Pearcy v. State

2010 Ark. 454, 375 S.W.3d 622, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 556
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 18, 2010
DocketNo. CR 10-362
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 2010 Ark. 454 (Pearcy 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
Pearcy v. State, 2010 Ark. 454, 375 S.W.3d 622, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 556 (Ark. 2010).

Opinion

PAUL E. DANIELSON, Justice.

1,Appellant Kevin Ray Pearcy appeals from the judgment and commitment order of the Garland County Circuit Court finding him guilty of capital murder and sentencing him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Pearcy argues on appeal that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict; and (2) the circuit court erred in admitting certain photos into evidence. We find no error and affirm.

The relevant facts are these. On August 11, 2008, Officer Ken Kizer of the Hot Springs Police Department was patrolling the area of Park Avenue. He observed Pearcy walking in and out of surrounding yards. When Officer Kizer approached Pearcy and identified himself, Pearcy fled. Officer Kizer investigated and discovered there were warrants out of Sherwood for Pearcy. Officer Kizer then placed Pearcy into custody.

After placing Pearcy into the patrol car, Pearcy stated, without being questioned, that 12he wanted to confess a murder. Pe-arcy stated that he had killed his friend, Stacy Lewis, because he had wanted to see how it felt to kill somebody and if he could get away with it. Officer Kizer decided not to ask any questions, but he contacted his immediate supervisor and took Pearcy to the police station.

Once at the station, Detective Lonell Lenox advised Pearcy of his rights and conducted a short interview. Detective Lenox testified that when he spoke to Pe-arcy about the murder, Pearcy was calm and talkative. Pearcy told Detective Le-nox that Lewis was homeless, but then lived with him for a short time and would buy a lot of beer for the two of them. Pearcy stated that Lewis became belligerent when he drank, that he did not like it when Lewis acted like that, and that one day he decided he was going to do something about it. He also admitted that he enjoyed TV shows about unsolved murders, such as “C.S.I.” and “First Forty-Eight Hours,” and wondered if he would be able to get away with murder himself. Pearcy believed Lewis would be the perfect candidate because he was not well liked, no one would miss him, and he was planning to leave Hot Springs to move to Colorado anyway.

Pearcy explained that one day he was walking downtown, and he went to the National Park Gifts and Souvenir shop and purchased a knife. Subsequent to that purchase, on or about July 5, 2008, Lewis passed out in a chair in Pearcy’s apartment. Pearcy stated that he approached Lewis with the knife, but put it down to undo Lewis’s pants. Pearcy informed Detective Lenox that he was bisexual and thought it would be a good time to try to have sex with Lewis. However, Lewis awoke and refused his advances, and Pear-cy stabbed Lewis Ranywhere from six to eight times in his neck. Pearcy told Detective Lenox that he removed Lewis’s clothes and wrote “catch me if you can” on his left thigh.

Pearcy stated that he put Lewis’s body in the back room for two days, then attempted to put it in a closet, but ultimately put it in the trash can and used a blanket and inflatable mattress to cover it up. When the odor became too strong, Pearcy attempted to get rid of the smell with household cleaning products before moving the trash can out of the house and down the street. Pearcy informed Detective Le-nox that the knife he used to kill Lewis was in the front room of his apartment.

After Detective Lenox’s interview with Pearcy concluded, Detective Sergeant Tim Smith discovered the trash can at the location described by Pearcy. It was closed, but Detective Smith could detect a faint smell of decomposition once he opened the lid. He also observed material that appeared to be an air mattress in the trash can. Detective Smith then contacted the crime scene unit and the coroner. The body was transported to the medical examiner’s office inside the trash can.

Officer Paul Norris conducted a search of Pearcy’s apartment. Several of Pear-cy’s belongings were recovered at the apartment, including a knife. Norris also observed possible bloodstains on pieces of clothing, sheets and towels, the carpet in the back bedroom, and the wall in the back room. The items were sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab.

The medical examiner received Lewis’s body in a gray city trash can with a blue air |4mattress and sheets also inside. Lewis’s body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and it was the examiner’s understanding that the body had been in the trash can for a period of weeks. When he pulled the body from the trash can, the examiner saw that the upper right extremities were wrapped with black electrical cord and a belt, which were tied to both the right and left thighs. The medical examiner discovered five fatal stab wounds — three stab wounds on the right side of the neck, involving the right carotid artery and jugular vein, and two stab wounds on the left side of the neck. In addition, the examiner found defensive wounds on Lewis’s upper extremities, indicating that Lewis had attempted to defend himself.

On October 6, 2008, Pearcy was charged with premeditated capital murder, and a jury trial was conducted on December 9, 2009. Pearcy was convicted by the jury of premeditated capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It is from this conviction and sentence that he now appeals.

Pearcy notes in his brief that he never disputed that Lewis died at his hands; rather, he maintains on appeal that he lacked the mens rea of premeditated intent to support the charge and conviction of capital murder and that he was entitled to the affirmative defense of mental disease or defect. Pearcy contends that his affirmative defense of mental disease or defect should be considered by this court in relation to his ability to form intentions before acting, weighing consequences, and exercising reasoning. The State first argues that the issue is not preserved for appellate review because Pearcy did not move for a directed verdict on the basis of mental disease or defect. Alternatively, the State argues that the evidence supports the | .¡¡conviction.

Before considering the merits of Pear-cy’s claim, we must address the State’s assertion that he failed to preserve the argument for appellate review. We have repeatedly held that a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence requires the moving party to apprise the trial court of the specific basis on which the motion is made. See Rounsaville v. State, 372 Ark. 252, 273 S.W.3d 486 (2008). The reasoning underlying our holdings is that when specific grounds are stated and the absent proof is pinpointed, the circuit court can either grant the motion, or, if justice requires, allow the State to reopen its case and supply the missing proof. See Marcyniuk v. State, 2010 Ark. 257, 373 S.W.3d 243. Furthermore, we have held that, to preserve for appeal whether appellant is entitled to the insanity affirmative defense, an appellant must specifically move for directed verdict on the basis of mental disease or defect. See id.; see also Tester v. State, 342 Ark. 549, 30 S.W.3d 99 (2000); Brown v. State, 316 Ark. 724, 875 S.W.2d 828 (1994).

At the close of the State’s case, Pearcy’s counsel made the following motion for directed verdict:

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Bluebook (online)
2010 Ark. 454, 375 S.W.3d 622, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pearcy-v-state-ark-2010.