Background
Deantaie Barnes was convicted of domestic violence and aggravated menacing arising from an assault on his girlfriend, T.G., and subsequent threats to EMS workers who responded to the scene. EMS workers R.H. and A.M. arrived to find T.G. with suspected injuries including a broken wrist and a lump on her head. After the EMS workers confirmed T.G.’s identification of the assailant, Barnes returned to the apartment building while they were treating T.G.
Barnes forced his way in despite R.H. attempting to block the door, and told the EMS workers “I will f*cking kill you b*tches” before throwing T.G.’s phone on the ground and leaving. The EMS workers were so shaken they could no longer treat T.G. and had to request a second ambulance. The patient care report from the second ambulance documented T.G.’s statements that Barnes had beaten her with a chair, stomped on her, punched and kicked her in the face, and kicked her in the vagina. T.G. subsequently did not cooperate fully with detectives, and the case proceeded to trial without her testimony.
The Court’s Holding
The Eighth District affirmed. On the domestic violence charge, the court found sufficient evidence despite T.G.’s absence from trial. The court relied on testimony from EMS workers, police officers, and the patient care report documenting T.G.’s statements about the assault. The court held that T.G.’s spontaneous statements to EMS workers qualified as excited utterances under Evid.R. 803(2), and the patient care report was admissible as a business record and for medical diagnosis purposes.
On the aggravated menacing charges, the court found that Barnes’s death threats to the EMS workers were separately punishable offenses. The EMS workers testified credibly about their fear, and Barnes’s conduct in forcing his way into the apartment and verbally threatening to kill them supported the convictions. The court found that the manifest weight of the evidence supported all convictions, noting the consistency of the EMS workers’ and officers’ testimony.
Key Takeaways
- Domestic violence convictions can be sustained without victim testimony when excited utterances to EMS workers, patient care reports, and officer observations provide sufficient evidence of the assault.
- Verbal death threats to first responders at the scene of a domestic violence call constitute separately punishable aggravated menacing offenses.
- Patient care reports containing victim statements are admissible as business records and statements for medical diagnosis under Ohio’s Rules of Evidence.
Why It Matters
This case demonstrates how Ohio prosecutors can successfully pursue domestic violence cases even when victims do not cooperate or testify. The decision highlights the critical evidentiary role of EMS workers, whose documentation and testimony may substitute for victim testimony. For practitioners, the case underscores the importance of thorough scene documentation by first responders and the legal protections available to EMS workers who are threatened while performing their duties. The holding that threats to first responders are separately punishable sends a clear message about the consequences of threatening emergency personnel.