The Akron Legal News

Man who pleaded guilty to murder wins appeal; case heads back to court

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: November 9, 2015

The 9th District Court of Appeals recently ordered a trial court to look at all of the evidence in a murder case before denying an inmate’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

The district court’s review of the case stemmed from Jacky Robinson Jr.’s 2005 conviction in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary with firearm specifications. The victim in the case was Dennis Ober.

Before that conviction, Robinson had pleaded guilty to the murder of Grover Jones in a separate case and he was serving that prison sentence when he was implicated in Ober’s murder and questioned by police.

Ultimately, Robinson also pleaded guilty to Ober’s murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

According to court documents, on Sept. 30, 2014, Robinson filed a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas and he attached a letter written by a man named Demian Duncan.

The letter was addressed to Robinson’s father and, in it, Duncan admitted to committing both murders.

Also attached to the motion were affidavits from Duncan and Robinson.

Duncan apparently wrote the letter from the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, where he is currently serving a 16-year sentence on multiple robbery convictions and where Robinson was also incarcerated at the beginning of his prison term.

In his affidavit, Robinson claimed that he only confessed to murdering Jones after police officers told him that his girlfriend, Dusty Woods, was suffering an asthma attack in a nearby cell.

He alleged that the officers threatened to keep her there until he confessed.

Robinson stated that he only gave his confession after he received a call from Woods, who told him that she was being questioned by police and was possibly going to be charged.

He maintained that both of his confessions were false and that he made them to help Woods.

Robinson also attested that he “did not know until years later the true events that happened with Jones, Ober and Duncan.”

The Summit County court denied the motion without a hearing, stating in its judgment entry that “the only purported evidence attached in support of Robinson’s motion is what appears to be a confession letter from Duncan.”

“The court gives no weight to this letter,” the judgment entry states. “Robinson has not provided the court with any other evidentiary materials in support of his claims.”

The trial court concluded that Robinson failed to meet his burden on establishing the existence of a manifest injustice that would warrant a withdrawal of the pleas and that his claim was barred by res judicata.”

The court of appeals disagreed.

“In his sole assignment of error, Robinson contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea,” Judge Julie Schafer wrote on behalf of the court of appeals. “Specifically, he argues that the trial court failed to properly consider Duncan’s affidavit that was attached to the original motion to withdraw and Robinson’s affidavit that was attached to his reply brief.”

Robinson also contended that his motion was not barred by res judicata.

“We agree on both points,” Schafer wrote. “Here, three pieces of evidence were offered in support of Robinson’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.”

Just as Robinson did, the appellate panel pointed out the letter and the two affidavits and noted that the trial court never addressed the affidavits, suggesting that it failed to consider them at all.

“In light of the trial court’s failure to account for all of the evidentiary materials offered by Robinson, its decision to deny the motion to withdraw guilty pleas constituted an abuse of discretion,” Schafer wrote.

The court of appeals declined to express any opinion on whether the trial court should hold a hearing on the matter.

Rather, it reversed the trial court’s judgment with the sole instruction that it consider all of the evidence before ruling on the motion.

“Accordingly, we sustain Robinson’s sole assignment of error,” Schafer concluded.

Presiding Judge Beth Whitmore and Judge Carla Moore joined Schafer to form the majority.

The case is cited State v. Robinson, 2015-Ohio-4262.

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