Ohio Supreme Court: Marion County inmate can't be tried in Erie County for plot to kill ex
While incarcerated in Marion County for attempting to kidnap and shoot his ex-wife in her Erie County home, Gerry Moore Sr. was convicted for plotting with his cellmate to kill her after blaming her for his imprisonment.
The Ohio Supreme Court announced Thursday of its decision in State v. Moore that the Marion County prison inmate cannot be tried for retaliation in Erie County for this plotting when all his actions occurred in Marion County.
This judgment affirms a prior ruling from the Sixth District Court of Appeals, where the court first overturned three convictions for the Marion County inmate regarding his plotting.
Moore's incarceration in Marion County was a result of pleading guilty to felonious assault, kidnapping, failure to comply and inducing panic after he snuck into the home of his ex-wife in 2015 just a month after she filed for divorce and held her at gunpoint, attempted to kidnap her and fired shots at her as she was trying to escape.
While he was serving his 8 years and 11 months prison sentence in Marion County for these crimes, Moore offered his cellmate, Richard Kiser, $50,000 to find her in a bar and "slip her a lethal dose of drugs to end her life," according to Kiser in the Supreme Court's report, State v. Moore, Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-1460.
Kiser then turned the plot into authorities, and Moore was indicted in Erie County for retaliation, attempted aggravated murder and conspiracy in 2017.
After being tried in Erie County for these new charges, Moore was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He then appealed to the Sixth District Court of Appeals to challenge the venue, meaning the fact his crimes did not take place in Erie County. It was here the court reversed his convictions for the three charges.
Thursday's Supreme Court Announcement, the court upheld the judgment of the Sixth District Court of Appeals on the grounds the state failed to prove proper venue in Erie County. The court noted this does not qualify as an overall acquittal, but a dismissal of the convictions in Erie County on venue grounds.
A call to clarify whether double-jeopardy protections would stop the state from retrying Moore in Marion County were raised by Ohio's Attorney General, but according the slip opinion, was an issue to be left "for another day."
Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan said he plans to contact Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter to discuss whether Moore is to be retried in Marion County in the future.
Story by: Sophia Veneziano (740) 564 - 5243 | sveneziano@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion County inmate can't be tried in Erie County for plot to kill ex
