State v. Barnthouse

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 5209

Syllabus

THEFT BY DECEPTION — R.C. 2913.02: Where defendant contracted with the husband and wife victims to replace their home windows, and took their money but failed to provide the windows, defendant's conviction for theft by deception against a person in a protected class was supported by the sufficiency and weight of the evidence where the record reflects that the husband was over 65 at the time of the offense, and that defendant was paid from a joint-checking account owned by both husband and wife. Circumstantial evidence was presented from which the jury could have concluded that defendant's actions in accepting payment to replace the windows and his subsequent failure to perform any part of the work demonstrated the intent to deceive and the deceptive act required for conviction.