Appeals court partially upholds, partially reverses Highland County meth-related convictions

Ohio's Fourth District Court of Appeals has affirmed, in part and reversed, in part, the conviction of a Highland County man who had been found guilty of charges related to the manufacture of meth. 

According to the court's ruling posted this week, Harry R. Smith appealed his convictions for possession of chemicals for the manufacturing of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, aggravated trafficking in drugs, and tampering with evidence. 

During the appeal he was represented by Jeffrey Moore of Columbus, and the state was represented by Jim Grandey and Anneka Collins of the Highland County Prosecutor's Office. 

Smtih had been found guilty on four counts by a jury in Highland County Common Pleas Court and sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison. 

In May 2009 investigation by the Highland County Sheriff's Office regarding suspected illegal activity at the Greystone Motel. After observing "foot traffic in and out of room 136" for several hours, an individual exited the room and left in a vehicle. Lt. Steve Alexander and Dep. Ron Hughes followed the vehicle after noticing it had a taillight that was out. When occupants of the hotel room, which included Smith, realize that law enforcement had following the vehicle, "The occupants then proceeded to attempt to destroy or otherwise remove evidence from the hotel room." The police made a traffic stop on the vehicle on the basis of the taillight, during which Alexander found "a plastic waterproof container that had contained three baggies of white powder on (the person of one of the vehicle's occupants). Later, at trial, the state's chemical expert testified that this white powder was methamphetamine." Alexander and Hughes asked Smith if they could search the hotel room, and he declined to allow the search. A search warrant was then obtained. During the search, according to court documents, methamphetamine, three sets of scales, plastic bags, batteries and pseudoephedrine-based cold medicine were discovered.

  A grand jury in Highland County Common Pleas Court later returned an indictment against smith on the aforemetioned charges. 

On appeal, "Smith contends his convictions for possession of chemicals for the manufacturing of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence are not supported by sufficient evidence and are against the manifest weight of the evidence. We disagree; (1) after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, we find that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the two crimes proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and (2) we find substantial evidence upon which the trier of fact could reasonably conclude that all the elements of the two offenses have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

In the appeal, Smith also contended, according to court documents, that a section of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) regarding a charge against him was overly broad and violated his right to due process; that the prosecutor committed misconduct by improperly influencing the jury; that the court erred in allowing the state to amend the indictment against him; that the court erred in allowing certain evidence seized during the search of a motel room at the Greystone Motel; and that "the court violated his right to equal protection and due process by refused to accept his filing and by restricting the scope of his attorney's examinations during a suppression hearing."

The court of appeals agreed on the issue regarding the amended indictment issue, stating that "the amendment changed the name of the alleged offense ... We therefore sustain Smith’s fourth assignment of error, and vacate his

conviction for aggravated trafficking of methamphetamine in the vicinity of a juvenile." 

However, regarding all other issues, the court disagreed with Smith, upholding the decisions of the trial court.