Beulah v. State

42 S.W.3d 461, 344 Ark. 528, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 269
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedApril 26, 2001
DocketCR 00-1441
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 42 S.W.3d 461 (Beulah v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beulah v. State, 42 S.W.3d 461, 344 Ark. 528, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 269 (Ark. 2001).

Opinion

ROBERT L. BROWN, Justice.

Appellant Lonnie Beulah appeals the order of the circuit court denying his motion to transfer his case to juvenile court pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-318(1) (Supp. 1999). He argues specifically that the circuit court failed to make the requisite written findings as required by Act 1192 of 1999, Section 16, now codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-318(g) (Supp. 1999), and further failed to consider all of the factors as required by the same Act. We disagree with Beulah’s reading of § 9-27-318(g), and we affirm the order of the circuit court.

On October 13, 1999, the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney filed a two-count felony information in Pulaski County Circuit Court against appellant Lonnie Beulah, his two brothers (Eric Deshawn Beulah and Derrick Lamont Witherspoon), and Erik James Bullock. The information alleged that the four defendants committed capital murder by causing the death of Heaven Pace, an unborn fetus, by beating the fetus’s mother, Shiwona Pace, and further committed first-degree battery against Shiwona Pace by beating her so severely as to cause the miscarriage or stillbirth of the fetus. The felony information resulted from events that occurred on August 26, 1999, when the appellant was fifteen years old.

The appellant moved to have the matter transferred to juvenile court and on April 3, 2000, a hearing commenced on that motion before the circuit court. 1 At the hearing, Little Rock Police Detective Charles Weaver summarized the allegations against the appellant. He testified that on August 26, 1999, he investigated a homicide which stemmed from a residential robbery. The unborn fetus of the beaten victim was the homicide victim. The investigation, which included a statement given by the appellant, revealed that on that evening, Shiwona Pace, her five-year-old son, and her former boyfriend, Erik Bullock, were returning to Bullock’s home. Upon entering the home, three men grabbed them and pulled them into the house. Bullock was taken to a back room, as was Ms. Pace’s son. Ms. Pace, who was nine months pregnant, was then thrown to the floor in the living room where she was kicked and beaten by the three men. After the men left the home, Ms. Pace received medical, treatment at Doctor’s Hospital in Little Rock. The child she was carrying, however, was lost. Detective Weaver also testified that his investigation revealed that Bullock was to pay, or had paid, the appellant and the other defendants for their part in the incident. The State concluded its case by offering a copy of the appellant’s juvenile record which showed that he was adjudicated delinquent on the misdemeanor charge of obstructing government operations on April 13, 1999.

As part of his case, the appellant submitted his school records as evidence and also called witnesses at the hearing. Greg Morris, director of the James H. Penick Boys and Girls Club in Little Rock, and Chris Robinson, an investment banker with a Little Rock firm, Crews and Associates, testified for the appellant. Mr. Morris described the appellant as “a very good kid” who was a regular attendee at the Boys Club. Mr. Morris testified that he knew the appellant well and that the appellant had been helpful in doing chores around his home and in “throwing” a paper route. The appellant was the product of a single-parent home, according to Mr. Morris, and his mother had struggled to raise her sons. Mr. Morris also testified that he thought the appellant was a “follower” of his older brothers in the alleged crime. Mr. Robinson described the appellant as an “outstanding young man” who also helped out in Mr. Robinson’s home, played with Mr. Robinson’s kids, and looked up to his older brothers. Both Mr. Morris and Mr. Robinson testified that the appellant had the potential to be a productive citizen in society.

When the hearing resumed on April 6, 2000, the appellant called William Ray Clark, the owner of a sports marketing firm in Dallas, Texas, as a witness. Mr. Clark testified about the appellant’s impoverished background, and the fact that he was raised in a dilapidated home by a mother who did not work. He described the appellant as a “sweet kid” and “caring,” but also a person who was “impressionable.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, the circuit court said:

AH right. WeU, I’m going to deny your motion to transfer and the very first reason for it is because of the very seriousness of the offense and whether violence was employed by the juvenHe in the commission of the offense, and as you know, that’s the very first prerequisite that we look at. But your motion wiH be denied and I wiH prepare an order reflecting the Court’s decision.

After appellant’s counsel reminded the circuit court that the 1999 legislation had amended the statute at issue by including ten factors for the court to consider regarding a transfer to juvenile court, the court responded, saying:

As I recall, I said the very first reason is because of that, then I think I said — you and I have trouble knowing what each other says — that there will be other reasons stated in my written opinion.

The circuit court later filed its order, which included the following findings and conclusions of law:

Due to the violent nature of this offense and the seriousness of the charge the Court concludes that Lonnie Beulah should be tried as an adult. In accordance with Arkansas Code Annotated § 9-27-318, the Court finds that the following factors apply to the defendant and require this Court to retain jurisdiction of this matter:
1. The seriousness of the offense of capital murder and the protection of society require this defendant to be prosecuted in circuit court.
2. From the testimony elicited at the hearing, it is this Court’s determination that the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated and willful manner.
3. This alleged offense was committed against a person, and a death resulted.
4. The culpability of the juvenile is great in this case, in that there was planning on the part of the defendant to participate in the crime and a high level of participation in the crime.
5. The defendant has been previously convicted in juvenile court of a misdemeanor offense.
6. The defendant was part of a group in the commission of the alleged offense. In addition, the defendant gave a statement to the police that he was to be paid for his participation in the alleged offense.
For all of the above-stated reasons, it is this Court’s determination that the defendant’s Motion to Transfer to Juvenile Court is hereby denied.

The appellant appealed the circuit court’s order to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and that court affirmed the circuit court’s decision in an unpublished opinion. We granted appellant’s petition for review.

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Bluebook (online)
42 S.W.3d 461, 344 Ark. 528, 2001 Ark. LEXIS 269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beulah-v-state-ark-2001.