Youngstown Daily Legal News

Thief who stole pills at gunpoint from his roommates loses appeal

JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 11, 2014

A Franklin County appellate panel recently affirmed a man’s convictions for three counts of robbery after he allegedly held three women at gunpoint to take prescription medication from them.

The 10th District Court of Appeals rejected Marcus Smith’s allegations that his convictions were against the manifest weight and sufficiency of the evidence and affirmed the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas decision.

Smith’s case stemmed from an encounter with women he lived with on Columbus’ Oakland Park Avenue in February 2012.

At the time, Smith was living with his sister Danita Anderson, her friend Whitney Surles, Whitney’s mother Charlotte Surles and Whitney’s brother William Surles.

Case summary states that he had been living in the residence for two to three months prior to the incident.

On Feb. 16, 2012, Smith arrived at the house and went upstairs to his bedroom.

Charlotte was downstairs and said she “could tell that by the look on his face that something was wrong.”

Charlotte followed Smith upstairs and said she entered a bedroom with Danita and Whitney to let them know that Smith was in the home and something seemed wrong.

That’s when the women said Smith stuck his head in the room and told them get out of the bed and “You know what it is.”

Charlotte told the court that Smith would not let her leave the room and all three women testified that he had a “gun pointed toward them.”

While wielding the firearm, Smith allegedly repeatedly asked them “Where’s the money at?”

The women said they told the defendant they did not have any money and he began rummaging around the room.

Anderson said her brother took money from the bed and a dresser. At one point, Charlotte’s blood pressure began to rise and she fell to the couch.

“When defendant saw the ‘commotion’ going on with Charlotte, he ‘pointed a gun’ and said ‘Ms. Charlotte, sit the f*** down,’” case summary states.

At that point, the women said Smith left the bedroom and went downstairs.

Anderson said she followed him and watched as he rummaged through Charlotte’s purse and took more money and prescription medicine.

She then began shouting at Smith to leave and he “ran outside and had the gun pointed toward us at the house” while yelling at them to remain in the home.

Charlotte testified that Smith took about $4,000 from the bedroom, most of which belonged to her.

The other women testified that he took about $5,000 from the house, which was a combination of the women’s income tax returns.

After the incident, Anderson called her mother, Gertrude Stubbs and told her that Smith had just robbed her of $8,000.

Stubbs then asked Smith to return the money and he told her “it wasn’t money, that it was some pills.”

He also denied using a weapon during the encounter.

Stubbs noted that she wasn’t surprised by Smith’s statement because her daughter made money by selling drugs.

Smith was indicted on multiple counts of aggravated robbery, robbery, kidnapping, aggravated burglary and theft, all of which had gun specifications.

He waived his right to a jury trial and the matter proceeded to a bench trial.

“The trial court found the ‘idea that there was $8,000 worth of cash or $5,000 worth of cash in the room or in the house’ was not worthy of belief,” according to the case history.

The court stated that it did not believe the victims in this case “would have allowed Mr. Smith to go up and take anything and just leave the way he left unless there was some threat of force being alleged there.”

Therefore, the court found it credible that Smith used a threat of force to take the pills in question.

It found him guilty of the robbery charges, gun specifications and having a weapon under disability.

The court sentenced him to a total of five years in prison and he appealed to the 10th District, challenging the manifest weight and sufficiency of the evidence.

Finding that all three women testified about the presence of a handgun, the appellate judges found that there was sufficient evidence showing the threat of force.

They further determined that Smith’s mother and sister testified that he admitted to taking the pills during the robbery.

“Defendant also argues that, ‘since the court believed Mrs. Stubbs’ testimony that Mr. Smith said he stole only the pills, it follows that Mr. Smith’s denial of use of a firearm to his mother should have been believed by the court as well,’” Judge John Connor wrote in his opinion for the court.

The three-judge appellate panel, however, ruled that a trial court is free to believe or disbelieve any part of a witness’ testimony.

Accordingly, the trial court chose to believe that Smith took only the pills from the home but disbelieved that he did not use a weapon to do so.

“As the evidence demonstrated that defendant robbed the residents of the Oakland Park residence at gun point, and that defendant admitted to stealing two handfuls of pills from the residence, we cannot find that the court clearly lost its way in convicting defendant of robbery with a gun specification and of having a weapon while under disability,” Judge Connor stated.

Judges Susan Brown and William Klatt concurred and affirmed the lower court’s judgment.

The case is cited State v. Smith, 2014-Ohio-709.

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