[Cite as State v. Richey, 2014-Ohio-2866.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 

 )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT 

COUNTY OF WAYNE ) 

STATE OF OHIO 

 Appellee 

 v. 

KATELYN RICHEY 

 Appellant 

C.A. No. 13CA0031 

APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT 

ENTERED IN THE 

WAYNE COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT 

COUNTY OF WAYNE, OHIO 

CASE No. CRB-12-12-01779 

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: June 30, 2014 

 

HENSAL, Presiding Judge. 

{¶1} Katelyn Richey appeals her conviction for petty theft in the Wayne County 

Municipal Court. For the following reasons, this Court affirms. 

I. 

{¶2} Sonja Ray testified that from April to December 2012, she worked as an Asset 

Protection Officer for the Wal-Mart store in Wooster. On November 11, 2012, she was on-duty, 

dressed in plain clothes, when Ms. Richey stopped her to ask her about her children, whom she 

had not seen in a long time. According to Ms. Ray, they were in the bedding area of the store 

and, as they talked, she saw Ms. Richey take a set of sheets from one of the shelves. After they 

finished talking, she saw Ms. Richey walk around a corner and put the sheets in her purse. 

{¶3} Ms. Ray testified that she began following Ms. Richey through the store and 

watched her buy a bottle of pop. As Ms. Richey exited the store, Ms. Ray hailed her and asked 

her to return to the store. When Ms. Richey refused, Ms. Ray followed her outside. She saw 
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Ms. Richey take the sheets out of her purse and throw them in a trash can that was in front of a 

neighboring storefront. After Ms. Richey left the area, Ms. Ray retrieved the sheets from the 

trash can and called the police. 

{¶4} The State charged Ms. Richey with petty theft under Revised Code Section 

2913.02(A)(1). Following a trial to the bench, the municipal court found her guilty of the 

offense, and sentenced her to thirty days in jail. Ms. Richey has appealed her conviction, 

assigning as error that it was not supported by sufficient evidence. 

II. 

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR 

THE EVIDENCE IS INSUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN A FINDING OF GUILTY 

AND AS A RESULT THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION AND OHIO 

CONSTITUTION REQUIRE THE CONVICTINO (SIC) TO BE REVERSED 

WITH PREJUDICE TO BAR FURTHER PROSECUTION. 

{¶5} Ms. Richey argues that the State did not present enough evidence to convict her of 

theft. Whether a conviction is supported by sufficient evidence is a question of law, which this 

Court reviews de novo. State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380, 386 (1997). In making this 

determination, we 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. 

{¶6} Revised Code Section 2913.02(A)(1) provides that “[n]o person, with purpose to 

deprive the owner of property or services, shall knowingly obtain or exert control over either the 

property or services * * *[w]ithout the consent of the owner or person authorized to give 
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consent[.]” “A person acts purposely when it is his specific intention to cause a certain result * * 

*.” R.C. 2901.22(A). “A person acts knowingly, regardless of his purpose, when he is aware 

that his conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A 

person has knowledge of circumstances when he is aware that such circumstances probably 

exist.” R.C. 2901.22(B). “Purpose or intent can be established by circumstantial evidence.” 

State v. Shue, 97 Ohio App.3d 459, 466 (9th Dist.1994). 

{¶7} Ms. Richey argues that she was convicted on mere speculation because the State 

did not submit a video of her placing the sheets into her purse or discarding them in the trash can. 

She notes that she did not set off any anti-theft devices as she exited the store. She also notes 

that no one looked into her purse or inventoried its contents and that she did not confess to the 

crime. Ms. Ray also admitted that, when she saw Ms. Richey allegedly put the sheets into her 

purse, she could only see Ms. Richey from the side. 

{¶8} Ms. Richey’s argument is without merit. Ms. Ray testified that she saw Ms. 

Richey take a set of sheets off a store shelf, put them in her purse, and, later, leave the store 

without paying for them. When asked to return to the store, Ms. Richey refused, and left the 

grounds of the store with the sheets in her possession. Viewing Ms. Ray’s testimony in a light 

most favorable to the State, it established that Ms. Richey knowingly exerted control over the 

sheets without the consent of Wal-Mart and that she intended to deprive the store of them. Her 

conviction, therefore, is supported by sufficient evidence. Ms. Richey’s assignment of error is 

overruled. 

III. 

{¶9} Ms. Richey’s conviction is supported by sufficient evidence. The judgment of the 

Wayne County Municipal Court is affirmed. 
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Judgment affirmed. 

 There were reasonable grounds for this appeal. 

 We order that a special mandate issue out of this Court, directing the Wayne County 

Municipal Court, County of Wayne, State of Ohio, to carry this judgment into execution. A 

certified copy of this journal entry shall constitute the mandate, pursuant to App.R. 27. 

 Immediately upon the filing hereof, this document shall constitute the journal entry of 

judgment, and it shall be file stamped by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals at which time the 

period for review shall begin to run. App.R. 22(C). The Clerk of the Court of Appeals is 

instructed to mail a notice of entry of this judgment to the parties and to make a notation of the 

mailing in the docket, pursuant to App.R. 30. 

 Costs taxed to Appellant. 

 

 JENNIFER HENSAL 

 FOR THE COURT 

CARR, J. 

WHITMORE, J. 

CONCUR.

APPEARANCES:

WESLEY JOHNSTON, Attorney at Law, for Appellant. 

DANIEL R. LUTZ, Prosecuting Attorney, and NATHAN R. SHAKER, Assistant Prosecuting 

Attorney, for Appellee.