The Seventh District Court of Appeals has ruled that three claims of error made during a trial of a 39-year-old man who was arrested in Dec., 2021 after fighting with paramedics and a Boardman policemen were without merit.
      Around 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2021 Lane LifeTrans paramedics were sent to the parking lot of Wal-Mart, 1300 Doral Dr. for a suspected drug overdose
      The appellate court said that EMT Erin O’Driscoll found Dustin Lee James (of 147 Shields Rd., #5) in the parking lot of Wal-Mart.
      “[James] was acting erratically, kept nodding off, and showed other signs of overdose. After [he] was placed in an ambulance, [he] almost immediately stopped breathing,” the court said, adding that O’Driscoll gave James narcan using a syringe placed into his thigh.
      The court continued “[James] immediately woke up on receiving the injection. He grabbed the syringe from O’Driscoll and attacked her,” as the driver of the ambulance, Angelina Williams, pulled over and radioed for help, then went to aid O’Driscoll. Eventually the two EMTs and three police officers were able to restrain James,
      O’Driscoll suffered a concussion and Sgt. Glenn Patton, of the BPD, was hit in the face and suffered a split lip during efforts to subdue James. Williams was also injured during the melee in the ambulance, as she received a bruise on her back, Due to their injuries, O’Driscoll and Wiliams could not finish their work shift.
      The case didn’t go to court for a jury trial until Jan. 3, 2023, after James was indicted on five counts of assault, as well as obstruction and resisting arrest.
      In Mar., 2023, James was found guilty on six of the seven counts and sentenced to eight to twelve years in prison.
      James, represented by Atty. Michael Partlow, appealed the trial court’s decision claiming three errors:
       1) His right to equal protection was violated when a juror candidate, who was Black, was dismissed. Partlow claimed the dismissal was “purposeful discrimination.”
       2) His conviction was against the manifest weight of evidence.
       3) And, James’ constitutional rights were violated when he was sentenced to a “potential, indefinite term of incarceration.”
      “Assault requires proof that a person knowingly caused or attempted to cause physical harm to another. The evidence showed that [James] caused physical harm to Erin O’Driscoll, Angelina Williams and Officer Glenn Patton. All three testified about their injuries, including a sprained shoulder, a concussion and a split lip,” an opinion written by Judge Cheryl Waite said.
      The judge concluded “There is no evidence that the [prosecutor] had a discriminatory purpose in removing the juror from the panel.
      “Second, James’ manifest weight argument is contradicted by the extensive evidence presented against him at trial, including the testimony of the two medical technicians and Officer Patton, as well as video evidence of what occurred when James attacked them in the back of an ambulance.
      “All…assignments of error are without merit and the conviction and the sentence are affirmed.”
      Appellate Judges Carol Ann Robb and William Klatt concurred with the opinion.