Opinion ID: 1874043
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficiency of the EvidenceMs. Woolbright

Text: For purposes of double jeopardy, we address Ms. Woolbright's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence first. See Grillot v. State, 353 Ark. 294, 107 S.W.3d 136 (2003). For her first point on appeal, Ms. Woolbright argues that there is insufficient evidence to support her conviction of first-degree murder. In her second point, she contends that the trial court erred in refusing to grant her motion for a directed verdict. This court treats a motion for a directed verdict as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Mills v. State, 351 Ark. 523, 95 S.W.3d 796 (2003). Thus, Ms. Woolbright's first two points on appeal are a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and will be addressed together. In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we determine whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Garner v. State, 355 Ark. 82, 131 S.W.3d 734 (2003). Substantial evidence is evidence forceful enough to compel a conclusion one way or the other beyond suspicion or conjecture. Id. This court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, and only evidence supporting the verdict will be considered. Id. The record reflects the following evidence. On March 14, 2002, Rebecca Woolbright and Carrell Cahoon went to the Inn Towne Lodge in Fort Smith to pick up Carl Allen Johnson. At that time, Mr. Johnson was living in a motel room at the Inn Towne Lodge. Mr. Cahoon was driving his vehicle and proposed that they all go to a wooded area behind the Southside High School to retrieve some copper that Mr. Cahoon had stolen from an electrical company. The three were going to sell the copper and split the proceeds. Prior to retrieving the copper, Mr. Cahoon was murdered. Ms. Woolbright and Mr. Johnson left Mr. Cahoon in the woods after he had been stabbed in the back six times and bludgeoned in the head with a metal object. They abandoned Mr. Cahoon's vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot and returned to the Inn Towne Lodge. Ms. Woolbright later called her friend, Terri Godwin, and told her of the murder. Ms. Godwin called the Forth Smith Police Department the next day, March 15, and advised them that a homicide may have occurred, the victim's name was Cal or Calvin, and someone named Carl might be involved. On the same day that Ms. Godwin called the police, Ms. Woolbright gave a statement to the police implicating Mr. Johnson in the murder and then she led police to the victim's body. She also gave a taped statement in which she admitted being present when the murder occurred. She had gone into the woods to look for the copper and then heard Mr. Cahoon scream for help. When she returned, Mr. Johnson was stabbing Mr. Cahoon in the back and later hit him in the head with a metal pipe. According to Ms. Woolbright, she did not know Mr. Johnson was going to kill Mr. Cahoon. On March 22, 2002, she gave a second taped statement. In this statement, Ms. Woolbright stated she was upset with Mr. Cahoon and wanted him dead. She planned on stabbing him when they went out in the woods. Upon reaching the wooded area, Ms. Woolbright told Mr. Cahoon that she was going to kill him and brandished a knife. Because he laughed at her threat, she handed the knife to Mr. Johnson. He then proceeded to stab Mr. Cahoon in the back. Ms. Woolbright was charged with first-degree murder and as an accomplice to first-degree murder. She was convicted of first-degree murder. In Arkansas, first-degree murder is defined in pertinent part as follows: (a) A person commits murder in the first degree if: (2) With a purpose of causing the death of another person, he causes the death of another person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-102 (Repl.1997). The accomplice liability statute in Arkansas states as follows: (a) A person is an accomplice of another person in the commission of an offense if, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of an offense, he: (1) Solicits, advises, encourages, or coerces the other person to commit it; or (2) Aids, agrees to aid, or attempts to aid the other person in planning or committing it; or     (b) When causing a particular result is an element of an offense, a person is an accomplice in the commission of that offense if, acting with respect to that result with the kind of culpability sufficient for the commission of the offense, he: (1) Solicits, advises, encourages, or coerces the other person to engage in the conduct causing the result; or (2) Aids, agrees to aid, or attempts to aid the other person in planning or engaging in the conduct causing the result; Ark.Code Ann. § 5-2-403 (Repl.1997). At trial, Dr. Stephen Erickson, an associate medical examiner with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, testified that he performed the autopsy on Carrell Cahoon. Dr. Erickson concluded that Mr. Cahoon's death was the result of a homicide caused by severe blunt force trauma to the head and stab wounds to his back. Rebecca Woolbright's neighbor, Terri Godwin, testified that she called Detective Lannie Reese on March 15, 2002, after Ms. Woolbright told her that Mr. Cahoon had been killed. She told the detective that Ms. Woolbright had called and said we killed Cal. Ms. Godwin also disclosed that Ms. Woolbright told her on March 14, the day of the murder, that she wanted Mr. Cahoon dead. According to Ms. Godwin, Ms. Woolbright confessed to stabbing the victim. Furthermore, Ms. Woolbright gave two recorded statements in which she admitted to being at the crime scene. In one of those statements she told the police that she intended to kill Cahoon but was unable to muster the strength. She also acknowledged handing the murder weapon to Mr. Johnson after he stated that he would kill Mr. Cahoon. Ms. Woolbright first contends that mere presence at the scene of the crime or failure to inform law enforcement officers of a crime does not make one an accomplice as a matter of law. Spears v. State, 280 Ark. 577, 660 S.W.2d 913 (1983). In this case, the evidence not only reflects that Ms. Woolbright was present at the crime scene, but it also indicates that she either stabbed Mr. Cahoon or threatened to kill him and then handed the murder weapon to her accomplice, Mr. Johnson. Ms. Woolbright essentially takes exception to the quality of evidence submitted by the State. She suggests that the taped statements were made while she was extremely overwrought and that Ms. Godwin's testimony is not credible. The credibility of witnesses is an issue for the jury and not the court. Barrett v. State, 354 Ark. 187, 119 S.W.3d 485 (2003). Viewed in the light most favorable to the State, Ms. Woolbright confessed to either murdering or aiding in the murder of Mr. Cahoon. In addition, the evidence reflects that Mr. Cahoon died as a result of a homicide. Under these circumstances, there is sufficient evidence to support the verdict. See, e.g., Tinsley v. State, 338 Ark. 342, 993 S.W.2d 898 (1993) (holding that a confession and the corpus delecti of the crime establishes sufficient evidence).