Danny Hopper v. State of Arkansas

2025 Ark. App. 275, 712 S.W.3d 782
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 30, 2025
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2025 Ark. App. 275 (Danny Hopper v. State of Arkansas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Danny Hopper v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. App. 275, 712 S.W.3d 782 (Ark. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Cite as 2025 Ark. App. 275 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CR-24-90

Opinion Delivered April 30, 2025

DANNY HOPPER APPEAL FROM THE CRAWFORD APPELLANT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 17CR-22-455] V. HONORABLE MARC MCCUNE, JUDGE STATE OF ARKANSAS APPELLEE AFFIRMED IN PART; DISMISSED IN PART

KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge

Appellant Danny Hopper was convicted in a jury trial of first-degree terroristic

threatening and was sentenced as a habitual offender to eleven years in prison. Pursuant to

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-13-301(a)(1)(A) (Repl. 2024), a person commits first-degree terroristic

threatening if, with the purpose of terrorizing another person, the person threatens to cause

death or serious physical injury or substantial property damage to another person. Hopper’s

conviction was based on evidence that on February 10, 2022, he left a voicemail threatening

to kill Jason Webb.

Hopper now appeals from his conviction, raising four arguments for reversal. Hopper

argues that (1) his trial counsel was ineffective, (2) there was insufficient evidence to support

the verdict, (3) the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury on terroristic threatening, and (4) the record on appeal appears to be incomplete and contradictory. We affirm in part

and dismiss in part.

I. Relevant Facts

Danny Hopper was married to Pamela Hopper (now Han) from 2015 until they

divorced in 2022. During the marriage, Hopper and Pamela were members of the Van

Buren Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness congregation. In 2021, Pamela consulted three

elders of Van Buren Kingdom Hall regarding her marital problems. One of these elders was

Jason Webb.

Pamela testified that when Hopper learned that she was consulting the church elders

about their marriage, he became upset and claimed that she was conspiring with the elders.

According to Pamela, Hopper thought that the elders were encouraging her to divorce him

so she could get half of their property and give it to them, which she said was not true.

Pamela stated that after she separated from Hopper, he sent her numerous emails wherein

he disparaged and threatened to harm Webb. She stated that “many of the things [Hopper]

said were disparaging, but one thing he said for sure is that he wanted to rip [Webb’s] head

off.” Pamela testified further that she knows Hopper to be

a very violent, a very controlling, a very angry individual. A very vulgar, a very unhappy person who enjoys spreading misery. He victimizes people, particularly people that he thinks he is superior to.

Webb testified that he, his wife, and their two children moved from Florida to

Crawford County, Arkansas, in the summer of 2019 and that he became an elder at Van

Buren Kingdom Hall a few months after that. Webb described his role as an elder as one

2 who shepherds the congregation and assists members in their relationship with God. Webb

stated that when he is asked for assistance, he does not tell the person what to do but

shepherds with Bible scriptures and lets the person make his or her own decision, which is

between that person and God.

Webb recalled the occasion when Pamela approached him and two other elders about

her marital issues. Webb stated that his involvement with Pamela lasted only about five

minutes and that he shared a scripture with her and advised her that whether she separated

from Hopper was her decision. Webb stated that he left the decision to Pamela and did not

try to persuade her.

Webb stated that, after his brief consultation with Pamela, Hopper began sending

him numerous emails, texts, and voicemails. Webb stated that Hopper accused him of

encouraging Pamela to leave Hopper and having an affair with Pamela, both of which were

untrue. When asked how many emails, texts, and voicemails Hopper had sent him, Webb

stated, “There are so many I can’t even count them.” Webb stated further that Hopper sent

a group email to the congregation making disparaging remarks about him and saying

“basically, I’m nothing but dirt.”

Webb stated that these communications from Hopper went on for about a year and

that it was not until after Hopper left a voicemail threatening to hurt him and “put [him] six

[feet] under the ground” that he made a report to law enforcement. Hopper sent this

voicemail to Webb on February 10, 2022, and the recording was played to the jury:

3 Hi Jason, this is Danny again. I was just thinking, I was—you know nobody would even listen to anything I had to say about Pamela’s behavior at home. She’s got a narcissistic personality disorder—every one of the traits that those folks have, she has it, and I was willing to put up with her, you know.

It just needed to be known that she’s a pathological liar and twists everything to make herself the victim. But y’all—you wouldn’t want to hear that because your goal was to get my property. So, anything—I mean, she’s a mentally ill woman, Jason, and you’re taking—you’ve got control of her.

You’re taking advantage, in Jehovah’s name, of a mentally ill person to try to get the property for yourself, for a discount.

Even if you were to succeed, you would not be able to enjoy it for very long because I’d put you six foot under the ground.

Now, go get me disfellowshipped or whatever, but it’s not going to stop me. So, if you do succeed, you will not survive. You understand? It ain’t worth it, boy. You’ve messed with the wrong man and the wrong man’s wife.

So go ahead and get me disfellowshipped or whatever, knock yourself out. That’s what you wanted, so go for it. You’re still not gonna get my property, and if you do, you’re not going to enjoy it, Jack.

That’s crazy for a man, an elder, to use a man’s wife, a mentally ill wife to take advantage of her and to try to take the man’s property and think you would survive it. That’s ludicrous. I mean, how do you expect a person to react to something like that?

Oh, I’m sorry, here take my property. Excuse me for being here. Hope you have a nice day.

No, that’s what I would like to do. I wouldn’t hurt a little fat cell of your membrane there.

That’s what I would like to do. It’s crazy that—it’s crazy—it’s beyond moral sense that a man representing Jehovah would come up with such a scheme. How many people have people in your organization done that to? How many couples?

It must be an ongoing deal because you’re not smart enough to come up with it on your own. It’s gotta be an organizational thing that the elders do to manipulate

4 people. There’s something—you’re very seriously disturbed in the head to take advantage of a man’s wife like that, that’s got a mental illness so you can try to [get] a place to live so you can be close to your buddy. I mean, that’s just—that’s just plumb crazy. I would not let you survive that.

Webb testified that he thought Hopper left this voicemail with the intent to terrorize

him and that it “most definitely” put him in a state of fear. Webb stated that Hopper caused

him worry, sleepless nights, and concern for his family and that he and his family were

compelled to put safety protocols in place. Webb stated further that “all four of us are in

therapy because of this man.” Webb also stated that Hopper showed up at his house a few

months after leaving the threatening voicemail and that as a result of Hopper’s actions, he

and his family had switched congregations from Van Buren Kingdom Hall to Alma Kingdom

Hall. Webb stated, “We cannot live like this anymore,” and “My family and I are all going

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2025 Ark. App. 275, 712 S.W.3d 782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/danny-hopper-v-state-of-arkansas-arkctapp-2025.