Bennett v. State
| Decision Date | 22 September 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. CR-21-26,CR-21-26 |
| Citation | 2021 Ark. App. 351,634 S.W.3d 581 |
| Parties | Eric BENNETT, Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee |
| Court | Arkansas Court of Appeals |
Don R. Etherly, for appellant.
Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Michael L. Yarbrough, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.
Eric Bennett appeals a Phillips County Circuit Court order revoking his suspended imposition of sentence (SIS). On appeal, Bennett argues that there was insufficient evidence to support the circuit court's revocation decision. We find no error and affirm.
In April 2018, Bennett pled guilty to one count of commercial burglary and was sentenced to five years’ SIS. His suspended sentence was subject to certain conditions, including a condition prohibiting the commission of a criminal offense punishable by incarceration. In November 2019, the State filed a petition to revoke Bennett's probation alleging that Bennett had violated the conditions of his SIS; specifically, that he had committed the crime of felony theft by receiving. Bennett contested the allegations, and the circuit court conducted a revocation hearing.
At the hearing, the State presented the following evidence. On September 11, 2019, Bennett was stopped by Sergeant William Bender. Bennett was driving an unregistered vehicle1 on an expired driver's license with no proof of insurance. Bennett also had outstanding warrants. Bennett was taken into custody, and the truck he was driving was searched. During the search, Sergeant Bender found numerous jewelry boxes in the back seat of the truck, which Bennett claimed were his.
After Bennett's arrest, Phillips County deputy Chris Hellums became involved. He was aware that a local business had recently reported a burglary and that jewelry boxes and other items had been stolen. Deputy Hellums contacted the business's owner, Stewart Sweeney. Sweeney identified the jewelry boxes as ones stolen from his store, the Emporium. Although he was given the option to reclaim the jewelry boxes, he declined. He did, however, take other items that had been recovered from the break-in.2 The police did not require that Sweeney provide any proof of ownership.
Bennett's wife, Samantha, also testified. She claimed that she collects jewelry boxes and that the fifteen to twenty boxes found in the truck belonged to her. She stated that she had purchased the items from the Emporium and that they had been in the process of moving when the items were found. She claimed that her mother had the receipts for the jewelry boxes at one time but that she had lost them. Her mother did not testify or otherwise confirm Samantha's version of events. When asked why she did not attempt to reclaim her things from the sheriff's department, Samantha testified that the officers had left her things outside in the rain, so there was no point in recovering them.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the circuit court found that Bennett had violated the terms and conditions of his SIS. The court then revoked his SIS and sentenced him to ten years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Bennett filed a timely notice of appeal, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support revocation.
To revoke a suspended sentence, the State must prove that the defendant violated a condition of the suspended sentence. Von Holt v. State , 2017 Ark. App. 314, 524 S.W.3d 19. The State bears the burden of proving a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, but evidence that is insufficient for a criminal conviction may be sufficient for revocation of a suspended sentence. Daniels v. State , 2019 Ark. App. 473, at 2, 588 S.W.3d 116, 117. On appeal, we will affirm a circuit court's revocation of a suspended sentence unless the decision is clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Id. Furthermore, because the determination of a preponderance of the evidence turns on questions of credibility and weight to be given to the testimony, we defer to the circuit court's superior position. Hazelwood v. State , 2019 Ark. App. 270, 577 S.W.3d 39.
A person commits the offense of theft by receiving if he or she receives, retains, or disposes of...
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Workman v. State
...Review To revoke a defendant's probation, the State must prove that the defendant violated a condition of probation. Bennett v. State , 2021 Ark. App. 351, 634 S.W.3d 581. The State bears the burden of proving a violation by a preponderance of the evidence. Daniels v. State , 2019 Ark. App.......