State v. Wingate

2013 Ohio 2079
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided May 22, 2013·No. 26433·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 26433 Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE

JULIE M. WINGATE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO

Appellant CASE No. CR 10 21 3461

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY Dated: May 22, 2013

MOORE, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Defendant, Julie Wingate, appeals from her conviction in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. We affirm.

I.

{¶2} From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Wingate served as the treasurer for the Cuyahoga Falls South Little League (“the League”). In 2011, the Summit County Grand Jury indicted Ms. Wingate on a charge of grand theft, in violation of R.C. 2913.02(A)(1)/(A)(2)/(A)(3), for allegedly depriving the League of a portion of its funds. Ms. Wingate pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the case proceeded to a jury trial. The jury found Ms. Wingate guilty, and the trial court imposed sentence in an entry issued on April 17, 2012. Ms. Wingate timely appealed from the sentencing entry, and she now presents five assignments of error for our review. We have re- ordered the assignments of error to facilitate our discussion.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR IV

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING [MS. WINGATE’S] RULE 29 MOTION AS THERE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO CONVICT [HER].

{¶3} In her fourth assignment of error, Ms. Wingate argues that her conviction was not supported by sufficient evidence. We disagree.

{¶4} The issue of whether a conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997). When considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, the court must determine whether the prosecution has met its burden of production. Id. at 390 (Cook, J. concurring). In making this determination, an appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution:

An appellate court’s function when reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction is to examine the evidence admitted at trial to determine whether such evidence, if believed, would convince the average mind of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The relevant inquiry is whether, after viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus. Circumstantial and direct evidence “possess the same probative value[.]” Id. at paragraph one of the syllabus. “Furthermore, if the State relies on circumstantial evidence to prove any essential element of an offense, it is not necessary for such evidence to be irreconcilable with any reasonable theory of innocence in order to support a conviction.” (Internal quotations omitted.) State v. Tran, 9th Dist. No. 22911, 2006-Ohio-4349, ¶ 13.

{¶5} Ms. Wingate was convicted of grand theft in violation of R.C.

2913.02(A)(1)/(A)(2)/(A)(3). The statute provides that:

(A) No person, with purpose to deprive the owner of property or services, shall knowingly obtain or exert control over either the property or services in any of the following ways:

(1) Without the consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent;

(2) Beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent;

(3) By deception[.]

{¶6} Here, as part of the State’s case-in-chief, it presented the testimony of Kelly Bennett, Bruce Dickon, Patricia Rightley, John Potok, and Detective Chad Lengel.

{¶7} Ms. Bennett testified that she held the position of League treasurer commencing in 2006, immediately prior to Ms. Wingate. When Ms. Bennett began her term as treasurer, she opened a bank account for the League utilizing a check in the amount of $10,500 that was provided to her by the previous treasurer. Ms. Bennett would routinely pay for the expenses of the League using checks from this account. She would also reimburse individuals who had paid for League expenses when the individual presented her with a receipt for the purchase. When the League’s account grew to $24,000 in 2007, she became uncomfortable handling the increased funds, and she relinquished the position. She then wrote a check to Ms. Wingate, who had taken over the position, for the $24,000 in the account, following the same course as the treasurer before her. She also provided Ms. Wingate with a ledger which listed the withdrawals and deposits from the account.

{¶8} Mr. Dickon testified that he was the League’s president when Ms. Wingate took over the position of treasurer. Ms. Wingate would occasionally correspond with Mr. Dickon and the League’s board members regarding the League’s account. In 2009, when he was preparing

to retire as the League’s president, he sent Ms. Wingate an email requesting the League’s bank statements, a list of outstanding bills, and an accounting from a raffle. Mr. Dickon felt that Ms. Wingate was uncooperative with providing the information, but she later provided him with an itemized ledger. Mr. Dickon testified that the State’s Exhibit 6 was the ledger that Ms. Wingate provided him. This exhibit indicates that $1,885.30 was in the League account at that time. After Mr. Dickon made several requests for the bank records to which Ms. Wingate did not respond, Mr. Dickon brought the ledger to the police department to seek assistance in obtaining the rest of the financial records and to determine where the League’s funds were utilized. The police department later returned the ledger to him, and he provided it to the League’s board.

{¶9} Ms. Rightley testified that she took over as treasurer after Ms. Wingate. When she did so, she received a check for $1,800 from Ms. Wingate. She used this check along with a donation and opened a new account for the League. Ms. Rightley also received outstanding League bills, which exceeded the money remaining in the League’s account.

{¶10} Mr. Potok testified that he took over as the League’s president when Mr. Dickon resigned, and he continued the investigation of the League’s finances. In doing so, he reviewed a ledger that was given to him, which he too identified as Exhibit 6. He provided the ledger to law enforcement.

{¶11} Detective Lengel investigated the League’s concerns regarding its funds. When he commenced his investigation, he received the police file that contained a copy of a ledger, which he verified was the ledger contained in State’s Exhibit 6. The detective also obtained and reviewed the League’s bank records during the time period that Ms. Wingate served as treasurer. These records were also admitted into evidence. Detective Lengel compared the bank records to

the ledger and prepared a list of checks that were not accurately noted on the ledger. The parties have referred to this list interchangeably as Appendix A and Exhibit 12.

{¶12} The detective further testified that, after he prepared this list, he interviewed Ms.

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