Rychtarik v. State

976 S.W.2d 374, 334 Ark. 492, 1998 Ark. LEXIS 533
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 8, 1998
DocketCR 98-3
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 976 S.W.2d 374 (Rychtarik 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
Rychtarik v. State, 976 S.W.2d 374, 334 Ark. 492, 1998 Ark. LEXIS 533 (Ark. 1998).

Opinion

Ray Thornton, Justice.

Appellant James Earl Rychtarik was convicted of second-degree murder, for which he received a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, for which he received a sentence of life imprisonment as a habitual offender. On appeal, we find no error and affirm.

In the early morning hours of July 30, 1995, appellant went to Jeffrey White’s residence to collect money that White owed him for crystal methamphetamine. Appellant was under the influence of drugs at the time. They got into an argument, and appellant fatally shot White five times. After the shooting, appellant drove to a convenience store and called the police from a pay telephone. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and incarcerated until August 2, three days later, when he gave an inculpatory statement to the police.

Appellant’s first point on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement given while in custody. Appellant argues that he lacked the mental competence to knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights. Appellant claims that the confession was made while he was suffering from a psychosis or other medical or mental problem. He does not contest the voluntariness of his confession or that he executed a waiver of his Miranda rights, but contends that as a result of his mental condition, he lacked the capacity to knowingly and intelligently waive his rights.

Custodial statements are presumed to be involuntary, and it is the State’s burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a custodial statement was given voluntarily, and was knowingly and intelligently made. Humphrey v. State, 327 Ark. 753, 760, 940 S.W.2d 860, 864 (1997). The relevant inquiry in this case is whether appellant waived his rights with full awareness of both the nature of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it. Sanford v. State, 331 Ark. 334, 346, 962 S.W.2d 335, 341-342 (1998). The credibility of the witnesses who testify to the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s custodial statement is for the trial court to determine. Porchia v. State, 306 Ark. 443, 448, 815 S.W.2d 926, 928 (1991). The trial court considered this issue at a pretrial hearing and denied appellant’s motion to suppress the statement.

We make an independent review of the totality of the circumstances surrounding the waiver and reverse the trial court only if its decision was clearly erroneous. Porchia, 306 Ark. at 445, 815 S.W.2d at 928. The totality of the circumstances includes the age, experience, education, background, and intelligence of the defendant. Sanford, 331 Ark. at 345, 962 S.W.2d at 341.

Appellant was arrested on July 30, 1995. He gave a statement three days later in which he confessed to the crimes. On August 17, 1995, defense counsel moved to commit appellant to the Arkansas State Hospital for examination to determine his capacity to stand trial and his ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and to conform his conduct to the law at the time of the commission of the crimes. Appellant was not delivered to the State Hospital until January 9, 1996, five months later. In his report, Dr. Michael Simon, the supervising forensic psychologist, noted that appellant was of average intelligence, functioning at a level sufficient to stand trial. However, he concluded that appellant was suffering from “amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder with delusions.” Dr. Simon further concluded in his report that appellant was not competent to assist his attorney in the conduct of his defense. Appellant stayed in the State Hospital for the remainder of the year. He was released when he was found competent to assist in his own defense and to understand the proceedings against him.

Dr. O. Wendall Hall, appellant’s treating psychiatrist at the Arkansas State Hospital, testified that from the time of appellant’s arrival at the State Hospital, appellant “knew what he was charged with [and that he] was familiar with the different people involved in the legal system, the Judge, the attorneys, the juries, and things of that sort.”

Both Dr. Simon and Dr. Hall, who were witnesses at the suppression hearing, declined to give an opinion as to whether appellant was mentally competent to waive his Miranda rights at the time of his confession. They indicated that they did not observe him on that day, but rather five months later, and were not asked to evaluate him on that question. Dr. Hall did testify that appellant could have recovered from his intoxication at the time of the crime by the time he gave his statement three days later.

The two officers who took appellant’s confession, Jack Allen and Dennis Norton, also testified. Officer Allen said that he advised appellant of his rights according to the waiver-of-rights form, in the usual way, he read aloud each right and had appellant write the word “yes” beside each statement of right if appellant understood it. Appellant signed the waiver form at the bottom. Officer Allen testified that he made no promises or threats and that he believed that appellant understood his Miranda rights. He further stated that a lot of what appellant was saying was strange, but that it was not unusual for a criminal defendant to pick a “theme.” Officer Allen testified that he believed that appellant, at the time of the statement, was down from the drugs and was completely coherent and understood what was going on. He also testified that appellant exercised his Miranda rights during his statement by saying he wanted to “shut up.”

Additionally, Officer Allen testified that appellant’s statement contained considerable factual information that was confirmed by police and crime lab investigation. Appellant described the gun he used as a .357 magnum and said that he had taken it from a friend’s bedroom. At trial, the friend testified that he kept that type of gun in a cabinet in his bedroom, that appellant had been at his house only a few days before the shooting, and that he discovered the gun was missing after he heard about the shooting. Ballistics tests performed by the State Crime Laboratory confirmed that the .357 magnum that appellant claimed that he took was the weapon used to kill White. Additionally, appellant told the police where he had disposed of the gun, and the police found it exactly in the place he described.

Appellant also stated that when he went to White’s house to collect the money, he recalled that White’s “wife,” Sue, was at the house along with a baby. Angela Sue Grant, who lived with White, testified that she and her one-year-old grandson were present when appellant came to their house the day of the shooting. Moreover, appellant said that he believed his first shot had hit White in the mouth. Dr. William Sturner, the state medical examiner, testified that White had a gunshot wound to the face on the right side of his nose. Appellant also accurately described White’s body as lying face down on the floor.

Dr. Hall testified that the main effects of acute intoxication from methamphetamine ingestion were gone by the time appellant gave his statement.

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Bluebook (online)
976 S.W.2d 374, 334 Ark. 492, 1998 Ark. LEXIS 533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rychtarik-v-state-ark-1998.