State v. Clayton

In this cause, we must resolve the questions of whether the trial court committed plain error when it failed to instruct on lesser-included offenses (see Crim. R. 52) and whether the defendant received effective assistance of counsel at the trial level.

The facts surrounding this cause are essentially as follows. Appellee, Richard J. Clayton, became involved in a dispute with his wholesale tropical fish supplier, Carmen Zagaria. Appellee claimed that Zagaria had vandalized his fish store, whereas Zagaria claimed that appellee owed him money. When Zagaria went to the store on the morning of…