Warren v. State

286 S.W.3d 768, 103 Ark. App. 124, 2008 Ark. App. LEXIS 562
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 10, 2008
DocketCA CR 07-942
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 286 S.W.3d 768 (Warren 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
Warren v. State, 286 S.W.3d 768, 103 Ark. App. 124, 2008 Ark. App. LEXIS 562 (Ark. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

John B. Robbins, Judge.

Appellant Anthony Antonio Warren was convicted by a jury of Class Y felony commission of a terroristic act and first-degree battery, which is a Class B felony. The victim was Justin Honey, who was fifteen years old when the offenses were committed. Mr. Warren was twenty-two at that time. Mr. Warren was sentenced to twenty years in prison for the terroristic act, and ten years in prison and a fine of $15,000 for the first-degree battery conviction, with the prison sentences to run consecutively.

Mr. Warren now appeals from his convictions, raising three arguments for reversal. His first two arguments are challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions. Mr. Warren’s remaining argument is that the trial court erred in failing to set aside his first-degree battery conviction because his two convictions arose out of the same act and violated the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. We find no error and affirm both convictions.

The State presented evidence that Justin Honey was driving his pickup truck at about 10:20 p.m. on August 8, 2006, through the intersection of Daugherty and State Streets in Newport, when he was shot in the back of the head with a .38 caliber bullet. Justin’s truck came to rest in a nearby field, and he was subsequently transported to a hospital where medical personnel saved his life. However, Justin continues to suffer from significant mental and physical disabilities as a result of the gunshot wound.

Bubba Hutchinson is friends with Justin Honey and testified about events that occurred on the night of the shooting. Bubba stated that he and Justin were parked in separate trucks in a parking lot in Newport and that Bubba’s mother called at around 10:20 and told the boys to be home by 10:30. Justin planned to spend the night at Bubba’s house. Bubba drove toward home with Justin following behind. Bubba drove through the intersection of Daugherty and State and saw people there that he did not know, and he thought he heard gunshots after proceeding through the stop sign. Bubba was almost home when he noticed that Justin’s truck was no longer behind him. Bubba drove back to the intersection and found Justin’s truck and realized that he had been shot.

Cody Knight testified that he drove through the intersection of Daugherty and State at about 9:45 or 10:00 on the night of the shooting. Cody saw Anthony Warren there with Samuel Curry, and he stopped and talked with them for a few minutes. Cody stated that he received a phone call about an hour later and was advised that Justin had been shot.

Angel Smith was present near the intersection at the time Justin was shot. She testified that she heard gunshots but that she did not see Mr. Warren fire a gun. However, this testimony was inconsistent with a prior video deposition, and that deposition was played to the jury as substantive evidence.

In her deposition, Angel testified that she saw Anthony Warren and Samuel Curry at the scene when Justin drove up to the intersection. Angel stated that Justin stopped and talked with Mr. Warren, and then with Mr. Curry. According to Angel, Mr. Warren and Mr. Curry then got into an argument and Justin proceeded to drive away. At that time, Mr. Warren fired three shots, “two in the air and then one going towards the stop sign, like towards the truck . . . pointed downward.” Angel testified that three more shots were fired by someone named “Ced.” Everyone at the scene ran, and Angel stated that Mr. Warren changed directions because he was initially running toward the police. After that, Angel heard Mr. Warren talking on his phone behind some apartments and he said, “I think the dude got shot.”

Officer Patrick Weatherford got an emergency call that night at 10:23 and came to investigate. The officers blocked off the area surrounding the Daugherty/State intersection and searched for evidence. Officer Weatherford testified that the police found six shell casings in the vicinity of where Angel Smith indicated the shots had been fired. Three of the casings were .32 caliber, and three were nine millimeter. The bullet that struck Justin was .38 caliber but no .38 caliber shells were recovered at the scene. However, Officer Weatherford explained that this was not surprising because shell casings are not ejected from a .38 caliber revolver.

Arnice Kendall testified that she saw Mr. Warren near the intersection on the night of the shooting. She could not recall what time it was, but she stopped and spoke with Mr. Warren and he told her that he had shot somebody. Arnice stated that she called Mr. Warren on the phone a couple of seconds later, and Mr. Warren told her that he was joking. Arnice had not yet heard about the shooting when she talked with Mr. Warren, and she was unsure whether their conversation occurred before or after the shooting.

Rosemary Thomas testified that she was riding around near the area where the shooting occurred and thought that it was a little before 10:00. She stated that Mr. Warren stopped the vehicle she was in and said that he had just shot somebody. When Rosemary inquired if he was serious, Mr. Warren said, “no, I’m just playing.” Rosemary later found out that there had been a real shooting that night.

Tanisha White testified that she is Mr. Warren’s former girlfriend. She stated that she dropped him off on State Street near the crossroads on August 8, 2006, and was supposed to come back and pick him up at 9:00. However, Tanisha did not pick him up at that time but picked him up sometime later at the home of a girl named Chyna. Tanisha did not arrive until Mr. Warren had called her two or three times, and she also picked up Samuel Curry at the same time that night. According to cell phone records, the last call placed from Mr. Warren to Tanisha on that evening was at 10:37. Tanisha indicated that she picked Mr. Warren up after that last call.

Justin Honey testified that he remembered driving down the road and being shot that night. Justin stated that he did not remember stopping at the intersection of Daugherty and State and did not know why someone shot him. Justin testified that he did not know Mr. Warren and did not see him that night.

Chyna Slaughter testified for the defense. She stated that Mr. Warren came to her house to have supper at about 8:00 p.m. on August 8, 2006. Chyna stated that Mr. Warren left her house with his girlfriend, Tanisha, at about 9:00.

Christy Warren is appellant’s sister and testified that she was driving from Batesville to Newport with a man named Cedric Alcorn when she received a call from her mother advising her about a shooting. Christy stated that she then called her brother and he told her that he was not in the area of the shooting when it occurred.

Mr. Warren testified on his own behalf, and he acknowledged that prior to the shooting he had been on State Street between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. He stated that after that he went to Chyna’s house to eat, and left there with Tanisha after 9:00. Samuel Curry was riding with them. According to Mr. Warren, they stopped at the site of a card game but did not go inside the residence, and then they went to a girl named Natia’s house at 9:30. Mr. Warren maintained that he stayed there for the next two-and-a-half hours. Mr.

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Related

Warren v. Felts
2017 Ark. 237 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2017)
Shelton v. State
2017 Ark. App. 195 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
286 S.W.3d 768, 103 Ark. App. 124, 2008 Ark. App. LEXIS 562, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warren-v-state-arkctapp-2008.