Theft conviction upheld

The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a man for the theft of used washing machines from a Northwood hotel.
In his appeal, Edward Lamale Taylor argued there wasn’t sufficient evidence presented during his trial in the Wood County Common Pleas Court to support a conviction; but the appellate court ruled “the overwhelming weight of the evidence presented supports the disputed conviction.
“Accordingly, we find the record devoid of evidence that the jury lost its way and caused a manifest miscarriage of justice.”
Taylor was indicted in May 2019 on one count of theft and charged with a fifth degree felony violation. He was convicted but found guilty of a first degree misdemeanor based upon the value of the machines being less than $1,000.
He had argued the machines were placed in the parking lot of the Bridgepointe Hotel in such a way to imply they were being thrown out and available for free.
However, an assistant manager of the hotel testified at the trial the machines had “for sale” signs on them and he had shown the machines to a prospective buyer the day before they were stolen. A Northwood police officer also testified observing signs on the machines during a patrol of the parking lot prior to the theft. The officer testified the machines were placed in the parking lot about 15 feet from the hotel dumpsters.
According to court records, hotel staff had noticed that several machines had been taken from the parking lot and notified police. Later, the staff observed Taylor loading a machine onto his vehicle and the assistant manager confronted him.
Taylor reportedly acknowledged he’d taken the other machines and said he had scrapped them for cash. He refused to relinquish the money and fled the scene but the manager was able to photograph Taylor’s license plate, which he provided to police.
The trial court imposed a jail sentence of 180 days for Taylor.