Watson v. State

188 S.W.3d 921, 358 Ark. 212
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 24, 2004
DocketCR 04-126
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 188 S.W.3d 921 (Watson 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
Watson v. State, 188 S.W.3d 921, 358 Ark. 212 (Ark. 2004).

Opinion

Donald L. Corbin, Justice.

Appellant Keith Allen' stice. the Pulaski County Circuit Court of theft of property, Class B felony, and sentenced to two years’ probation and a $100 fine. The property in question consisted of a 2001 Toyota Truck and several cases of frozen meat. Appellant appealed his conviction to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, which affirmed in an unpublished opinion. See Watson v. State, CACR 02-1305 (Ark. App. January 14, 2004). He subsequently petitioned this court for review of that decision, which we granted pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(e). When we grant review following a decision by the court of appeals, we review the case as though it had been originally filed with this court. See Porter v. State, 356 Ark. 17, 145 S.W.3d 376 (2004); Zangerl v. State, 352 Ark. 278, 100 S.W.3d 695 (2003) . For reversal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict and in denying his motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. We find no error and affirm.

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

For his first point for reversal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict on the sole charge of theft of property. It is well settled that we treat a motion for a directed verdict as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. See Coggin v. State, 356 Ark. 424, 156 S.W.3d 712 (2004) ; Garner v. State, 355 Ark. 82, 131 S.W.3d 734 (2003); Reed v. State, 353 Ark. 22, 109 S.W.3d 665 (2003). In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the State and consider only the evidence that supports the verdict. Id. We will affirm a conviction if substantial evidence exists to support it. Id. Substantial evidence is that which is of sufficient force and character that it will, with reasonable certainty, compel a conclusion one way or the other, without resorting to speculation or conjecture. Id.

Appellant was charged with theft of property pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 5-36-103(a)(l) (Supp. 2003), which provides that a person commits theft if he or she “[k]nowingly takes or exercises unauthorized control over, or makes an unauthorized transfer of an interest in, the property of another person, with the purpose of depriving the owner thereof])]” Subsection (b)(1)(A) provides that theft is a Class B felony if the property is valued at $2,500 or more. The phrase “exercises unauthorized control” in section 5-36-103(a)(l) is directed at a bailee who lawfully takes control of the property, but subsequently appropriates it to his own use. Chaviers v. State, 267 Ark. 6, 588 S.W.2d 434 (1979). Such a deviation from the terms of a bailment is theft only if it is done with the requisite purpose to deprive the bailor. Id. With these legal requirements in mind, we turn to Appellant’s argument.

We initially note that Appellant does not dispute that the truck belonged to his employer, that the property was valued at more than $2,500, and that he never returned the property. He contends, however, that the State failed to prove that he exercised unauthorized control over the property, or that his actions were done with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property. We disagree.

The record reveals that in January 2001, Appellant was working as a salesman for Family Foods, a Little Rock company selling bulk quantities of frozen meat directly to individual customers. The company was owned by Charles and Elizabeth Shaw. As part of his job, Appellant was given the use of a company truck, for which he was required to pay $40 per day. He was given the meat on consignment for $100 per case, which had a retail value of $354 per case. Pursuant to a written agreement, Appellant was to return to the company with the truck by 9:00 p.m. each work day to settle up his sales. It was at that time that he was required to pay for the cases of meat that he had sold and return any unsold product to the company.

On the date in question, January 10, 2001, Appellant took the truck and seven cases of meat. According to Charles Shaw, Appellant telephoned him later that night and told Shaw that he was on his way back with the truck. Appellant called back forty minutes later, telling Shaw that he was going to stay the night with a friend in Searcy and that he would be back the next morning. After Shaw initially protested that this was not the normal protocol, he told Appellant to go ahead and stay with his friend and that he would see him in the morning. Appellant did not return with the truck the next morning, and Shaw never heard from him again. Two days later, Shaw’s wife called the Little Rock Police Department and reported the truck and the cases of meat stolen. Approximately one week later, on January 17, 2001, police recovered the truck in a motel parking lot in Hot Springs. The following day, Shaw went to Hot Springs and paid $85 to get the truck out of the impound lot. The cases of meat were never recovered.

Elizabeth Shaw confirmed her husband’s testimony that she called the police to report the property stolen on January 12, 2001. She stated that she told the police detective that an employee had taken the truck and some cases of meat and had not shown up for two days. She stated that the last time she or her husband had heard from Appellant was January 10. She testified that the written agreement signed by Appellant specifically provided that if anything should happen to the frozen product, such as being lost or stolen, criminal charges would be brought against him within twenty-four hours unless he provided the total cost of the product and any other charges that accrued for the day. She also testified that she knew of at least two othér employees against whom she and her husband had pursued criminal charges.

Appellant testified that on the date in question he had been making deliveries in Batesville when the weather became bad. He decided to stay the night with a friend in Searcy. He said that when he called Charles Shaw to tell him that he would not be back that night, Shaw became angry, told him he was fired, and threatened to kill him if he did not return his truck. The next day, Appellant drove back from Searcy, through Little Rock, and onto Hot Springs, where his girlfriend lived. He decided to leave Shaw’s truck in a nearby motel parking lot in Hot Springs. He stated that he telephoned Shaw and left a message telling him where he could find the truck. He testified that the reason he did not return the truck to Shaw was that he was afraid that Shaw would become violent toward him. He based his fear on Shaw’s allegedly violent behavior during a past incident in which Appellant failed to return the truck and unsold product as required. He admitted that he had made a mistake in not returning the truck to the Shaws, but he maintained that he did not take the truck with the purpose of depriving the Shaws of its use. He also admitted that he did not return the unsold cases of meat and that the meat had spoiled while it was in his possession.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kroll v. Thomas
W.D. Arkansas, 2020
Daniel L. Wessels v. State of Arkansas
2020 Ark. App. 64 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2020)
Wilson v. State
2017 Ark. 217 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2017)
Hill v. State
2015 Ark. App. 630 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2015)
Clark v. State
423 S.W.3d 122 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2012)
Green v. State
416 S.W.3d 765 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2012)
Devor v. State
389 S.W.3d 22 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2012)
Iqbal v. State
382 S.W.3d 755 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2011)
Williamson v. State
2011 Ark. App. 73 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2011)
Davis v. State
2009 Ark. 478 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2009)
Rollins v. State
2009 Ark. 484 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2009)
Foster v. State
289 S.W.3d 476 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2008)
Williams v. State
289 S.W.3d 97 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2008)
Seamster v. State
288 S.W.3d 723 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2008)
Young v. State
266 S.W.3d 744 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2007)
Dunn v. State
264 S.W.3d 504 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2007)
White v. State
255 S.W.3d 881 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2007)
Champlin v. State
254 S.W.3d 780 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2007)
Loar v. State
243 S.W.3d 923 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2006)
Gaye v. State
243 S.W.3d 275 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 S.W.3d 921, 358 Ark. 212, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/watson-v-state-ark-2004.