Opinion ID: 1985591
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony Regarding Location of Appellant's Arrest

Text: The appellant's next point on appeal is that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing testimony that he was arrested on the night of the shooting at a Newport liquor store with another suspect and in possession of several bottles of wine. The State contends that the testimony was offered, and is properly admissible as such, to demonstrate the appellant's state of mind, i.e., his motive or intent. The State further points out that, although appellant did object to the testimony in this regard, he failed to request a limiting instruction with regard to the jury's consideration of this evidence and, as such, the trial court should be affirmed. We agree. The appellant was initially charged with capital murder, in that he, or an accomplice, caused the death of the victim during the commission of a robbery. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-10-101 (Repl.1997). The underlying felony of robbery requires that the actor must act with the purpose of committing a felony or misdemeanor theft[.] Ark.Code Ann. § 5-12-102(a)(Repl.1997). As part of its case-in-chief, the State sought to demonstrate the appellant's motive and intent for the commission of the offense. The admission of evidence showing motive is a matter left to the discretion of the trial court, which will be reversed only for an abuse of that discretion. E.g., Martin v. State, 328 Ark. 420, 944 S.W.2d 512 (1997). In Howard v. State, 348 Ark. 471, 79 S.W.3d 273 (2002), we reiterated the long-held rule that where the purpose of evidence is to disclose a motive for killing, anything and everything that might have influenced the commission of the act may, as a rule, be shown. Id. at 494, 79 S.W.3d at 287. At trial, the State adduced evidence regarding the planning and commission of the robbery and shooting death of Alfredo Resendiz. This evidence came largely from the statements made by appellant to the police. The evidence established that, after learning that the victim carried money, appellant's motive was to rob the victim. However, appellant claimed that the victim was shot as the result of his firearm accidentally discharging. The appellant claims that evidence that he was apprehended outside a liquor store after having just made a purchase was more unfairly prejudicial than probative. While the appellant claims that evidence of the circumstance of his arrest was not narrowly drawn, the State submits otherwise. We agree with the State. Testimony indicated that the victim was shot on the night of October 27, 2000, and that police responded at approximately 9:30 p.m. After interviewing witnesses at the scene, the appellant was sought in connection with the shooting. Scott Bridgeman, an officer with the Newport Police Department, testified that he apprehended appellant in the company of another person also sought, as the two, on that same night, were leaving a Newport liquor store where they had just purchased several bottles of wine. The purchase of wine being a legal act in Newport, Arkansas, the appellant's assertion begs the question of how his apprehension there could be deemed prejudicial. That he would be making such a purchase on the same night that he had robbed and gunned down his victim in the middle of a city street, however, is highly probative of his intent to rob and his motive for doing so. The circumstances that tie a defendant to the crime or raise a possible motive for the crime are independently relevant and admissible as evidence. E.g., McGehee v. State, 338 Ark. 152, 992 S.W.2d 110 (1999). It is far-fetched to suggest that a jury would convict a defendant of first-degree murder solely on the ground that he was a wine addict. Had there been the remotest possibility that the jury would have based the appellant's conviction solely on the location of his arrest, he could have requested that an instruction be given, instructing the jury as to the purposes for which it could consider the admitted evidence. Appellant requested no such instruction. As such, we find no error with regard to any testimony about the location of appellant's arrest.