Sinyard v. State

Pope, Presiding Judge.

Benny Ray Sinyard was convicted of theft by conversion after he agreed to invest $45,000 for Opal Nelson but never returned or accounted for the funds. On appeal, Sinyard claims that the State failed to prove an element of the crime, that the jury pool was tainted by a prospective juror’s statement, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The victim testified that in February 1997, Sinyard told her that he worked for American Income Life Insurance Company and that it had a brokerage section called “American Income Services.” He promised that if she gave…