Appeals court upholds Steve Kraus felony conviction

SANDUSKY — A state appeals court upheld the felony theft conviction of former state Rep. Steve Kraus, saying he filed his appeal too late and that his new evidence wasn't convincing enough.Kraus said he was considering his options in the wake of Friday's 3-0 ruling by the Sixth District appeals court in Toledo, including a possible appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court."I need to talk to an attorney about my options," he said.Kraus, a Sandusky resident, was a Republican state representative for Erie and Ottawa counties when he was convicted on July 27, 2015, of one count of theft from an elderly person in a trial in Port Clinton. Kraus was sentenced to two years of community control and fined $2,500.Kraus, an auctioneer, was convicted of stealing from a potential client's house. Kraus contended he had permission to go into the house and examine the items and said the case was brought by political enemies. Following his conviction, he was forced out of the Ohio House and replaced by Steve Arndt.The appeals court decision, written by Presiding Judge Christine Mayle and supported by judges Mark Pietrykowski and Thomas Osowik, said that Kraus missed a deadline to file his appeal within 365 days of the trial transcript being filed at the court of appeals. There are only a few reasons an appeal can be filed late, and Kraus does not meet those reasons, the ruling says.Kraus, who is not a lawyer and handled the appeal himself, said he was relying on the date when the court clerk told parties that the trial record has been filed.Mayle's decision acknowledges that Kraus did bring forward new evidence.A new witness, Ann Chio, contacted Kraus on Facebook in 2017 and told Kraus she had heard the alleged victim give her real estate agent, Jenine Porter, permission to let someone in the house to appraise antiques.Kraus contends Chio's statement destroys the testimony by Porter that she did not give him permission to go into the house."The prosecution's star witness said I never had permission to enter the house. They lied about that, what else did they lie about?" Kraus said. "I think a jury would have found me innocent."Mayle wrote she wasn't convinced.Even if the evidence wasn't hearsay and could have been admitted at trial, "such evidence merely challenges witness credibility — it is not clear and convincing evidence that appellant would not have been convicted if Chio had testified," Mayle wrote.Mayle also dismissed much of the evidence Kraus offered in his appeal, calling it "unverified and unauthenticated" and describing it as largely consisting of news articles, correspondence, court documents and social media commentary.Kraus said the ruling doesn't address his contention that the prosecutor in the case withheld evidence for two years. Kraus has maintained his innocence and remained active in politics. He published a book in 2018, "Checkmate: One Man's Fight Against Political Corruption," and also ran for the U.S. House, winning the Republican primary but losing to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, in the general election.Steve Kraus reads an excerpt from his book, "Checkmate," during an appearance in February 2018 on "Between the Lines," the Register's public affairs show.