Opinion ID: 1664716
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Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Offense of Aggravated Robbery

Text: A person commits robbery if, with the purpose of committing a felony or misdemeanor theft or resisting apprehension immediately after committing a felony or misdemeanor theft, the person employs or threatens to immediately employ physical force upon another person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-12-102 (Repl.2006 & Supp.2007). A robbery becomes aggravated if the person is armed with a deadly weapon, represents by word or conduct that he is armed with a deadly weapon, or inflicts or attempts to inflict death or serious physical injury upon another person. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-12-103 (Repl.2006 & Supp.2007). In the instant case, the jury found that Bill was armed with a deadly weapon. We hold that substantial evidence supports the aggravated-robbery conviction. First, it is undisputed that Bill employed physical force upon Steve. He admitted to stabbing Steve; this admission was corroborated by the testimony of Leslie, who witnessed the stabbing. Second, the evidence indicates that Bill was armed with a deadly weapon. He admitted to the use of the knife found at the crime scene, and the testimony of both Greg Girtman and Leslie Young established that Bill carried the knife fashioned from a railroad spike on the night of the homicide. Moreover, Bill's assertion that he lacked the purpose to commit theft is without merit. He argued at trial that he did not set out to rob Steve and that he took the television and computer only because his fingerprints were on them and the truck only because it was his sole means of transportation. According to Bill, he believed at the time that Steve may have still been alive and would attack him. However, there was overwhelming evidence showing that Bill intended to deprive Steve of the property. Gary Bradley, a friend of Steve, testified that he saw Steve's truck on the road on January 2. He stated that he followed the truck and observed Leslie driving it, with a man sitting beside her. He also claimed that, when he caught up with the truck, Leslie cut him off and ran his vehicle into the ditch. David Drew, another long-time acquaintance of Bill, testified that, at approximately eleven o'clock on the morning of January 2, Bill, Leslie, and two of their children came to his house in Steve's truck. Drew stated that Bill asked him to pawn some tools for him, which Bill could not do himself because he did not have his driver's license at the time. Terry Garrison, who worked with Steve, testified that he saw Steve's truck at a Batesville laundromat on the morning of January 2. Believing Steve would be in the truck, Garrison approached the truck to find Bill getting out of it. He also saw a woman ducking down and a couple of children in the truck. Garrison testified that he was not completely sure at the time that it was Bill exiting the truck. After learning that Steve had been killed, Garrison returned to the laundromat to ask the owners if they had identified the person driving Steve's truck. While there, Garrison spoke to Nolan Hennings, who also testified at trial. Hennings testified that he had seen and spoken to Bill and Leslie that morning in the convenience store neighboring the laundromat. He stated that they were driving Steve's truck and that two young boys were with them. Bill asked Hennings if he was interested in buying some items from him, and he proceeded to open the back of Steve's truck to show Hennings several items, including shotguns and a television. Steve's truck was later found abandoned on a gravel road in Independence County. Seven fingerprints lifted from the vehicle were determined to be those of Bill Young. The fact that Bill pawned Steve's tools, tried to sell other stolen items, and abandoned the truck in the days following the homicide establishes a purpose to commit theft. Theft requires only that a person knowingly take or exercise unauthorized control over, or make an unauthorized transfer of an interest in, the property of another person, with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property. Ark.Code Ann. § 5-36-103 (Repl.2006 & Supp.2007). As this court has long held, a criminal defendant's intent or state of mind is seldom capable of proof by direct evidence and must usually be inferred from the circumstances of the crime. Watson v. State, 358 Ark. 212, 188 S.W.3d 921 (2004). Moreover, because of the obvious difficulty in ascertaining a defendant's intent or state of mind, a presumption exists that a person intends the natural and probable consequences of his actions. Id. In the instant case, it is clear from the evidence set forth above that Bill intended to deprive Steve of the property, and thus had a purpose of committing theft, when he used force against Steve. Our court has upheld aggravated-robbery convictions in situations similar to the one at bar, where the purpose to commit theft was not apparent until after the force was employed. See Grillot v. State, 353 Ark. 294, 107 S.W.3d 136 (2003). In the Grillot case, the evidence suggested that the homicide was the result of a murder-for-hire contract. Id. After the shooting, perpetrated by a co-defendant, Grillot took the victim's wallet and vehicle. Id. He later abandoned the vehicle and threw the keys and wallet into a canal. Id. We stated, [a]ll these acts stemmed from an event where a deadly weapon was used. From these facts, a jury could reasonably infer that neither the truck nor the wallet were likely to be restored to Jackson, or his estate. Id. at 308, 107 S.W.3d at 144. Because deprivation of property requires only disposal under circumstances that make its restoration unlikely, Ark.Code Ann. § 5-36-101(4)(C) (Repl.2006 & Supp. 2007), we held that force was used with the purpose to commit theft. Id. Similarly, in the instant case, though Steve was killed or at least injured before the purpose to commit theft was apparent, Bill's actions following the homicide clearly show a purpose to commit theft. Accordingly, we conclude there was sufficient evidence to support the aggravated-robbery conviction.