Opinion ID: 2334708
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: This court treats a motion for directed verdict as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. McGehee v. State, 338 Ark. 152, 992 S.W.2d 110 (1999). When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we determine whether there is substantial evidence to support the verdict, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State. Id. The evidence to support a conviction, whether direct or circumstantial, must be of sufficient force and character that it will, with reasonable and material certainty and precision, compel a conclusion one way or the other. Smith v. State, 308 Ark. 390, 824 S.W.2d 838 (1992). It must force the mind to go beyond speculation or conjecture and is not satisfied by evidence which gives equal support to inconsistent inferences. Id. We look only to the evidence which supports the verdict. Id. It is for the jury to resolve inconsistencies in testimony, and we will not disturb their credibility assessment. Ellis v. State, 279 Ark. 430, 652 S.W.2d 35 (1983). Mr. Jenkins moved for a directed verdict at the close of the State's case. He presented no evidence and rested immediately after the State. On appeal, he contends that the State did not exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except for his guilt, claiming that the State provided no proof that he acted with premeditation and deliberation as well as insufficient evidence that he murdered Brian Young. First, Mr. Jenkins contends that the testimony of Tanisha Franklin should have been corroborated. He focuses on the fact that Ms. Franklin did not tell police about overhearing him admit to Mr. Young's murder until December 26 when she was arrested with Mr. Jenkins on charges of aggravated robbery. The charges against her were eventually dropped. Mr. Jenkins asserts that this likened Ms. Franklin to an accomplice whose testimony should have been corroborated. However, the appellant bears the burden of proving that a witness is an accomplice whose testimony must be corroborated. McGehee v. State, 338 Ark. 152, 992 S.W.2d 110. A defendant must either have a trial court declare a witness to be an accomplice as a matter of law or submit the issue to the jury for determination. Id. Here, there was no request by Mr. Jenkins that the trial court declare Ms. Franklin to be an accomplice; nor did he seek to have the issue submitted to the jury. Thus, this challenge to her testimony is not preserved for our review. Mr. Jenkins also asserts that his taped confession statement is not reliable. A confession made by a defendant, unless made in open court, will not warrant a conviction, unless accompanied with other proof that the offense was committed. Tinsley v. State, 338 Ark. 342, 993 S.W.2d 898 (1999). See Ark.Code Ann. § 16-89-111(d) (Supp.2001). This requirement for other proof, sometimes referred to as the corpus delicti rule, mandates only proof that the offense occurred and nothing more. Id. Under the corpus delicti rule, the State must prove the existence of an injury or harm constituting a crime and that the injury or harm was caused by someone's criminal activity. Id. Here, the victim's body and the physical evidence found at the scene establish the crime of murder. The victim sustained seven gunshot wounds from the back to the front. As a part of his sufficiency challenge, Mr. Jenkins denies that his statement amounted to a confession. He claims that, during police questioning, the premise was usually contained in the detective's questions rather than in his answers. He also asserts that, though he admitted to shooting at Mr. Young in response to perceived acts of aggression, he did not admit to killing him. In addition, Mr. Jenkins points out that Lisa Bowman stated Mr. Jenkins was at her home on the night of the murder, whereas he told police that he did not go to Ms. Bowman's home after the shooting. We do not consider these arguments as we need only consider the evidence that supports the guilty verdict. Leaks v. State, 345 Ark. 182, 45 S.W.3d 363 (2001). The evidence supporting the verdict revealed (1) that Mr. Jenkins admitted firing three to four shots at Mr. Young while the victim was outside a Delta convenience store on Asher Avenue, and (2) that Mr. Young died at that location as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. Next, Mr. Jenkins asserts that the State did not produce a murder weapon. Mr. Jenkins admitted shooting at Mr. Young with a .38 caliber revolver, and now contends such a revolver only contains six shots. He alleges that Brian Young was shot seven times with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. In addition, he contests the identity of the assailant who committed the murder. He points out Iris Northrop's testimony that Mr. Young's last words to her were: [t]hat looks like the guys that tried to jump on me earlier, focusing on the reference to multiple assailants and the lack of reference to Mr. Jenkins himself. Mr. Jenkins suggests that Mr. Young knew who he was and, yet, did not identify him to Iris Northrop as the assailant. Mr. Jenkins also refers the court to his statement indicating that he committed the shooting while alone and riding a bike. He then contends it is unlikely that he could have hit the victim seven times while riding a bicycle. Again, we do not consider these arguments as we need only consider the evidence that supports the guilty verdict. Leaks v. State, 345 Ark. 182, 45 S.W.3d 363. As for proof of the premeditated and deliberate intent necessary for capital murder, the State points out that 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. Leaks v. State, 345 Ark. 182, 45 S.W.3d 363. Intent may be inferred from the type of weapon used, the manner of its use, and the nature, extent, and location of the wounds. Id. In this case, the evidence revealed that Mr. Young died while standing at a payphone near a convenience store and talking to his girlfriend. His death was the result of seven gunshot wounds to the back made with the equivalent of .38 caliber caliber-class bullets. The crime scene was littered with 9mm shell casings. In this case, the jury could have used those circumstances to infer that Mr. Jenkins acted with premeditated and deliberate intent. Finally, Mr. Jenkins argues that information in the police file provides him an alibi and a strong suspect other than himself. These allegations were not before the court during the trial of this matter. The failure to challenge the sufficiency of certain evidence in a directed-verdict motion at trial precludes appellate review. See Hutts v. State, 342 Ark. 278, 28 S.W.3d 265 (2000). As the evidence in question was not raised at trial, it cannot now be considered in relation to the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal. Overall, the evidence shows that Mr. Jenkins admitted to firing shots at the victim near the location where the victim's death occurred. In addition, testimony from Tanisha Franklin indicated that she heard Mr. Jenkins confess to murdering Mr. Young at the Delta store on the night of the crime. The jury alone determines what weight to give the evidence, and may reject it or accept all or any part of it they believe to be true. Williams v. State, 347 Ark. 728, 67 S.W.3d 548 (2002). Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State, we hold that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to sustain Mr. Jenkins's capital-murder conviction.