Opinion ID: 2428738
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Insufficiency of the evidence with regard to the theft-of-property charge

Text: In addition to capital murder, appellant was also charged with and convicted of theft of property valued at over $2,500, pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 5-36-103(b)(1)(A) (Repl. 1997), with respect to his taking of the victim's vehicle after shooting the victim. Appellant preserved this issue by making specific motions regarding proof of value at both the close of the State's case-in-chief and at the close of all the evidence. Appellant raises two points in regard to the charge of theft of property. First, he contends that the State failed to present sufficient proof of the value of the victim's vehicle, and that therefore the trial court erred by not granting appellant's motion for a directed verdict to dismiss that charge. Second, appellant claims that there was no evidence showing that he knowingly took Hall's car with the purpose of depriving the owner of its use. Appellant never challenged the evidence on the second basis in the court below. His sole claim for dismissal of the theft charge at trial was insufficient proof of value. Where an appellant argues on appeal grounds for a directed verdict in addition to the grounds he raised below, the appellate court limits its review to those grounds that were presented to the trial court. Johnson v. State, 326 Ark. 3, 929 S.W.2d 707 (1996). This Court will, therefore, not address the second portion of appellant's argument on this point. In regard to the issue of the vehicle's value, appellant begins his argument by suggesting that the evidence of value is insufficient because the State did not call the car's owner to testify. A directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Graham v. State, 314 Ark. 152, 861 S.W.2d 299 (1993). The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether there is substantial evidence to support the verdict. Britt v. State, 334 Ark. 142, 974 S.W.2d 436 (1998); Sanford v. State, 331 Ark. 334, 962 S.W.2d 335 (1998); Friar v. State, 313 Ark. 253, 854 S.W.2d 318 (1993). On appeal, this court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee and sustains the conviction if there is any substantial evidence to support it. Abdullah v. State, 301 Ark. 235, 783 S.W.2d 58 (1990). Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force and character to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Jones v. State, 269 Ark. 119, 598 S.W.2d 748 (1980). Value is defined in relevant part at Ark.Code Ann. § 5-36-101(11)(A)(i) (Repl. 1997), as [t]he market value of the property or services at the time and place of the offense.... While testimony by the owner as to the property's value is certainly helpful, it is neither conclusive nor required. Moore v. State, 299 Ark. 532, 773 S.W.2d 834 (1989). Moreover, in the case at bar, the owner of the vehicle is dead. The preferred method of establishing value is by expert testimony, not by testimony from the owner. Coley v. State, 302 Ark. 526, 790 S.W.2d 899 (1990). Value, however, may be sufficiently established by circumstances that clearly show a value in excess of the statutory requirement. Id. at 529, 790 S.W.2d 899. The purchase price paid by the owner is admissible as a factor for the jury to consider in determining market value, when it is not too remote in time and bears a reasonable relation to present value. Id. Thus, when the circumstances present substantial evidence indicating the value of property, direct proof of value is not required. Stewart v. State, 302 Ark. 35, 786 S.W.2d 827 (1990). At trial, the State introduced, without objection, State's Exhibit 51, which consisted of certified documents pertaining to the victim's vehicle from the Office of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Finance and Administration. Among those documents was an invoice from Prestige Toyota-Hyundai, showing that Hall had purchased the 1994 Hyundai Elantra GLS new on January 31, 1994, for a total price of $19,390.20. The date of the offenses at issue in this case occurred just over one year later, on February 25, 1995. The State also introduced a number of photographs depicting the car following the murder and theft. Those photographs showed the vehicle to be in good condition and without any obvious defects or damage. This would undoubtedly constitute substantial evidence from which the jury could reasonably conclude that the depreciation had not been so great as to reduce the car's value from over $19,000 to under $2,500 in one year's time. The jurors are allowed to draw upon their common knowledge and experience in reaching a verdict from the facts proved. Robinson v. State, 317 Ark. 17, 875 S.W.2d 837 (1994). Moreover, in Stewart v. State, 302 Ark. 35, 786 S.W.2d 827 (1990), this Court found the evidence of value sufficient where the car had been purchased three years earlier, evidence of the purchase price was presented, and a photograph of the car showing it to be in excellent condition was admitted. The instant case presents even further compelling facts supporting the sufficiency of the evidence. Appellant relies on the case of Brooks v. State, 303 Ark. 188, 792 S.W.2d 617 (1990), which he interprets as requiring verbal testimony on the issue of value, as opposed to documentary and photographic evidence. The Brooks case was a Rule 37 case, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Brooks claimed that his attorney was ineffective for failing to make a hearsay objection when the only evidence of value was the testimony of department store security guards who testified to the price that appeared on the price tags of stolen merchandise. This Court granted the Rule 37 petition in that case, holding that the price shown on the price tags was hearsay. In so holding, the Court stated that [i]t is necessary in a case like this to have someone testify who has actual knowledge of the property's fair market value. Id. at 191, 792 S.W.2d 617 (emphasis added). The case at bar, however, is far distinguishable from Brooks . The problem in Brooks was that the only evidence of value was hearsay. No hearsay objection was made in this case to the certified documents from the Office of Motor Vehicles; in fact, they were excepted from the hearsay rule as public records. Ark. R. Evid. 803(8). The nature of the evidence that could be presented in the two cases is very different. In Brooks , the testimony of someone having direct knowledge of the value of the merchandise was required; in the instant case, the introduction of certified copies of documents from a government agency met that requirement. Even if this Court concluded that the evidence of value was insufficient, that holding would not affect appellant's conviction for capital murder based upon premeditation and deliberation; it would simply require that the theft charge be reduced to a misdemeanor rather than to be dismissed. Nonetheless, the State has presented substantial evidence of the vehicle's value in order to allow the trial court to submit the issue to the jury. The trial court did not err by denying appellant's motion to dismiss the charge of theft of property.