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Date: 07-29-2020
Case Style:
STATE OF OHIO v. LORENZO LEATHERWOOD, JR.
Case Number: 29544
Judge: Lynne S. Callahan
Court: IN THE COURT OF APPEALS NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
Plaintiff's Attorney: SHERRI BEVAN WALSH, Prosecuting Attorney, and HEAVEN R. DIMARTINO, Assistant
Prosecuting Attorney
Defendant's Attorney:
Call 918-582-6422 for free help finding a great criminal defense lawyer.
Description:
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{¶2} On February 23, 2019, two Ohio State Troopers stopped a vehicle in Akron after it
failed to stop at a stop sign. As the troopers prepared to exit their cruiser and approach the vehicle,
the front passenger door opened, and the passenger fled the scene on foot. One of the troopers
gave chase but returned to the scene of the stop when he was unable to apprehend the individual.
{¶3} Simultaneously with the stop of the vehicle—and unbeknownst to the troopers—a
woman called 911 to report that Mr. Leatherwood had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. During
the 911 call, the woman stated that Mr. Leatherwood was walking in a park but that he got into a
vehicle when he discovered that she was calling the police. The woman described Mr.
Leatherwood and the vehicle, and she provided the dispatcher with the vehicle’s license plate
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number. She also informed the dispatcher that she was following behind the vehicle, and she noted
when State troopers pulled the vehicle over. When the troopers initiated the traffic stop, the woman
abruptly ended the call.
{¶4} Meanwhile, as the troopers continued to process the stop, two things happened: an
unknown woman arrived at the scene, and dispatch from the City of Akron provided information
related to the 911 call. The woman who approached informed the troopers that she knew the
identity of the passenger who had fled the scene and that the driver of the stopped car would be
able to identify him as well. When the troopers were advised by dispatch that the fleeing individual
was Mr. Leatherwood, the woman at the scene confirmed this information. Akron police officers
also arrived at the scene and provided the troopers with a photograph of Mr. Leatherwood. One
of the troopers, who had been able to observe the individual who fled, identified him from the
photograph. The troopers did not obtain any further information from the woman who approached
the scene of the stop because an unrelated incident involving the safety of another trooper forced
them to leave the scene unexpectedly.
{¶5} After these events, a warrant issued for Mr. Leatherwood’s arrest. On March 9,
2019, Mr. Leatherwood was arrested on the outstanding warrant and on the warrant arising out of
this incident. Mr. Leatherwood was indicted on one count of aggravated possession of drugs in
violation of R.C. 2925.11(A) and (C)(1)(a) and two counts of obstructing official business in
violation of R.C. 2921.31(A)/(B) arising out of the traffic stop and on one count of domestic
violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A) and (D)(3) related to the existing warrant. Mr.
Leatherwood moved to “suppress[] all information as it was derived from anonymous unknown
callers[]” and argued that “anonymous tips * * * are generally less reliable than tips from known
informants and can form the basis for reasonable suspicion only if accompanied by specific indicia
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of reliability[.]” After conducting a hearing on the motion, the trial court acknowledged that “[Mr.
Leatherwood’s] boilerplate motion to suppress simply raises the issue of the unreliability of
anonymous tips and requests this Court grant its motion.” Nonetheless, the trial court determined
that the unknown woman’s information was an anonymous tip that could not support a reasonable
suspicion of criminal activity and reasoned that “it follows that the anonymous tip on its own is
also insufficient to find probable cause for an arrest.” The trial court suppressed “the identification
of [Mr.] Leatherwood derived from the anonymous call[,]” and the State appealed.
II.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN SUPPRESSING THE IDENTIFICATION OF
THE DEFENDANT[.]
{¶6} The State’s assignment of error argues that the trial court erred by suppressing the
identification of Mr. Leatherwood because the woman who provided information in the course of
the 911 call and at the scene of the stop did not provide an anonymous tip. This Court agrees that
the trial court erred, but for a more fundamental reason.
{¶7} The exclusionary rule “operates to exclude, or suppress, evidence that is derived
from police conduct that violated constitutional protections.” State v. Hobbs, 133 Ohio St.3d 43,
2012-Ohio-3886, ¶ 21, citing Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961). Consequently, a constitutional
violation in obtaining evidence must be present in order for the exclusionary rule to be applied.
See Hudson v. Michigan, 547 U.S. 586, 592-593 (2006) (explaining the role of but-for causation
in application of the exclusionary rule). The exclusionary rule is “‘a deterrent sanction that bars
the prosecution from introducing evidence obtained by way of a Fourth Amendment violation.’”
