State of Ohio v. John T. Schmid

Xenia, Ohio criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with aggravated burglary, felonious assault, two counts of misdemeanor assault, aggravated menacing, and attempted trespass in a habitation.



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Just after midnight on February 24, 2023, Terry, the resident of a house on Old Yellow Springs Road in Fairborn, was awake and listening to an audiobook when he heard what sounded like a car's engine revving nearby. A few minutes later there was a big bang, and he found that someone was trying to kick in his front door. Terry could not see who was there (as he is legally blind), but he banged back on the door and yelled "whoa, whoa, whoa." The kicking stopped, but the person on the other side yelled, "This is your neighbor. Open the door. I just had an accident." Not recognizing the voice, Terry refused to let the person in and instead called 911. The person at the door left.



At about that same time, D.S., the owner of a house on Cedarwood Drive in Fairborn (very near Terry's house) was on the couch in his living room when he heard a big boom and, as he put it, the next thing he knew, "here comes this person into my house." Once inside, the intruder attacked D.S., initially headbutting him in the torso. Though surprised, D.S. was able to push the man (later identified as Schmid) out the door and onto the porch, causing Schmid to fall. D.S. testified: "I stood over him and I was yelling as loud as I could. . . I was trying to reach anybody who could hear me." Trial Tr. at 70. He also asked Schmid what gave him the right to break into his house in the middle of the night, and Schmid replied that he needed help and that he was Jesus.



After the short exchange, Schmid got up and slowly began to move toward D.S., who was now just inside the threshold of the house. According to D.S., "[i]t got to the point where I couldn't trust him no more. And then, that's [when] I put my hands on him. I pushed him. And we ended up falling over a fence into the yard." Trial Tr. at 72. Schmid landed on top of D.S. and was able to hook his thumbs on the inside of D.S.'s mouth and pulled violently outward. D.S. told officers that "[Schmid] tried to pull my mouth apart." Exhibit 5 (body camera video). He testified that it took all of his strength to keep the attacker off of him because Schmid was trying to bite his neck.



D.S.'s wife, who had been asleep upstairs, came down and began yelling at Schmid. That distraction led Schmid to get off of D.S. and instead head for D.S.'s wife. She testified that "[Schmid] jumped up and grabbed me by the breasts real hard and shoved me." Trial Tr. at 97. After the brief attack on D.S.'s wife, Schmid went back to the assault on D.S. By this time, however, neighbors had heard the commotion and were arriving on scene. One neighbor, Rick, went outside and saw D.S. "bent over the fence; his wife standing next to him . . . screaming at a gentleman, telling him to leave the property." Trial Tr. at 32. Rick began to walk that way and got Schmid's attention; Schmid then abandoned his assault on D.S. and ran toward Rick.



The two men fought, both exchanging blows, but Rick got the better of Schmid and was able to subdue him until police arrived. Once officers got there, Rick let Schmid go. Schmid then turned his attention to Fairborn police officer Austin Henning, who had just arrived on the scene. Officer Henning testified that Schmid walked right at him and "put his hands towards my chest and face area and didn't stop walking towards me, so, I had to redirect him towards my patrol car." Trial Tr. at 50-51. A struggle ensued, and they began to wrestle on the ground. At this point, more officers arrived, and Schmid was finally put in handcuffs and dragged to a cruiser because he refused to walk.



Officer Henning testified that throughout the altercation, Schmid yelled things like "break my arm." According to Officer Henning, he also asked, "God, why did you make me do this?" Trial Tr. at 57. The officer told the jury that, as Schmid was being taken in custody, "he asked if I wanted him to kill me. And then, he asked if I wanted him to slit my throat. And then, he said that he would eat me." Trial Tr. at 60; Exhibit 5. He also requested to be set on fire and crucified upside down. Exhibit 5.



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CRIMINAL LAW. INSANITY DEFENSE. The case involves the appellant's challenge regarding the jury's rejection of his not guilty by reason of insanity defense, where he argued that evidence showed he was incapable of understanding the wrongfulness of his actions due to a severe mental disorder.



CRIMINAL LAW. FELONIOUS ASSAULT. The appellant contends that his conviction for felonious assault should be overturned due to insufficient evidence, particularly arguing that the state's evidence did not demonstrate that he caused serious physical harm to the victim.



EVIDENCE LAW. ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE. The appellant challenges the trial court's decision to admit evidence that he had stopped taking his prescribed medication prior to committing the offenses, asserting that this evidence unfairly influenced the jury's determination of his guilt.



Key Phrases Criminal Appeal. Aggravated Burglary. Insanity Defense. Felonious Assault. Serious Physical Harm.

Schmid was sentenced to 11 to 16½ years for aggravated burglary, 8 years for felonious assault, 180 days for each assault, and 12 months for attempted trespass in a habitation. The court ordered all the sentences to be served concurrently for an aggregate sentence of 11 to 16½ years in prison.



Affirmed