Sipe v. State

404 S.W.3d 164, 2012 Ark. App. 261, 2012 WL 1327800, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 388
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 18, 2012
DocketNo. CA CR 11-677
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 404 S.W.3d 164 (Sipe 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
Sipe v. State, 404 S.W.3d 164, 2012 Ark. App. 261, 2012 WL 1327800, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 388 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Judge.

| Appellant Robert Ryan Sipe was convicted of manslaughter in Garland County Circuit Court on March 3, 2011, and sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment pursuant to a firearm enhancement for the shooting death of Brian Lumen. On appeal, he claims that the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury, erred in admitting and excluding evidence, and erred by denying his motion for directed verdict. We affirm.

Appellant testified that in the early morning hours of February 12, 2010, he awoke to the sound of his four-wheeler ATV being started and the engine revving. Appellant said that he looked out of his window and saw a man on his ATV. Appellant then got dressed, grabbed his handgun, removed the barricade from his front door, and went out on his porch to investigate. Appellant testified that he saw a man riding his ATV and when the man started coming toward him, appellant fired a warning shot. When the man kept coming, appellant shot him. Appellant also testified that the man pointed something at him, but that he did not[gknow what the man was pointing. After shooting him, appellant went to the victim and discovered that it was Brian Lumen, a childhood friend. Appellant placed two blankets on top of Lumen’s body and waited for police to arrive.

According to appellant, he and Lumen had been estranged for the last five years due to Lumen’s “destructive behavior.” Appellant claimed that when he had tried to rekindle his friendship with Lumen in 2009, he had to ask Lumen to leave his property because Lumen was “on drugs.” Appellant testified that after that incident, things “began happening” at his house. He said that he found his two-year-old English Mastiff dead for no apparent reason. On another occasion, appellant saw Lumen driving a blue Camaro away from appellant’s home, and when appellant got home, he found that his door had been kicked in and several things had been stolen, including the keys to his ATV. A few days later, he heard glass breaking and upon investigation found that two tractor tires had been slashed. ' Appellant claimed that his vehicle was stolen. Further, he stated that Lumen was driving a moped around in circles on appellant’s “back forty” on one occasion, and on another, Lumen shot a gun while driving around appellant’s property on the moped. Appellant testified that he began barricading his front door and argued that he was justified in shooting the victim because he feared for his life. Appellant noted that there had been no more incidents at his home since Lumen was killed.

Arkansas State Medical Examiner Daniel Dye testified that the victim was shot in the back — “left flank.” Garland County Sheriffs Officer Matt Avant testified that when he arrived at appellant’s home, he found appellant on his front porch, calm but “partially |sincoherent.” When pressed about his conclusions on incoherence, Officer Avant explained that appellant had difficulty answering basic questions, had slurred speech and red glassy eyes, kept repeating himself, stumbled several times, and stared blankly. Officer Avant testified that appellant told him that he had taken “a few” Xanax before going to bed.

Appellant testified that it was dark and that he could not see who was on the ATV. Officer Avant testified that when he arrived, appellant’s home lights, front-porch light, and a permanent Entergy night light were burning. Appellant testified that the victim was headed straight for him. Officers testified that the tire tracks in the snow showed that the ATV was backed out of the driveway in a wide semi-circle and that the ATV was not facing the house, but backed up to about ten feet from the porch.

Prior to trial, the trial court granted the State’s motions in limine, which precluded any evidence concerning the victim’s prior gunshot wound to the buttocks, the victim’s prior bad acts and convictions, and the toxicology report showing that the victim was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time he was shot. The trial court denied appellant’s motion in limine and allowed evidence that appellant was “under the influence” when he had made police reports regarding incidents at and around his home.

At the close of the State’s case, appellant moved for a directed verdict, arguing that the evidence supported his claim that he acted in self defense. This motion was denied. At the close of the defense’s case, the State called several rebuttal witnesses and appellant then renewed his motion for a directed verdict. This motion was denied.

14After deliberating, the jury concluded that appellant was guilty of manslaughter, a lesser-included offense to second-degree murder, which was appellant’s original charge. Appellant moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, claiming that there had been no true showing of appellant’s intent at the time of the shooting. This motion was denied. Appellant was then sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for manslaughter, with a consecutive term of ten years for the firearm enhancement. A timely notice of appeal was filed, and this appeal followed.

I. Substantial Evidence

In his third point on appeal, appellant claims that the State failed to meet its burden of proof on the lesser-included offense of manslaughter and that the trial court erred in denying his motions for directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. An argument contesting the denial of a directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, and protection of appellant’s double-jeopardy rights requires that we address such an argument prior to addressing other asserted trial errors. Sullivan v. State, 2012 Ark. 74, 386 S.W.3d 507. The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Id. Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force and character to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Id. When a defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence that led to a conviction, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State. Id. This court does not weigh the evidence presented at trial, as that is a matter for the fact-finder; nor do we assess the credibility of the witnesses. Beare v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 544, 2010 WL 2606525. In assessing the weight of the evidence, a jury may consider and give weight to any false and improbable statements made by an accused in explaining suspicious circumstances. Reams v. State, 45 Ark.App. 7, 870 S.W.2d 404 (1994). Appellant argues that the evidence, considered in the light most favorable to the State, does not rise to the level of manslaughter.

A person commits manslaughter if he recklessly causes the death of another person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-104(a)(3) (Supp.2011). A person acts “recklessly” when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or the result will occur. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-202(3)(A) (Repl.2006). The risk must be a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-2-202(3)(B). The defense of person and property from harm, injury, or loss is a fundamental right when someone is unlawfully entering or attempting to enter or intrude into the home. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-2-620(a) (Repl. 2006).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
404 S.W.3d 164, 2012 Ark. App. 261, 2012 WL 1327800, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 388, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sipe-v-state-arkctapp-2012.