Court Opinion

ID: 9771200
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 16:36:40.182904+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:27.028194
License: Public Domain

David Newbern, Justice. This is a first degree murder case in which the appellant, Darrell Smith, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for killing George Sparlin. Smith’s sole point of appeal is that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction. We find the evidence was sufficient and affirm the conviction. Police investigations produced a stream of circumstantial evidence which tied Smith to the shooting. From testimony the jury could have found these facts: Sparlin employed Smith on a part-time basis and on the night in question was working with Smith in his (Sparlin’s) shop where heavy trucks were repaired. The shop was 30 to 40 yards away from Sparlin’s home. Sparlin was last seen alive, other than by Smith, at 3:00 p.m. on February 1 by his step-son, Kevin Hopkins. Hopkins also heard Sparlin talking on the shop phone between 8:00 and 8:45 p.m. on that date. Kevin left the house with his girlfriend shortly after hearing the phone calls. Chuck Fite was also employed by Sparlin, and on the night of February 1 Fite made a call to Sparlin about 8:00 p.m. asking if Sparlin needed him to come into work. Sparlin promised to come and pick Fite up. After waiting for a time without being picked up Fite called Sparlin again and was informed that Smith was at the shop and they were working. Sparlin informed Fite he would be there to pick him up in a short time. After another period of time Fite called again and Sparlin stated that Smith would pick him up shortly. Approximately 30 minutes later, Smith arrived to pick Fite up in a black four-wheel drive Chevrolet pickup. Rather than take Fite directly to the shop, Smith, who said he needed to run an errand, drove to the home of David Givens. Givens also employed Smith, and there was testimony that Givens’s wife and Sparlin were having an affair. Givens was not at home when Smith and Fite arrived. Smith then drove Fite to a point near Sparlin’s shop and dropped him off. Fite found Sparlin in the garage dying from gunshot wounds. Fite called an ambulance which arrived five minutes after the call. He also called Sparlin’s mother-in-law, Willene Hopkins, who lived nearby. She arrived within minutes. Hopkins stated she had heard five or six shots from the direction of the shop around 9:30 p.m. February 1 and a short time later heard a truck leave the vicinity. Joy Batchelor lives about 100 yards from the Sparlin home, and as she was coming home around 9:30 that night, she encountered a black pickup truck coming out from in front of the shop at a high rate of speed. Debbie Batchelor was in the Batchelor home around 9:30 p.m. and heard five or six shots followed by the sound of a truck leaving. Cindy Batchelor was following her mother-in-law, Joy, home from work and also saw the black or dark blue Chevrolet pickup leave the shop at a high rate of speed. She stated the truck she saw was almost identical to one shown in a photograph of Smith’s truck although she could not positively say they were the same. Catherine Boyette was an EMT attendant on the ambulance which arrived at the shop. She found Sparlin unconscious but alive. He was taken to a hospital in Malvern. He was in a coma. Robert Fletcher, the nursing supervisor who treated Sparlin, observed a bullet fragment fall from one of his wounds. The fragment was later placed in the hands of the sheriff. Bob Adams, Sheriff of Grant County, arrived on the scene of the shooting on February 1 at approximately 10:30 p.m. The ambulance had taken Sparlin away. At the scene Adams located five spent .22 cartridge casings, each of which was marked with a “C” on the end. After investigating at the scene Sheriff Adams went to Smith’s home. Upon arrival he observed Smith’s truck in the driveway. Adams glanced into the truck and observed a brick of .22 caliber shells of the same brand as those found at the scene of the shooting. When Adams entered the residence Smith denied knowing of the shooting. Adams asked Smith to come to the Sheriffs office with him, and as they were leaving, Adams observed blood on the back of Smith’s trouser leg. He immediately advised Smith of his rights and arrested him. Smith made a statement at the Sheriffs office in which he denied any involvement in the shooting and explained that he was injured while hunting earlier in the day. He stated he had changed his trousers and burned the ones he had been wearing earlier. He explained his failure to mention the gunshot wound to his leg to persons he spoke with later that evening as being due to the fact that it was not bothering him that much. Smith also denied owning a .22 caliber pistol but said he owned a single