Warren man’s murder conviction upheld by appeals court
Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals upheld the murder conviction and indefinite prison sentence of a Warren man.
Cedrick Patterson was sentenced to 44 to 49½ years in prison for the Dec. 1, 2021, fatal shooting of Bernard Owens at a northwest Warren high-rise apartment.
During the August 2022 trial, Patterson was also convicted of shooting another man at an adjoining high rise.
Why were the claims denied?
In an opinion penned by Judge Eugene A. Lucci and filed Monday, July 10, 2023, the 11th District court rejected claims by Patterson’s attorney that the trial court had erred in denying a bid to suppress evidence obtained during Patterson’s interview with police detectives.
The attorney, George Stralka of Independence, had argued Patterson’s waiver of his Miranda Rights was not valid.
However, Judge Lucci, along with colleagues Mary Jane Trapp and John J. Eklund, ruled for the state.
A second error claim involved the trial court not splitting the felonious assault and murder offenses into separate cases.
The appellate judges, however, ruled the trial court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting the defense motion to bifurcate the charges.
Another trial court error cited by the defense – which the appellate judges rejected -- involved the ruling against a self-defense jury instruction.
The appellate court also found no merit in the argument that the state did not provide credible evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Patterson committed the felonious assault on Nov. 21, 2021.
Who made arguments for each side?
Arguing for the state during the June 14 appellate hearing was First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker, while Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Sanders prepared the state’s briefs in the case.
In sentencing, Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice had pointed to Patterson’s lengthy criminal history in three states and called him a “criminal psychopath.”
Patterson, 42, is now serving his sentence at North Central Correctional Institution in Marion.
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