Opinion ID: 1488367
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: As his first point on appeal, Hoyle argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions for battery and manslaughter. Specifically, with regard to the battery conviction, Hoyle avers that there was no evidence that he acted under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. With regard to the manslaughter convictions, Hoyle argues that the evidence failed to establish that he acted recklessly. With respect to both the battery and manslaughter convictions, Hoyle argues that they should be reversed or, alternatively, reduced to lesser-included offenses. The State counters that there was sufficient evidence to support each of Hoyle's convictions. We treat a motion for directed verdict on appeal as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. See Young v. State, 370 Ark. 147, 257 S.W.3d 870 (2007). We will affirm the circuit court's denial of a motion for directed verdict if there is substantial evidence, either direct or circumstantial, to support the jury's verdict. See id. This court has repeatedly defined substantial evidence as evidence forceful enough to compel a conclusion one way or the other beyond suspicion or conjecture. Id. at 151, 257 S.W.3d at 875. Furthermore, [t]his court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and only evidence supporting the verdict will be considered. Id.
We turn first to the battery conviction. Hoyle was charged with violating Ark.Code Ann. § 5-13-201(a)(3) (Supp. 2005), which provides that a person commits battery in the first degree if: He or she causes serious physical injury to another person under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. According to Hoyle, the phrase under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life means deliberate conduct with a knowledge or awareness that one's actions are practically certain to bring about the prohibited result. In Tarentino v. State, 302 Ark. 55, 786 S.W.2d 584 (1990), this court explained that the primary way in which first-degree battery differs from second- and third-degree battery is the state of mind of the actor. The court went on to explain that in order to be convicted of first-degree battery, a defendant must act with the purpose of causing serious physical injury to another person. Moreover, the circumstances of the first-degree battery must by necessity be more dire and formidable in terms of affecting human life. See Tigue v. State, 319 Ark. 147, 889 S.W.2d 760 (1994). The attendant circumstances must be such as to demonstrate the culpable mental state of the accused. Id. The Tigue court further elaborated that first-degree battery involves actions which create at least some risk of death and which, therefore, evidence a mental state on the part of the accused to engage in some life-threatening activity against the victim. Id. Here, the evidence showed that Hoyle acted recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life. Specifically, the evidence demonstrated that Hoyle drove a fully loaded commercial vehicle weighing over 82,000 pounds while under the influence of methamphetamine. Ms. Lowman-Smith testified that she tested Hoyle's urine for drugs and discovered the presence of amphetamine and methamphetamine. A subsequent test on Hoyle's blood confirmed the presence of methamphetamine. Dr. Pappas testified that an individual's physical abilities are affected by the presence of methamphetamine in his system, including his driving abilities. According to Dr. Pappas, methamphetamine can cause a driver to weave across lanes of traffic, take undue risks, or leave the roadway. In this case, Hoyle's entire vehicle, with the exception of the right rear axle, crossed into the oncoming-traffic lane, striking the motor home, and ultimately driving through it. Hoyle never attempted to brake prior to the accident or to return to the proper lane of traffic. It is apparent based on the evidence in this case that Hoyle exhibited reckless conduct that involved a conscious disregard of a perceived risk. Accordingly, we cannot say that the trial court erred in denying Hoyle's motion for directed verdict on the first-degree battery charge.
Next, we consider Hoyle's argument that there was insufficient evidence to support his manslaughter convictions on the basis that there was no evidence that he acted recklessly. Hoyle was charged with manslaughter pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-104(a)(3) (Repl.1997), which provides that a person commits manslaughter if he recklessly causes the death of another person. Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-2-202(3) (Repl.1997) provides: A person acts recklessly with respect to attendant circumstances or a result of his conduct when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of a nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation. Thus, the relevant inquiry is whether the evidence in the instant case demonstrated that Hoyle consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk in driving while under the influence of methamphetamine. We think it does. At trial, James Gann testified that he believed Hoyle almost ran another vehicle off the road, that Hoyle was extremely talkative at one point and then totally silent immediately prior to the accident, that Hoyle never braked immediately before striking the Dean motor home, and that Hoyle did not attempt to assist any of the victims at the scene of the accident. Trooper Adams testified that his investigation revealed that Hoyle's truck was originally traveling southbound, while the Dean vehicle was headed northbound, when Hoyle's vehicle crossed the center line and hit the Dean vehicle at a forty to forty-five degree angle. According to Corporal Adams, the impact of Hoyle's vehicle pushed the Dean vehicle backwards before Hoyle's vehicle went through the motor home. Adams also stated that while investigating the crash, he noticed Hoyle sitting by himself on a hill near the accident scene. This evidence coupled with the toxicology report that established that Hoyle had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the accident and Dr. Pappas's expert opinion that .221 micrograms per milliliter of methamphetamine without a doubt had a negative effect on the driving in this case clearly demonstrates that Hoyle acted recklessly in driving while under the influence of methamphetamine. We simply do not agree that the jury had to resort to speculation or conjecture in order to conclude that the methamphetamine in his system so altered his motor skills that it was the cause of the wreck. The foregoing evidence constituted substantial evidence that Hoyle recklessly caused the deaths of Hilda Dean and Gary Dean, in that he consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death might occur if he operated a commercial vehicle after ingesting methamphetamine, and the disregard thereof constituted a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in Hoyle's situation.