shot .22 antique rifle. Later on in the investigation blood on the drivers side seat and a spent .22 cartridge casing were found in Smith’s truck. Alvin Brown, a Malvern resident, stated he observed Smith firing a .22 automatic pistol in front of Brown’s house, for the purpose of “sighting it in” some three or four weeks before the shooting of Sparlin. Sheriff Adams located additional casings in Brown’s yard which were later identified as having been fired from the same weapon as the bullets which struck Sparlin. Tom Carden, a U.S. Army Recruiter, stated that three years before the shooting he had traded to Smith a .22 automatic rifle with a rotary clip which would fire 10 or 11 times in succession. Lisa Sackevicius, a criminalist for the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, testified that Smith was found to have a low level of the elements which may have been gunshot residue on his hands at the time of his arrest. The tests were not conclusive as there are environmental and occupational sources which could have been sources of the elements. Dr. David DeJong, a forensic pathologist, performed the autopsy on Sparlin and concluded he died as the result of a gunshot to his head. There were four bullet holes in the body, and three bullets taken from the body were turned over to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory. Berwin Monroe, chief firearms and tool marks examiner for the Crime Laboratory, testified that all the bullets submitted were examined by him. He concluded the casings found in the Smith vehicle, the casings found at the Brown residence, the five casings found at the scene of the shooting, and the bullet removed from Sparlin were all fired from the same firearm. After presentation of this testimony to the jury, counsel for Smith made a directed verdict motion on the basis that there was no physical evidence tying Smith to the commission of the crime and that the evidence was otherwise insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict. The motion was denied. In defense Smith called his brother, Richard. Richard Smith testified that he had traded a .22 caliber pistol to his brother Darrell at Christmas of 1991 in exchange for the .22 automatic rifle. Samantha Smith, Darrell’s daughter, testified in his behalf that her father left their home about 8:30 p.m. on February 1 to go hunting and didn’t return until around 10:00 p.m. Darrell Smith testified and explained his version of the events of February 1, denying any involvement in the shooting of Sparlin. The defense rested and renewed the motion for directed verdict. The motion was again denied. The jury deliberated and returned a guilty verdict imposing a sentence of life imprisonment. 1. Sufficiency of the evidence  When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged, we affirm if there is substantial evidence to support the verdict. Abdullah v. State, 301 Ark. 235, 783 S.W.2d 58 (1990). Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion that is beyond suspicion and conjecture. Edwards v. State, 300 Ark. 4, 775 S.W.2d 900 (1989). We have long held that circumstantial evidence alone may be sufficient to support a conviction. Hurvey v. State, 298 Ark. 289, 766 S.W.2d 926 (1989). Such evidence must be consistent with the defendant’s guilt and inconsistent with any other reasonable conclusion. Pemberton v. State, 292 Ark. 405, 730 S.W.2d 889 (1987). We review the evidence in thelightmost favorable to the appellee, considering only that evidence which tends to support the verdict. Brown v. State, 309 Ark. 503, 832 S.W.2d 477 (1992); Hooks v. State, 303 Ark. 236, 795 S.W.2d 56 (1990). There is ample evidence to support the verdict in this case. Shell casings from the murder weapon were found in Smith’s vehicle and a vehicle very similar to his was seen leaving the scene of the murder at a time shortly after the shots were heard. Smith’s explanation for the recent wound in his leg, which he did not even mention to persons he spoke with after he allegedly shot himself, was absurd, and the jury obviously chose not to believe his story.  The credibility of witnesses is a fact question for the trier of fact. The trier of fact alone determines the weight to be given the evidence, and may reject or accept any part of it. Smith v. State, 308 Ark. 390, 824 S.W.2d 838 (1992). Credibility determinations will not be disturbed on appeal when there is substantial evidence to support the fact finder’s conclusion. Campbell v. State, 294 Ark. 639, 746 S.W.2d 37 (1988). 2. Rule 4-3(h) review As Smith received a life imprisonment sentence, the record has been examined in accordance with Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 4-3(h), and there were no rulings adverse to Smith which constituted prejudicial error. Affirmed. Holt, C.J., and Dudley and Glaze, JJ., concur.