State v. Podojil, 2017 Ohio 2640

Defendant Ryan Podojil was charged with two counts of petty theft (R.C. 2913.02(A)(1)) and two counts elevated to fifth-degree felonies under R.C. 2913.71(B) for stealing two payroll checks from his employer.
The stolen checks were issued by the employer, were fully executed (contained payee, amount, printed signature, and account number), and were for $664.58 and $718.37.
At a bench trial Podojil was found guilty on all counts; the misdemeanor counts merged into the felony counts and the State elected to proceed on the felonies.
The trial court sentenced Podojil to concurrent ten-month prison terms, suspended, and ordered two years of community control.
On appeal Podojil argued R.C. 2913.71(B) applies only to blank checks (and similar blank negotiable instruments), not to completed checks of any value; the State argued the qualifying language modifies only "other negotiable instruments," making any printed form check within the felony enhancement.
The appellate court reversed the felony convictions and remanded for sentencing on the underlying petty-theft convictions, holding the statute applies to blank checks rather than all completed checks.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether R.C. 2913.71(B) elevates theft of any printed check to a felony regardless of value	The statutory phrase after the first comma modifies only "other negotiable instruments," so printed checks need not be blank to trigger the enhancement	R.C. 2913.71(B) targets blank checks (and similar blank instruments); the qualifying language limits the statute to unexecuted/blank forms	The court held the statute applies to blank checks (and similar blank instruments), not to fully executed checks; felony enhancement reversed

Heritage Hills, Ltd. v. Deacon, 49 Ohio St.3d 80 (1990) (legislative comment to R.C. 2913.71 indicates the statute targets items like blank checks whose theft can produce harms far exceeding their physical value)