Opinion ID: 1223959
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficient Evidence to Deny Judgment of Acquittal

Text: Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying defense counsel's motion for a judgment of acquittal on grounds of insufficient evidence. A judgment of acquittal is required if no substantial evidence warrants conviction. Ariz.R.Crim.P. 20(a); State v. Hill, 174 Ariz. 313, 318, 848 P.2d 1375, 1380 (1993). `Substantial evidence' is evidence that reasonable persons could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jones, 125 Ariz. 417, 419, 610 P.2d 51, 53 (1980). When reasonable minds may differ on inferences from the facts, the case must be submitted to the jury, and the trial judge has no discretion to enter a judgment of acquittal. State v. Landrigan, 176 Ariz. 1, 4, 859 P.2d 111, 114 (1993). When the evidence supporting a verdict is challenged on appeal, an appellate court will not reweigh the evidence. The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the conviction, and, because the jury has returned its verdict and presumptively followed instructions, all reasonable inferences will be resolved against a defendant. State v. Tison, 129 Ariz. 546, 552, 633 P.2d 355, 361 (1981). Defendant argues that the only evidence linking him to the Drury armed robbery and murder was his knowledge of the cash drawer and his admissions to police on May 4, 5, and 6. Defendant notes that police found none of his fingerprints at the crime scene or on the cash drawer, although no evidence indicates that he wore gloves. Further, no weapon was retrieved, and there is no proof that any money in fact was taken from the market. Defendant's three separate confessions, however, contained specific details that were corroborated by physical evidence at the crime scene. He admitted that he was in the area where Hunt's former girlfriend lived, six or seven blocks from the market, on the day of the murder. He stated that Drury was an older white man, that defendant asked for cigarettes, and that he grabbed the entire cash drawer. At the crime scene the entire cash drawer was missing, and the register tape showed an incomplete transaction for cigarettes. Defendant's description of the route that he and Hunt took following the robbery corresponds with the actual locations of the market and creek bed. Pieces of the cash drawer and the drawer itself were found where defendant said he threw them. The criminalist testified that smudges but no usable fingerprints were on the cash drawer, explaining that exposure to the elements would lessen the likelihood of recovering usable prints. We therefore conclude that the trial court properly found that the record contained substantial evidence to support the convictions.