Reed v. State

383 S.W.3d 881, 2011 Ark. App. 352, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 374
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMay 11, 2011
DocketNo. CA CR 10-961
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 383 S.W.3d 881 (Reed v. State) 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
Reed v. State, 383 S.W.3d 881, 2011 Ark. App. 352, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 374 (Ark. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

RITA W. GRUBER, Judge.

1 ,AppeIlant George David Reed was convicted by a jury of first-degree battery and sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment for the conviction and a two-year enhancement for the use of a firearm. He raises three points for reversal. We find no error and affirm his conviction.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

We first consider appellant’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Appellant was convicted of first-degree battery pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 5 — 13— 201(a)(3) (Supp.2009), which provides that a person commits battery in the first degree if the person “causes serious physical injury to another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Specifically, appellant argues that the witnesses to the event, including the victim, testified that appellant had no desire to harm the victim and 1 therefore that the State’s case was based entirely upon speculation and not upon sufficient evidence.

The test for determining sufficiency of the evidence is whether there is substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial, to support the verdict. Johnson v. State, 387 Ark. 196, 987 S.W.2d 694 (1999). On appeal, we consider only the evidence that supports the verdict, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. LeFever v. State, 91 Ark.App. 86, 208 S.W.3d 812 (2005). Evidence is substantial if it is forceful enough to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Harmon v. State, 340 Ark. 18, 22, 8 S.W.3d 472, 474 (2000). We do not weigh the evidence presented at trial, as that is a matter for the fact-finder. Freeman v. State, 331 Ark. 130, 959 S.W.2d 400 (1998). Witness credibility is an issue for the fact-finder, who is free to believe all or a portion of any witness’s testimony and whose duty it is to resolve questions of conflicting testimony and inconsistent evidence. LeFever, 91 Ark.App. at 89, 208 S.W.3d at 815.

Nineteen-year-old Austin Guzman and appellant’s daughter, seventeen-year-old Morgan Reed, began dating in April 2007 after meeting at Calvary Tabernacle Pentecostal Church, where their respective famihes attended services. A month or so after Austin and Morgan began dating, Morgan’s mother discovered her diary, in which Morgan had written that Austin had been sneaking through her bedroom window at night and the two had been engaging in sexual intercourse. Shortly thereafter, a meeting was held at church with Austin, IsMorgan, both of their parents, and several pastors, resulting in the establishment of rules for Austin and Morgan’s continued dating relationship. Two of those rules were that they were allowed to see each other only with supervision and Austin was not allowed to visit the Reed residence without one of Morgan’s parents, either Sharon or George Reed, being present.

During June and July 2007, Morgan and Austin disregarded the new rules and met at the Reeds’ home while Morgan’s parents were not there. On July 31, 2007, Morgan called Austin around 8:00 a.m. to let him know that her parents were gone and that it was safe to come over. At about 9:00 a.m., Austin parked his car down the road, Morgan picked him up, and they went to the Reeds’ house. Mid-morning, a neighbor saw Austin’s car parked down the street from the Reeds’ home and called appellant to let him know. Appellant drove home, arriving about 10:30 a.m. He retrieved a pool cue and proceeded to Morgan’s bedroom. Morgan and Austin woke up when they heard appellant’s truck pull up outside. Austin grabbed his belongings and hid in Morgan’s closet. Appellant came into Morgan’s room and repeatedly asked, “Where is he?” After denying that Austin was there, Morgan finally pointed to the closet. Appellant opened the closet door and began beating Austin with the pool cue. Although Morgan testified at trial that she did not recall Austin saying anything during the event, she told the investigator shortly after the incident that Austin repeatedly asked her father to stop and told him that he would leave the house. Austin also told the investigator that he continued to say “stop, please sir stop” but that appellant kept hitting him. Austin put his hands on his head in an attempt to block the blows. Although Austin |4denied remembering anything appellant said during the beating or the events that day, he told the investigator two weeks after the incident that, while appellant was hitting him with the pool cue, appellant kept asking him, “How do you like it? How do you like it?” Austin also told the investigator that, after appellant threw down the pool cue and left the room, he said, “Let’s finish this.” According to Austin’s statement to the investigator, Morgan told Austin that her dad was probably going to get his gun.

When appellant left the room, Austin got out of the closet, closed the bedroom door, and began trying to place a dresser in front of the door to keep appellant out. Unable to move the dresser, Austin stood behind the door pushing against it as appellant stood on the other side and tried to push the door open. Appellant managed only to get the door open an inch. Appellant then fired four shots through the bedroom door: the first shot entered the door at an upward angle while Austin was standing behind it. While Austin was still trying to hold the door shut, he crouched down in a final attempt to move the dresser. One of the next three shots, which was fired through the door at a downward angle, hit Austin in the back, rendering him a paraplegic. Austin fell to the floor, saying, “I’ve been shot.” According to Austin’s statement to the investigator, appellant responded, “Come out. Let’s finish this.” Austin then told Morgan to call 911, and asked her to look out the window because he was worried appellant would come around the window to get a direct shot at him.

At trial, Morgan testified that she was not afraid that her dad would continue shooting because she knew he would stop when he heard Austin say that he had been shot. However, |sMorgan told the investigator shortly after the incident that her dad would not have gotten the gun if he did not want to kill Austin and that she thought her dad would have killed him if she had not called 911. She also said that, if Austin had come out of the room, her dad would have “finished him off.” Mrs. Reed arrived home shortly thereafter, and the emergency personnel arrived at 11:20 a.m.

Austin required staples in his scalp for the head wound caused by the pool cue and two surgeries on his back. He is a paraplegic and remains in a wheelchair. Austin and Morgan have remained in a relationship, and Austin and appellant have mended their relationship.

First-degree battery under Ark. Code Ann. section 5 — 13—201 (a) (3) involves actions that create at least some risk of death and which, therefore, evidence a mental state on the part of the accused to engage in some life-threatening activity against the victim. Tigue v. State, 819 Ark. 147, 152, 889 S.W.2d 760, 762 (1994).

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Bluebook (online)
383 S.W.3d 881, 2011 Ark. App. 352, 2011 Ark. App. LEXIS 374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reed-v-state-arkctapp-2011.