Barrett v. State

• Decision Date: 25 September 2003
• Docket Number: No. CR 02-584.,CR 02-584.
• Citation: 119 S.W.3d 485,354 Ark. 187
• Parties: Roger Dale BARRETT v. STATE of Arkansas.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

119 S.W.3d 485

354 Ark. 187

Roger Dale BARRETT v. STATE of Arkansas.

No. CR 02-584.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

September 25, 2003.

J. Eric Hagler, Bentonville, for appellant.

Mike Beebe, Atty. Gen., by Kent G. Holt, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

ANNABELLE CLINTON IMBER, Justice.

Appellant Roger Dale Barrett was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Barrett now appeals and argues five points for reversal. Specifically, he contends that: (1) there was insufficient evidence upon which to base a conviction for the offense of capital murder; (2) the trial court erred in admitting a certain firearm and ammunition into evidence; (3) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of appellant's prior alcohol use and subsequent drug use; (4) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of appellant's prior acts of violence towards the victim; and, (5) the trial court erred in admitting confidential communications between appellant and his wife. We find no reversible error and affirm the judgment of conviction.

While married to Nola Barrett, appellant had been engaged in an extramarital affair with Eunice "Yogi" Bradley for approximately two years. On August 21, 2000, at about 9:00 p.m., Yogi was in a single-vehicle accident as a result of high-centering her car on the lip of a ditch in front of a residential home. Yogi had been drinking, and after safely getting out of the car, she asked a local resident to give her a ride to the Barrett residence.

When she arrived at appellant's home, Nola answered the door. Yogi asked Nola for a ride to her camper-home. At first Nola refused to take Yogi home, so Yogi went to the backyard and climbed into appellant's tow truck. Eventually, Nola changed her mind and took Yogi home. In investigating the car accident, Constable A.L. Hollingsworth went to the Barrett residence looking for Yogi. Nola answered the door and explained that Yogi was at her camper-home. At approximately 12:00 a.m. on August 22, Constable Hollingsworth went to Yogi's camper-home and talked with her.

Meanwhile, Nola called her friend, Deborah Steenblock, and asked her to come over and visit. Steenblock and her two children went to visit Nola and stayed at the house until appellant returned home at midnight carrying a partially consumed bottle of tequila. Steenblock and her children left shortly thereafter.

It was at this point that Yogi arrived back at the Barrett residence riding a horse. Yogi was upset that Nola had told the police about her showing up at the house drunk on the previous evening. Appellant took sides with Yogi, and the two struck up a friendly conversation. Nola became afraid that her husband and Yogi were going to rekindle their loving relationship. She decided that she wanted to leave, and at about 1:30 a.m., called the Steenblocks again to ask if she could stay the night at their house. When Deborah Steenblock's daughter, Ashley, arrived to pick Nola up and take her back to their house, Nola was hiding in a ditch along the road leading to the Barrett residence. That same morning at about 8:00 a.m., appellant went over to the Steenblock household looking for Nola. He went inside and told Steenblock that he had accidentally shot Yogi. Steenblock suggested that he take her to Yogi because she knew CPR and might be able to save her. Appellant replied that Yogi was already dead. He then took both Nola and Steenblock back to the house where Yogi had been shot.

When they arrived, Yogi was lying dead on the living room couch, slightly slumped over, with a gunshot wound to her chest. Appellant stripped the covers off the sofa cushions and put them in the wash. Then, he took Steenblock back to her house. On the way, appellant appeared to throw something over the roof of his van and into the adjacent brush. Later during the drive, he pulled over to the side of the road beside a pond and got out of the van. According to Steenblock, "he said that's where he tossed the pistol." Subsequently, appellant took Yogi's body out into a field and set it on fire. He later met some friends back at his house where they all smoked marijuana.

