State v. Darazim, 2014 Ohio 5304

Ghassan Darazim, owner of Southeast Fish and Produce, was indicted on five counts of receiving stolen property (fifth-degree felonies) for five undercover sales at his store between April and August 2012.
Columbus police used informant Angelia Conklin to carry “bait” items (mostly Similac infant formula and cigarettes) into the store and represent them as stolen; police observed and recovered items after a search warrant.
The indictment alleged each transaction involved property valued in the felony range; after the indictment but before trial the statutory felony-value range changed (H.B. No. 51), increasing the fifth-degree threshold. The State prosecuted under the new range without amending the indictment.
At trial, Sergeant Richard Curry testified about the undercover transactions, inventory/pricing methods, and additional similar uncharged sales at the store; Conklin also testified she always represented the items as stolen.
The court found Darazim guilty on all five counts and imposed two years of community control. On appeal, Darazim challenged (1) admission of other-acts evidence and (2) sufficiency of evidence—primarily the proof of value for each transaction and the court’s failure to make explicit findings of value.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of "other-acts" evidence (Evid.R. 404(B))	Evidence of other similar sales was admissible to prove identity, knowledge, and intent.	The evidence was propensity evidence and unfairly prejudicial—no recognized 404(B) exception.	Court: No abuse of discretion. Other-acts evidence admissible to prove identity; probative value outweighed prejudice.
Sufficiency of evidence — value of Similac transactions (Apr 10, May 12, Aug 7)	Curry’s pricing (Kroger shelf price photo) established value in felony range for each date.	Pricing from a single photo taken earlier was insufficient to prove value on each offense date.	Court: Sufficient. Trial evidence of retail price, if believed, supported felony-value findings.
Sufficiency of evidence — value of cigarette transactions (Aug 9 and Aug 10) & verdict findings	State relied on Curry’s testimony about CVS receipts to value cigarettes; verdict "guilty as charged" incorporated felony-range findings.	Curry’s testimony about CVS prices was inadmissible hearsay (no receipts/foundation); no evidence of value for Aug 10; verdict lacked explicit value findings.	Court: Insufficient. Cigarette valuations inadmissible/plain error (Aug 9) and absent (Aug 10); convictions reduced from fifth-degree felonies to first-degree misdemeanors; general guilty-as-charged verdict otherwise substantially complied with R.C. 2913.61(A).

State v. Issa, 93 Ohio St.3d 49 (admissibility review and abuse-of-discretion standard for evidentiary rulings)
State v. Barnes, 94 Ohio St.3d 21 (plain-error standard)
State v. Williams, 134 Ohio St.3d 521 (framework for Evid.R. 404(B) and balancing under Evid.R. 403)
State v. Kirkland, 140 Ohio St.3d 73 (other-acts admissibility principles)
State v. Smith, 49 Ohio St.3d 137 (Evid.R. 404(B) exceptions are not exclusive)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (standard for sufficiency review)
State v. Reese, 165 Ohio App.3d 21 (inadmissible hearsay cannot establish value of stolen property)