COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO, EIGHTH DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA NO. 59381 STATE OF OHIO : : Plaintiff-appellee : : JOURNAL ENTRY vs. : and : OPINION WILLIAM KENDRICK : : Defendant-appellant : : : DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT OF DECISION : NOVEMBER 21, 1991 CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING : Criminal appeal from : Court of Common Pleas : Case No. CR-238,199 JUDGMENT : AFFIRMED. DATE OF JOURNALIZATION : _______________________ APPEARANCES: For plaintiff-appellee: STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES, Prosecutor LEONARD D. HALL, Assistant Justice Center, Courts Tower 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 For defendant-appellant: HYMAN FRIEDMAN, Public Defender ROBERT M. INGERSOLL, Assistant The Marion Building, Room 307 1276 West Third Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113-1569 - 1 - FRANCIS E. SWEENEY, J.: After a jury trial, defendant-appellant, William Kendrick, was found guilty of one count of robbery (R.C. 2911.02). Appel- lant now timely appeals his conviction. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the appellant's conviction. The pertinent testimony adduced at trial is as follows: The victim, Gwendolyn Ealey, testified that she is a bus driver for the Regional Transit Authority ("RTA"). On April 1, 1989, she was the RTA bus driver for the 22-Lorain route heading east toward downtown Cleveland. At approximately 12:30 p.m., the appellant boarded the bus at Fulton and Lorain in Cleveland. Appellant handed Ms. Ealey an invalid transfer. Upon being informed the transfer was no good, appellant responded, "I don't need no bitch like you to tell me what to do." Appellant stood over Ms. Ealey and continued to verbally abuse her as she headed toward downtown Cleveland. As the bus crossed the Detroit- Superior bridge, appellant started punching Ms. Ealey's right arm with his elbow while declaring, "Bitch, you going to give me these transfers." When the bus reached Public Square, Ms. Ealey stopped the bus and all of the passengers, except appellant, quickly de- parted. As Ms. Ealey reached for her bus phone to call for her - 2 - supervisor, appellant jumped on top of her, trying to hold her down while his hands were pulling on the transfers. Ms. Ealey threw appellant off of her, and appellant grabbed her around the neck. She put her hands around appellant's neck, and appellant prepared to throw a punch into her face. She asked appellant not to hit her. The police arrived and arrested appellant. Ms. Ealey stated that the RTA transfers are worth eighty-five cents per transfer on the street. Marlene Gay, a passenger on the bus, corroborated the testi- mony of the victim, Ms. Ealey. Ms. Gay testified that when she got on the bus at Lorain and West 25th Street, appellant was standing over the driver yelling profanities. Appellant then started punching Ms. Ealey's right arm, while declaring that Ms. Ealey give him the transfers. Appellant did not present any witnesses in his defense. Based on the above, the jury found appellant guilty of robbery (R.C. 2911.02). Appellant now timely appeals, raising two assignments of error for our review. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I WHETHER WILLIAM KENDRICK WAS DENIED HIS CON- STITUTIONAL RIGHT TO DEFEND HIMSELF, WHEN THE TRIAL COURT REFUSED HIS REQUEST TO ACT AS HIS OWN COUNSEL. Appellant argues the trial court erred in refusing appel- lant's request, made at the close of the state's case, to repre- sent himself. This argument is without merit. - 3 - A criminal defendant has a constitutionally protected right to represent himself, but may only proceed without counsel if he voluntarily, intelligently and unequivocally elects to do so. Faretta v. California (1975), 422 U.S. 806. After the trial has commenced, a defendant's request to proceed pro se lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Robards v. Rees (6th Cir. 1986), 789 F.2d 379. In the present case, appellant's request for permission to represent himself came for the first time after the state had rested and after two days of trial had passed. Appellant's sole reason for the request was based on his belief that he should never have been prosecuted for robbery. To allow appellant to represent himself so late in the proceedings would have been disruptive to the orderly procedures of the court. Therefore, we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant's request of self-representation. Assignment of Error I is overruled. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II WHETHER WILLIAM KENDRICK WAS DENIED HIS LIBERTY WITHOUT DUE PROCESS OF LAW BY HIS CONVICTION FOR ROBBERY WHICH WAS NOT SUP- PORTED BY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO PROVE HIS GUILT OF THE CRIME BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Appellant argues that his conviction of robbery was not supported by sufficient evidence. This argument is without merit. - 4 - In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court's function is to determine if there was evidence which, if believed, would convince the average person of the accused's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jenks (1991), 61 Ohio St. 3d 273. The credibility of the testimony and the weight of the evidence are primarily matters for the trier of fact. State v. DeHass (1967), 10 Ohio St. 2d 230. The inquiry is, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, whether any reasonable trier of fact could have found the essen- tial elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The robbery statute (R.C. 2911.02) states, in pertinent part, that no person, in attempting or committing a theft offense, shall use or threaten the immediate use of force against another. In the present case, the victim and a witness testified appellant punched the victim while demanding the RTA transfers. When the bus arrived at Public Square, appellant jumped on the victim and pulled at the RTA transfers. Thus, sufficient, credi- ble evidence was presented for the jury to conclude appellant committed robbery. Accordingly, Assignment of Error II is overruled. Judgment affirmed. - 5 - It is ordered that appellee recover of appellant its costs herein taxed. The Court finds there were reasonable grounds for this appeal. It is ordered that a special mandate issue out of this Court directing the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to carry this judgment into execution. The defendant's conviction having been affirmed, any bail pending appeal is terminated. Case remanded to the trial court for execution of sentence. A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. KRUPANSKY, C.J. BLACKMON, J. CONCUR JUDGE FRANCIS E. SWEENEY N.B. This entry is made pursuant to the third sentence of Rule 22(D), Ohio Rules of Appellate Procedure. This is an announce- ment of decision (see Rule 26). Ten (10) days from the date hereof, this document will be stamped to indicate journaliza- tion, at which time it will become the judgment and order of the court and time period for review will begin to run. .