(Emphasis added). State v. Dibble, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-546, ¶ 14, quoting Davis v. U.S.,
564 U.S. 229, 231-232 (2011). See also Kettering v. Hollen, 64 Ohio St.2d 232, 234-235 (1980).
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{¶8} A motion to suppress is the vehicle through which suppression under the
exclusionary rule may be obtained. State v. French, 72 Ohio St.3d 446, 449 (1995). See also
Hilliard v. Elfrink, 77 Ohio St.3d 155, 158 (1996), quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 1014 (6th
Ed.1990) (explaining that a motion to suppress is “a ‘[d]evice used to eliminate from the trial of a
criminal case evidence which has been secured illegally, generally in violation of the Fourth
Amendment * * *, the Fifth Amendment * * *, or the Sixth Amendment * * * of [the] U.S.
Constitution.’”). “The purpose and effect of a motion to suppress and a motion in limine are
distinct.” (Emphasis in original.) French at 449. In contrast, a trial court’s ruling on a motion in
limine reflects “the court’s anticipatory treatment of an evidentiary issue at trial.” Defiance v.
Kretz, 60 Ohio St.3d 1, 4 (1991).
{¶9} The investigatory stop of an automobile is a seizure for purposes of the Fourth
Amendment and, consequently, must be based on a law enforcement officer’s reasonable suspicion
“that a motorist has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.” State v. Mays, 119
Ohio St.3d 406, 2008-Ohio-4539, ¶ 7, citing Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663 (1979). In
justifying the stop, the officer “must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken
together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” Terry v.
Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968). This question is evaluated in light of the totality of the circumstances
surrounding the stop. State v. Freeman, 64 Ohio St.2d 291 (1980), paragraph one of the syllabus.
{¶10} When officers rely on an informant’s tip to establish reasonable suspicion for an
investigative stop, the tip must have “sufficient indicia of reliability” that justifies the stop.
Maumee v. Weisner, 87 Ohio St.3d 295 (1999), paragraph two of the syllabus. As a general rule,
anonymous informants are “comparatively unreliable” and a tip “will generally require
independent police corroboration.” Id. at 300, citing Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 329 (1990).
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The nature of and circumstances surrounding an informant’s tip are part of the totality of the
circumstances that must be considered in determining whether an investigative stop is based upon
reasonable suspicion. See Weisner at 302-303.
{¶11} Evidence gained as a result of an investigative stop that is not based upon
reasonable suspicion—whether or not that determination is based upon an informant’s tip—may
be suppressed. A challenge to the admission of testimony related to the substance of the tip itself,
however, raises questions outside the scope of application of the exclusionary rule through a
motion to suppress. See, e.g., State v. Szafranski, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 107905, 2019-Ohio4349, ¶ 44-52; State v. Conyer, 7th Dist. Mahoning No. 16 MA 0021, 2017-Ohio-7506, ¶ 11-20;
State v. Hart, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-060686, 2007-Ohio-5740, ¶ 32-36.
{¶12} In this case, Mr. Leatherwood’s motion to suppress alleged, in vague terms, a lack
of reasonable suspicion, but it is unclear to what alleged action on the part of law enforcement the
motion was directed. Mr. Leatherwood did not identify any constitutional violation that resulted
from police conduct. See Hobbs, 133 Ohio St.3d 43, 2012-Ohio-3886, at ¶ 21. Specifically, he
did not maintain that the potential “identification testimony * * * was illegally obtained.” See
Crim.R. 12(C)(3). Mr. Leatherwood did not request the exclusion of any evidence seized by law
enforcement as a result of acting in reliance upon the information provided by the 911 caller, and
his motion to suppress did not challenge the adequacy of the warrant that led to his arrest or point
to any evidence seized as a result of its execution. Indeed, it appears that Mr. Leatherwood’s goal
was not the suppression of any evidence gained as the result of an alleged constitutional violation,
but the exclusion of testimony related to the trooper’s identification of him as the individual who
fled when the troopers approached. See generally Szafranski at ¶ 44-52; Conyer at ¶ 11-20; Hart
at ¶ 32-36.
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{¶13} Under these circumstances, when no constitutional violation has been alleged or
demonstrated, we cannot agree that suppression was appropriate. Accordingly, the State’s
assignment of error is sustained.
III.
{¶14}
Outcome: The State’s assignment of error is sustained. The judgment of the Summit County
Court of Common Pleas is reversed, and this matter is remanded for proceedings consistent withthis opinion.
Judgment reversed and cause remanded.
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