Rose v. State

2015 Ark. App. 563, 472 S.W.3d 167, 2015 Ark. App. LEXIS 650
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 7, 2015
DocketCR-15-112
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2015 Ark. App. 563 (Rose 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
Rose v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 563, 472 S.W.3d 167, 2015 Ark. App. LEXIS 650 (Ark. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

CLIFF HOOFMAN, Judge

11After a jury trial, appellant Lori Rose was convicted of aggravated residential burglary, second-degree domestic battery, aggravated assault, and terroristic threatening. She was sentenced-to a total of thirty-six years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Rose argues that the trial court erred by denying her motion for directed verdict on the charge of aggravated residential burglary. We affirm.

At trial, the victim, Billy Vaught, testified that he and Rosé were in a romantic relationship • for approximately two years until they broke up oh November 19, 2013. On the evening of November 21, 2013; Vaught stated that Rose’s teenage daughter, April, phoned him and asked him to come stay at her home because she was scared and had not been able to reach her mother.' Vaught testified that after he unsuccessfully attempted to contact Rose, he went to her home, spoke with April, and then slept on the couch. Rose arrived home at approximately 3:00 a.m. and went to sleep in her room; while Vaught remained on the 12couch. He agreed to take April to school the next morning because Rose had to be at work early. At 6:45 a.m., after Rose had left for work, Vaught stated that he received a text from her, telling him to get out of her house. He stated that* he did not think this was strange, as they had been texting back and forth earlier that week and Rose had mentioned that he had no reason to be at her home going forward. He then collected his belongings and left the home. Vaught denied that he had acted inappropriately toward April that morning, as Rose later claimed.

The next evening, November 22, 2013, Vaught testified that he went to bed early. He woke up around midnight when Rose entered his bedroom and turned the light on. He stated that she had a rifle that 'he had previously loaned to her pointed at his upper body. He testified that Rose told him not to move and “to prepare to die, Billy Vaught.” Vaught asked her what she was talking about, and she told him that he had hurt her daughter. He denied hurting her and told Rose to call the police and let them handle the situation. She replied, “No, they told me to just shoot your ass.” Vaught stated that he could tell that the hammer on the rifle had been cocked and that Rose had been drinking, so he kicked the gun with his left leg. The rifle went off and shot Vaught in the right leg just below the knee. He briefly struggled with Rose and retrieved the gun, then called his sister, who drove him to the hospital. Rose left before Vaught’s sister arrived.

Vaught testified that the gunshot broke his kneecap and femur boné and that he had' to have knee-replacement surgery. Vaught admitted that he had initially claimed the shooting was an accident, explaining that he did not want to cause problems for anyone else and that |3he had a prior relationship with Rose. During their relationship, Vaught indicated that they would frequently stay at each other’s homes and that it was not necessary for them to have an explicit invitation to do so. Vaught testified that he had not told Rose that she was no longer welcome in his home prior to the shooting.

Chief Deputy Scott Sawyer with the Polk County Sheriffs Department testified that he spoke with Vaught at the hospital in the early morning hours of November 23, 2013. Although Vaught initially told him that the shooting was an accident, Sawyer stated that after he told Vaught that was physically impossible, Vaught admitted that Rose had shot him. Rose was taken into custody that night by Deputy Seth Smith, and a statement was obtained from her. In her first statement, a recording of which was played for the jury, Rose admitted that she had filed a police report against Vaught for alleged sexual abuse of her daughter, but she denied that she had been to his home or' that she had shot him that night. She instead stated that she had been out drinking and had then gone home. Rose also claimed that she and Vaught had been dating until the previous morning. Smith testified, that Rose did not,appear to be highly intoxicated at the time he obtained her statement, although he , could smell alcohol on her.

The following day, on November 24, 2013, Rose asked to give another statement to police. In her second statement, which was also playéd' at trial, 'Rose claimed that she was scared and intoxicated and had not told the truth during her earlier interview.. She admitted that she had gone to Vaught’s home around midnight on November 23. Rose stated that she had been drinking at the Elk’s Lodge and had been told by someone there that Vaught had 14also acted inappropriately toward his son in the past. , She indicated that she went to Vaught’s home, not with the purpose of confronting him, but instead with the intention of taking his son home with her. She did not expect Vaught to be at home, but when she realized that he was asleep in,his bedroom, she testified that she grabbed the rifle sitting by the front door and went to speak to him. Rose agreed that this was the rifle that Vaught had loaned to her, but she claimed that she had returned it to his house after they had Broken up earlier in the week She stated that she grabbed it for protection, wanting only to intimidate Vaught and make him apologize. Rose then walked into Vaught’s bedroom, identified herself, and asked him why he had hurt her daughter. She stated that the rifle was pointed toward the ground, not at Vaught. However, when he kicked it, the gun went off and shot him in the leg. She indicated that they struggled over the gun until Vaught gained control of the weapon. She handed him his cell phone to call for help and stated that Vaught then told her to leave. Rose stated that she did not remember the details of her drive home.

Terry Plunkett, a mutual friend, of both Rose and Vaught, testified that he saw Rose on November 22, 2013, and that, he was aware of the allegations she had made against Vaught. Plunkett stated that he received a text from Rose that morning indicating that she had her gun “fully loaded,” although he did not think that she was being serious. Plunkett also saw Rose at the Elk’s Lodge , later .that night, and he described her as being Very intoxicated. He wanted to drive her home, but she left before he could do so. '

At the ■ conclusion of the State’s case, Rose moved for a directed verdict only on the charge óf aggravated residential burglary, arguing that there was insufficient proof that she had ^entered or' remained in Vaught’s residence unlawfully. The circuit court denied the motion.

At trial,. Rose stated that she and Vaught had broken up on, the Tuesday prior to the shooting, although they had been involved in a serious relationship for the previous two years. Rose stated that they had broken up on prior occasions and had gotten back together within a couple of days; however, she indicated that this particular breakup stood out and that it seemed that they both wanted to finally move on.’ She testified that she had taken some of his belongings, including the rifle, to his house on the day after their breakup and that he had then' texted her that she was always welcome in his home.Rose indicated that Vaught’s house was always unlocked. With regard to the details surrounding the shooting, Rose testified in conformity with her second ■ statement to police.

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Bluebook (online)
2015 Ark. App. 563, 472 S.W.3d 167, 2015 Ark. App. LEXIS 650, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rose-v-state-arkctapp-2015.