State v. Dixon

1

2022-Ohio-3157

STATE OF OHIO Plaintiff-Appellee v. TALICIA A. DIXON Defendant-Appellant

No. 2021-CA-29

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Second District, Greene

September 9, 2022

Criminal Appeal from Common Pleas Court Trial Court Case No 2019-CR-242

MEGAN A. HAMMOND, Atty. Reg. No. 0097714, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Greene County Prosecutor's Office, 61 Greene Street, Suite 200, Xenia, Ohio 45385 Attorney for Plaintiff-Appellee

L PATRICK MULLIGAN, Atty. Reg. No. 0011618 and FRANK MATTHEW BATZ, Atty. Reg. No. 0093817, 28 North Wilkinson Street Dayton, Ohio 45402 Attorneys for Defendant-Appellant

OPINION

TUCKER, P.J.

{¶ 1} Talicia A. Dixon appeals from her conviction following a jury trial on one count of murder with a firearm specification.^[1]

{¶ 2} Dixon advances five assignments of error. She contends the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the inferior-degree offenses of aggravated assault and voluntary manslaughter. She claims the trial court failed to give a "correct and complete" intervening-cause instruction as it related to the victim's death. She also contests the trial court's failure to apply Ohio's recently-enacted "stand-your-ground" law. Finally, she challenges the legal sufficiency and manifest weight of the evidence to convict her.

{¶ 3} We conclude that the evidence did not warrant an aggravated-assault or voluntary-manslaughter instruction, that the trial court's intervening-cause instruction was adequate, and that Ohio's new stand-your-ground law did not apply retroactively to Dixon's case. We also find legally sufficient evidence to support her conviction, which was not against the weight of the evidence. Accordingly, the trial court's judgment will be affirmed.

I. Background

{¶ 4} The present appeal stems from a shooting outside of a residence on the night of May 4, 2018. On that date, Dixon shot Andre Nooks in the neck, rendering him a quadriplegic. Nooks died at a long-term care facility in January 2019 following complications from the gunshot. Dixon does not dispute shooting Nooks. The only real issues at trial were whether she acted in self-defense and whether the treatment Nooks received at the long-term care facility was an intervening cause of his death.

{¶ 5} The record reflects that Dixon and two friends, Kendra Lane and Dwight Jamison, went to the Round Table bar in Xenia on the night in question. While there, Dixon encountered another group of people that included Vanessa Hoyt, Andre Nooks, Christian Weems, and others. Dixon and Weems argued in the bar, and the dispute later became physical in the parking lot. Hoyt testified that Dixon and Weems "attacked each other." According to Hoyt, the two women pulled hair and scuffled for about a minute before being separated. For her part, Dixon testified that Hoyt and Weems jointly assaulted her in the parking lot. Dixon explained that she retreated to the safety of her car after being punched in the face by both women. Police arrived and spoke to members of both groups, but no arrests were made.

{¶ 6} Following the parking-lot incident, the two groups parted ways. Dixon's friend Natasha Erkins drove her to Kendra Lane's house at 467 Franklin Avenue in Xenia. While Dixon was there, Lane called and argued with members of Hoyt's group, including Hoyt, Weems, and Nooks. Following the call, Hoyt's group decided to go to Lane's house. Hoyt's group arrived at Lane's residence in two cars. Hoyt testified that upon arriving she saw Dixon "running towards the street." Hoyt instructed Nooks, who was driving her car, to park down the street in front of 314 Franklin Avenue so Dixon wouldn't harm her vehicle. The second car in Hoyt's group parked directly in front of Hoyt's vehicle.

{¶ 7} Hoyt testified that Nooks exited her car and began walking toward Lane's house. Hoyt then saw Lane throw a bottle at Nooks while walking toward him. Hoyt began following Nooks as he walked toward Lane's house. Hoyt retrieved the bottle and tossed it aside. As Hoyt was walking, she saw Dixon run to Natasha Erkins' car, which was parked in Lane's driveway, and retrieve something from the back seat. Shortly thereafter, Hoyt was standing near Nooks and speaking to Erkins when she heard Lane say, "Talicia, what the f**k?" Hoyt turned and saw Dixon pointing a handgun, pulling the slide back, and ejecting rounds onto the ground. Hoyt then heard a "boom," and Nooks fell to the ground with a gunshot wound in his neck. Hoyt testified that Nooks had not physically assaulted Dixon, "lunged" at her, or made any threatening comments prior to being shot. Hoyt stated that she and Nooks were at the end of a neighbor's driveway near Lane's house when the shooting occurred. Dixon fled the scene after the shooting. Police arrived and found Nooks in the street outside 481 Franklin Avenue. Shell casings from the firearm were found in Lane's yard at 467 Franklin Avenue.

