 after 18 years of marriage.
At that time, he began sending Misty hundreds of text messages that she said caused her to fear for her safety.
Misty stated that she “lived in fear” and “had a constant feeling of the hair standing up on the back of her neck and the urge to look over her shoulder.”
On multiple occasions, Conrad stood along the road between Misty’s home and her work while holding a sign that said “I love you.”
Conrad reportedly told Misty, friends and family that he would kill her if he saw her with another man.
As the separation continued, he began telling people that he was going to kill Misty and attempted to acquire a firearm.
Conrad was charged for that behavior in Pickaway and Fairfield County and was on both bond in both counties.
Misty was able to acquire a civil protection order in Pickaway County and an anti-stalking protection order through Fairfield County and Conrad was assigned a GPS monitor and a SCRAM bracelet that monitored his movements.
In January 2012, Conrad took a friend to a home on Schory Avenue in Lancaster.
The two followed Misty and her friends to the home, but Conrad’s friend was able to talk him out of harming Misty at that time.
Conrad then took his friend home, obtained a gun and removed his ankle monitor. Police found the stationary device on a street in Lancaster.
Shortly thereafter, Conrad returned to the Schory Avenue residence, peeked through the windows and determined that Misty was with another man.
He then hid in the backseat of her car with a loaded handgun.
When Misty entered the vehicle, Conrad attempted to shoot her but missed, according to case summary.
Misty then fled the vehicle and Conrad pursued her while firing his weapon.
One of the shots lodged into the Schory Avenue home while the owner was still inside.
Conrad eventually turned his attention to Kevin Illes and shot him in the back.
The bullet exited through Illes’ stomach and he fell.
Conrad then stood over the man and, holding the gun about two feet from his head, fired a second shot.
The bullet grazed Illes’ head and ear and he got up to flee. While he tried to escape over a wall, Illes’ sustained another gunshot wound to the leg.
Both of his injuries required emergency surgery and he still suffered damage to his leg at the time of Conrad’s trial.
After shooting Illes’ in the leg, Conrad continued to pursue Misty.
He eventually caught the woman, put the gun in her face and pulled the trigger.
She suffered extensive injuries to her face and jaw and had undergone about one surgery every 18 days at the time of Conrad’s trial.
Doctors testified that she will require surgeries every five years for the rest of her life.
While in jail awaiting trial, Conrad wrote letters to Misty and her family and Illes and his family.
When Misty began divorce proceedings, he also wrote letters to the domestic relations judge.
All of those letters included threats to Misty and the letters’ recipients.
As part of a negotiated plea deal, Conrad pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault with gun specifications, improper discharge, violation of a protection order, menacing by stalking and tampering with evidence.
The trial court found that none of the charges merged and sentenced him to consecutive prison terms for a total of 33 years in prison.
On direct appeal, Conrad argued that the trial court erred by issuing consecutive sentence and by failing to merge his convictions.
Upon review, the three-judge appellate panel found that the trial court made several findings prior to ordering consecutive sentences.
In particular, it found that “the crimes were planned, premeditated, and deliberate” as well as “very serious and caused serious physical pain and suffering, and psychological harm, initially, months after, now and in the future.”
The trial court also stated that Conrad’s actions were “motivated out of rage, anger and jealousy and were unprovoked.”
“In its sentencing entry, the court found that consecutive sentencing is necessary to punish appellant and protect the public, consecutive sentencing is not disproportionate to the purposes and principles of felony sentencing, and that the harm caused was so great or unusual that no single prison term adequately reflects the seriousness of appellant’s conduct,” Judge John Wise wrote for the court.
The judges also found that Conrad’s convictions were not allied offenses of similar import.
They determined that he improperly discharged his weapon when he fired a bullet into the Schory Avenue home.
He separately violated his protective order when he peeked into the home’s windows and hid in Misty’s backseat.
“This act was completed before any shots were fired,” Judge Wise stated.
Similarly, Conrad committed menacing by stalking months before the shooting when he sent Misty hundreds of text messages and told friends and family that he would kill her.
The judges found that he completed the acts of felonious assault when he pointed the gun at Misty and pulled the trigger and when he did the same thing with Illes. They ruled that the acts took place separately and could not be merged.
“For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Fairfield County, Ohio, is affirmed.”
Presiding Judge Scott Gwin and Judge Patricia Delaney concurred.
The case is cited State v. Conrad, 2014-Ohio-1757.
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