The fire spread from Yogi's body, culminating in a three-acre grass fire. The local fire department was notified and responded. The discovery of the body led to an investigation by the Benton County Sheriff's Office. Investigators determined that the fire originated at the body. When appellant was questioned to determine whether he knew anything about Yogi's disappearance or death, he told the investigator the last time he had seen her was at 6:00 p.m. on August 21, 2000. After further investigation, appellant was arrested and charged with capital murder in the death of Eunice "Yogi" Bradley. He was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It is from this capital-murder conviction that appellant now appeals.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Appellant first argues that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction for the offense of capital murder. His specific contention is that the evidence elicited at trial was insufficient to show that he acted with premeditated or deliberated purpose in killing Yogi. We note that appellant properly preserved a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal by moving for a directed verdict at the close of the State's case and again at the close of all the evidence. See Ark. R.Crim. P. 33.1 (2003).

A motion for a directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Britt v. State, 344 Ark. 13, 38 S.W.3d 363 (2001). The test for such motions is whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Id. Substantial evidence is evidence of sufficient certainty and precision to compel a conclusion one way or another and pass beyond mere suspicion or conjecture. Id. On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee and consider only the evidence that supports the verdict. Id. Moreover, the credibility of witnesses is an issue for the jury and not for this court. Cobb v. State, 340 Ark. 240, 12 S.W.3d 195 (2000). The jury may resolve questions of conflicting testimony and inconsistent evidence and may choose to believe the State's account of the facts rather than the defendant's. Cobb v. State, supra. Additionally, a defendant's improbable explanation of suspicious circumstances may be admissible as proof of guilt. Chapman v. State, 343 Ark. 643, 38 S.W.3d 305 (2001); Goff v. State, 329 Ark. 513, 953 S.W.2d 38 (1997); Thomas v. State, 312 Ark. 158, 847 S.W.2d 695 (1993).

In Arkansas, a person commits capital murder if "[w]ith premeditated and deliberate purpose of causing the death of another person, he causes the death of any person." Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(4) (Repl.1997). 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 (2001). The premeditation necessary to be convicted of capital murder in Arkansas need not exist for a particular length of time. Sanders v. State, 340 Ark. 163, 8 S.W.3d 520 (2000). Indeed, premeditation may be formed in an instant and is rarely capable of proof by direct evidence, but must usually be inferred from the circumstances of the crime. Id. Similarly, premeditation and deliberation may be inferred from the type and character of the weapon, the manner in which the weapon was used, the nature, extent, and location of the wounds, and the accused's conduct. Id.

Contrary to appellant's assertion, there is sufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation. Dr. Frank Peretti, a forensic pathologist with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, performed the autopsy on Yogi. When he received the body, it was almost completely charred except for a part of Yogi's forehead and the bridge of her nose. He observed one contusion on her forehead and another large contusion behind her ear. There was a ¼ inch scrape on her nose. Dr. Peretti found a .22 caliber bullet that punctured through Yogi's lung, and he ascertained that it entered from the front of her chest and in a downward direction. Dr. Peretti determined that Yogi died as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest with blunt force head trauma. He also opined that after the gunshot, Yogi could have been alive for five to ten minutes.

Chief Scott Van Hook of the Highfill Volunteer Fire Department discovered Yogi's body when he was responding to the grass fire. Chief Van Hook opined that the burning body was the ignition source for the fire. David Dwight, an arson investigator with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, agreed with Van Hook's assessment but added that the body was ignited with an unknown accelerant.

In this case, the State presented evidence that appellant tried to conceal Yogi's death from the authorities. He told Mike Sydoriak, an investigator with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, that he had last seen Yogi on August 21, 2000, at 6 p.m. when she came to his house for gas money. Appellant went to great lengths to cover up the crime. He washed the soiled sofa cushions, cleaned the inside of his van, and attempted to dispose of Yogi's body by burning it in a field. He also successfully concealed the murder weapon. Although Deborah Steenblock testified at trial that appellant told her he "tossed" the pistol into a nearby pond, the murder weapon was never found. Investigators did, however, find a hair in the back open section of appellant's van that was matched through DNA to the victim.

Other evidence also linked appellant to the murder. Ashley Steenblock testified that on the night of the murder, when Nola called after midnight, she heard a lot of commotion that sounded like an argument in the background. The following day, appellant told Nola and Steenblock that he had accidentally shot...