{¶ 8} Neighbor Vicki Cromwell, who resided at 434 Franklin Avenue, testified that prior to the shooting she heard loud voices and went outside to see what was occurring. She saw a lady retrieve something from a car parked in Lane's driveway. Cromwell then watched this person walk up to a small group of people, raise her arm, and fire a gunshot. Cromwell did not see anyone physically assault the shooter prior to the gunshot.

{¶ 9} For her part, Dixon testified that she was outside with Lane when the cars carrying Hoyt's friends arrived. Dixon stated that they were honking and yelling at her, and she feared that she would be assaulted again. After the cars parked, Hoyt and Nooks began walking toward her and Lane. Dixon testified that she tried to hold Lane back and stop her from confronting Hoyt and Nooks. According to Dixon, she retrieved the handgun from Erkins' car only after Hoyt threw a bottle at her and Lane. Dixon claimed she did not know the firearm was loaded. She "pulled it back" to scare Hoyt. She also asked the members of Hoyt's group to leave. Dixon testified that Nooks then "lunged" toward her. At that point, Dixon feared for her life and was afraid that she was going to be beaten. She raised her arm and fired the gun. Dixon reiterated that she was afraid and believed there was no way to avoid being beaten when she shot Nooks. On cross-examination, Dixon explained that she fired the gun "out of fear of [Nooks] coming towards [her]."

{¶ 10} Weems and Lane, who was Dixon's cousin, also testified as defense witnesses. Weems testified that she and Hoyt did hit Dixon in the bar parking lot. Weems stated that the plan was to go to Lane's house to fight Dixon after leaving the bar. Upon arriving at Lane's residence, Weems testified that she saw Hoyt and Nooks directly in front of Dixon screaming at her.

{¶ 11} On cross-examination, Weems admitting being good friends with Dixon. She also admitted telling police after the incident (1) that Dixon had been the aggressor outside the bar, (2) that Weems had defended herself outside the bar, (3) that only Weems and Dixon were involved in the altercation outside the bar, (4) that no one in Hoyt's group went to Lane's house with the intent to fight Dixon, (5) that Hoyt and Nooks went to Lane's house to talk to Dixon, (6) that Dixon ran after the car Weems occupied outside of Lane's house, and (7) that Weems did not see the shooting or what happened at the time of the shooting.

{¶ 12} Lane testified that she was outside her house with Dixon when Hoyt and Nooks drove down her street honking their horn, cursing, and making threats. According to Lane, Hoyt and Nooks parked and then began approaching on foot. As they did so, Hoyt threw a bottle toward Lane and Dixon. Lane testified that she responded by trying to push Dixon back toward her house as Dixon tried to restrain her from confronting Hoyt. She heard Dixon tell Hoyt and Nooks to leave. Lane also heard Nooks threaten to "knock out" her and Dixon. Lane testified that Nooks then rushed toward them and made a motion like he was going to throw a punch. At that point, Lane heard a "phoom" sound when Dixon shot Nooks.

{¶ 13} On cross-examination, Lane acknowledged telling police that she and Hoyt did not exchange words on the street prior to the shooting. Lane also did not mention anything to police about Hoyt's throwing a bottle. Contrary to her trial testimony, Lane told police that she had tried to restrain Dixon from confronting Hoyt and Nooks, not that Dixon had tried to restrain her. Lane also did not tell police that Hoyt and Nooks had been making threats to her. In fact, Lane told police that all Nooks said to her outside the house was "what's up?" Lane additionally told police that she then went back inside her house and stayed there and that she did not know who had been shot.

{¶ 14} Both parties also presented expert testimony regarding the medical care Nooks received after the shooting. The coroner's office identified his cause of death as "complications of quadriplegia due to gunshot wound of the neck," and the manner of death was identified as homicide. The record reflects that Nooks spent approximately one week at a long-term care facility prior to his death. Prosecution witness Dr. Kevin Sharrett reviewed Nooks' records and opined that the care he received was appropriate and that the complications leading to his death-namely, "mucus plugging and increased secretions, and the pneumonia, and the decubitus, and the sepsis, and all of the organ failure that goes along with that"-were to be expected of a person who had sustained his type of injury. In Dr. Sharrett's opinion, the treatment Nooks received was consistent with the standard of care given in Ohio nursing facilities.

{¶ 15} The defense presented competing testimony from Dr. Susan Groah. In her testimony,...