Opinion ID: 2337396
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: For his first point on appeal, Mr. Phillips argues that the evidence connecting him to the crime was insufficient to support a conviction. Specifically, he argues that Carr Stalnaker, the surviving witness, was unable to strongly and reliably identify him as the perpetrator, that the testimony of Cory Caldwell that Mr. Phillips confessed his involvement in the crime was suspect and unreliable, and that the written confession made by Mr. Phillips in a letter to Mr. Caldwell was subject to more than one interpretation and was, therefore, unreliable. The State argues that Mr. Phillips's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is no more than a challenge to the weight and credibility of the evidence and should be rejected. We agree. As a threshold matter, we note that Mr. Phillips has preserved his challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence only as to the charge of capital murder. At the close of the State's case-in-chief, Mr. Phillips moved for a directed verdict on the charge of capital murder because the evidence was insufficient to connect him to the crime. At the close of all evidence, Mr. Phillips renewed his motion for the same factual and legal arguments made at that time. Therefore, only the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction for capital murder is properly before us. [1] See Woods v. State, 342 Ark. 89, 27 S.W.3d 367 (2000). When we review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we will affirm the conviction if there is substantial evidence to support it. Fudge v. State, 341 Ark. 759, 20 S.W.3d 315 (2000). Evidence is substantial if, when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, it is of sufficient force and character to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Id. The credibility of witnesses is an issue for the jury and not the court. Cobb v. State, 340 Ark. 240, 12 S.W.3d 195 (2000). The trier of fact is free to believe all or part of any witness's testimony and may resolve questions of conflicting testimony and inconsistent evidence. Id. We will disturb the jury's determination only if the evidence did not meet the required standards, thereby leaving the jury to resort to speculation and conjecture in reaching its verdict. Fudge v. State, supra . The evidence to convict Mr. Phillips was substantial. On the night of February 17, 1997, two men robbed the Freight Damaged Foods Store in Little Rock. The store closed at 6:00 p.m., at which time Carr Stalnaker, an employee of Frito-Lay, was stocking products on the shelves at the Freight Damaged Foods Store. He and the store's assistant manager, Van Dean Clouse, were the only people remaining in the store when, at approximately 6:25, two men wearing bandanas and dark knit caps appeared and robbed the store. Mr. Stalnaker subsequently identified the two robbers as Appellant Tommy Phillips and Cochise Miles. Phillips and Miles held Stalnaker and Clouse at gunpoint during the robbery, then forced them into a cooler at the back of the store. While walking towards the cooler, Mr. Stalnaker heard Mr. Phillips saying repeatedly that if there's not any more money than this, somebody's gonna die. In an effort to appease Mr. Phillips, Mr. Stalnaker gave him all of the money he had from his delivery route. After the four men entered the cooler near the back door, both Mr. Stalnaker and Mr. Clouse informed the robbers that they had families and asked the men to just leave with the money. Mr. Phillips told them to shut up, and then he repeatedly pointed his gun at Mr. Clouse's head and lowered it. Mr. Stalnaker recognized that Mr. Phillips was psyching himself up to kill Mr. Clouse. Mr. Phillips eventually shot Mr. Clouse in the head. As soon as Mr. Stalnaker realized what had happened, he ran out of the cooler and through an open back door, escaping down an alley until he located a pay phone and called 911. The robbers shot at him several times as he was running away. While chasing Mr. Stalnaker down the alley, Mr. Phillips tripped and his handgun discharged, causing him to shoot himself in the arm. Phillips and Miles then ran through the woods to a nearby equipment rental business where Mr. Miles's bandana and cap were discovered the following day, along with live 9mm and .22 caliber rounds similar to those found at the Freight Damaged Foods Store. Following the robbery, Mr. Phillips called Cory Caldwell and asked him to come over to the house where he was staying. He informed Mr. Caldwell on the telephone that he had been shot. Upon arriving at the house, Mr. Caldwell noticed that the wound on Mr. Phillips's arm appeared to be fresh. The next morning, Mr. Caldwell agreed to go to Texas with Mr. Phillips and his grandfather, Clayton Phillips. They left for Texas that same day. During the drive to Texas, Mr. Phillips admitted to Mr. Caldwell that he and Mr. Miles had committed a robbery and that he shot the store manager in the cooler because he only had two hundred and something dollars on him at the time. As related by Mr. Phillips to Mr. Caldwell, the bread man then ran out the back door, whereupon the robbers set out in pursuit of the man with Mr. Phillips shooting at him. Mr. Phillips tripped during the chase and his gun accidentally went off, striking him in the arm. After the bread man got away, Miles and Phillips kept running, jumped over a fence, and hid behind another building. Mr. Phillips also sent a letter to Mr. Caldwell while in jail in which he admitted to killing Mr. Clouse, stating I know I did murder that man. Mr. Caldwell testified that he understood the letter to be an admission of guilt, even though Mr. Phillips argues that the context of the letter reveals that his intent was not to admit murder, but to entreat Mr. Caldwell to testify truthfully. It is clear that substantial evidence supports the conviction of Mr. Phillips for capital murder. The State presented the testimony of an eyewitness who positively identified Mr. Phillips as the shooter and two confessions by Mr. Phillips. It was within the province of the jury to resolve any conflicts or inconsistencies in this evidence. Cobb v. State, supra . In light of the eyewitness identification and the confessions by Mr. Phillips, we cannot say the jury was forced to resort to speculation and conjecture to find Mr. Phillips guilty of capital murder. We, therefore, affirm the trial court's refusal to direct a verdict of acquittal.