The Akron Legal News

Court rejects appeal from man who robbed victim at gunpoint

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 21, 2014

A panel of judges in the 9th District Court of Appeals recently affirmed the judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas which convicted Robert Martin of robbery.

Martin was indicted on charges of first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree robbery and a jury found him guilty on both counts.

The offenses were merged during sentencing and the Lorain County court sentenced Martin to four years in prison.

The conviction stemmed from an incident that took place on Sept. 27, 2012 when Paul Allgood was robbed at gunpoint in Elyria, Ohio.

According to case summary, Allgood had arranged to meet with Brandon Green, a good friend of his stepson’s.

Green had offered to contribute some money for the stepson to use while he was in jail.

In one statement to police, Allgood said that Green arrived in a car driven by Maurice Newell with Martin in the passenger seat.

He told police that he knew all three men.

Newell parked the car in the back parking lot of the high-rise where Allgood was waiting and he approached the car to talk to Green.

While Allgood and Green were talking, Martin jumped out of the car and shoved a gun into Allgood’s neck.

He robbed Allgood of $180 cash, a cell phone and a necklace.

Then, Martin got back into the car with Newell and they drove off.

In his trial testimony, Allgood told a slightly different version of events.

He explained that Newell drove the car, Martin was sitting in the front passenger seat and Green was sitting behind Martin.

Also in the back seat was a baby in a car seat.

When they arrived, Allgood approached the car, Green told him to get in and moved over to the middle of the back seat.

In this version of events, Martin got out of the car and pointed his gun into the back passenger door in order to rob Allgood.

As soon as Martin pulled the gun, Green climbed over the front seat, exited through the front passenger door and fled. Meanwhile, Newell was saying, “Hey, hey, I got my baby in here.”

After the robbery, Green told Allgood he would try to get his stuff back and then had his girlfriend pick him up. Allgood returned to the high-rise to meet police and give a statement.

In his appeal to the 9th District, Martin presented only two assignments of error, arguing that his conviction was against the sufficiency and weight of the evidence. The appellate panel, however, found little merit to his arguments.

“Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the state, a rational juror could have found that Martin knowingly took Allgood’s cash, cell phone and necklace without Allgood’s permission and with the purpose to deprive Allgood of his property,” wrote Judge Beth Whitmore on behalf of the court of appeals.

The court ruled that there was plenty of evidence to conclude that Martin displayed a weapon and threatened to inflict physical harm while committing the theft.

Martin also contended that the jury’s verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence because Allgood was not a credible witness.

According to Martin, Allgood’s criminal past and inconsistent statements regarding the details of the robbery made him unreliable.

The appellate panel noted that Allgood testified about his criminal record and his convictions were thoroughly discussed on both direct and cross-examinations.

It also pointed out that, along with Allgood’s testimony, the state offered testimony from a witness during trial.

Brandon Leety, a Time Warner Cable employee, was outside of the apartment building at the time of the robbery.

He was getting ready to install service for a resident when he heard shouting from a nearby car.

He told the court that he looked over at the car and noticed a man leaning into the open rear passenger door and pointing a gun at the person in the back seat.

He also stated that he saw a baby in the back seat.

After seeing the gunman, Leety immediately locked his van and went into the apartment building where he asked the secretary to call the police.

“A review of the evidence does show some inconsistencies between Allgood’s various accounts,” wrote Judge Whitmore. “However, the inconsistencies were thoroughly vetted on cross-examination.”

The court of appeals held that Allgood never wavered in his statement that Martin pointed a gun at him and stole his property, though it was unclear whether that took place inside or outside of the vehicle.

Since there was witness testimony to corroborate at least one version of events, the appellate panel concluded that the jury did not lose its way and that Martin’s conviction was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

“Martin’s assignments of error are overruled,” Judge Whitmore concluded. “The judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed.”

Presiding Judge Eve Belfance and Judge Donna Carr joined Judge Whitmore to form the majority.

The case is cited State v. Martin, 2014-Ohio-875.

[Back]