State of Iowa v. Trevor James Johnston, 24-0142

Trevor Johnston was convicted by a jury of first-degree theft and forgery related to the sale of a house belonging to Teresa and Dickie.
The couple intended to sell their home for $110,000, but Johnston manipulated the transaction and filed a quitclaim deed without paying the agreed price.
Johnston added unauthorized provisions to the purchase agreement and filed a deed suggesting property transfer, but Teresa and Dickie claimed they neither signed the final deed nor approved the added provisions.
Johnston offered an expert claiming the signatures were consistent and documents were unaltered, while Teresa testified to forgery and deception.
The trial court found substantial evidence to support both convictions, despite the defense expert’s opinion.
On appeal, Johnston challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for both convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence—theft	State: Johnston deceived sellers to obtain property without paying.	Johnston: Sellers did not testify credibly; expert supported legitimacy.	Substantial evidence supported theft conviction.
Sufficiency of evidence—forgery	State: Sellers’ signatures absent or unauthorized on critical documents.	Johnston: Sellers signed documents, giving authority to transfer.	Jury could credit testimony; evidence supported forgery conviction.

State v. Crawford, 974 N.W.2d 510 (Iowa 2022) (sets standard for sufficiency-of-the-evidence review)
State v. Slaughter, 3 N.W.3d 540 (Iowa 2024) (defines substantial evidence for upholding a verdict)
State v. Kolbet, 638 N.W.2d 653 (Iowa 2001) (jury not bound by expert witness testimony)
State v. Thornton, 498 N.W.2d 670 (Iowa 1993) (jury may weigh and accept or reject any testimony)
State v. Ernst, 954 N.W.2d 50 (Iowa 2021) (reviewing evidence in light most favorable to the State)
State v. Shanahan, 712 N.W.2d 121 (Iowa 2006) (jury free to credit witness testimony)