State v. Freeman

── State v. Freeman ── Court: Ohio Court of Appeals Date: May 15, 2026 Author: Gene Zmuda Category: General [Cite as State v. Freeman, 2026-Ohio-1795.] IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT WOOD COUNTY State of Ohio Court of Appeals No. WD-25-041 Appellee Trial Court No. 2023CR1034 v. DECISION AND JUDGMENT Corey James Freeman Decided: May 15, 2026 Appellant ***** Paul A. Dobson, Esq., Wood County Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. Jeffrey P. Nunnari, for appellant. ***** ZMUDA, J. I. Introduction {¶ 1} Appellant, Corey James Freeman, appeals the March 12, 2025 judgment of the Wood County Court of Common Pleas convicting him of one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of the police officer, one count of having weapons while under disability, one count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, and one count of possession of cocaine, and sentencing him to a 60-month prison term. For the reasons that follow, the trial court’s judgment is affirmed. II. Facts and Procedural History {¶ 2} On March 16, 2023, appellant was indicted by a grand jury in the Wood County Court of Common Pleas on one count of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer in violation of R.C. 2921.331(B) and (C)(5)(a)(ii), a third-degree felony (count 1); one count of having weapons while under disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) and (B), a third-degree felony (count 2); improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle in violation of R.C. 2923.16(B) and (I), a fourth-degree felony (count 3); one count of trafficking in cocaine in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2) and (C)(4)(a), a fifth-degree felony (count 4); and one count of possession of cocaine in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A) and (C)(4)(a), a fifth-degree felony (count 5). {¶ 3} The charges stemmed from an incident on the morning of June 26, 2022 in Lake Township, Ohio. An officer with the Lake Township Police Department initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by appellant, who was suspected to have been involved in a domestic violence incident at a nearby motel. Though appellant initially pulled over and stopped his vehicle, he drove away while the officer was getting out of her vehicle to approach appellant. After nearly colliding with a semitruck and another police vehicle pursuing appellant, appellant lost control of his vehicle, crashed into a ditch, and attempted to escape on foot. Muddy conditions prevented appellant from getting far, and 2. appellant gave himself up to the police. A search of the vehicle appellant was driving revealed a firearm in the center console as well as a bag containing cocaine. {¶ 4} Appellant pled not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and the case proceeded to a jury trial. At trial, the State presented the testimony of two witnesses, Officer Rachel Caputo and Detective Jason Algarin, who were both working for the Lake Township Police Department at the time of the incident. Caputo testified regarding her attempt to initiate a traffic stop of appellant and the ensuing chase. Algarin’s testimony concerned the items located in the search of the vehicle appellant was driving and is not relevant to this appeal. {¶ 5} Caputo testified that on the morning of June 26, 2022, she responded to a call for assistance from the manager of the Super 8 Motel on Latcha Road in Lake Township. Caputo was told that a possible domestic violence incident had occurred there, and the alleged victim, H.M., was in the motel’s office with the manager, who