Phillips v. State, CR
| Decision Date | 10 November 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 607 S.W.2d 664,271 Ark. 96 |
| Parties | Arzelle Lee PHILLIPS, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 80-125. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
McArthur & Lassiter, P. A., Little Rock, for appellant.
Steve Clark, Atty. Gen. by Victra L. Fewell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
Appellant was convicted of theft of property and two counts of robbery. As we find no merit to the three points of error urged in his appeal, we affirm the conviction.
David Sims and C. D. Burnett were robbed at gunpoint on the night of October 25, 1978, by two men wearing ski masks in Murray Park adjacent to the Arkansas River in Little Rock. After taking their billfolds and ordering the two to run into some nearby woods, the gunmen left, one in the vehicle in which they arrived and the other in Mr. Burnett's 1970 dark blue Malibu Chevrolet. Neither of the victims was able to give much of a description of the gunmen, although both testified that they could tell from the eye holes in the ski mask that the one who ordered them to run into the woods was a black man. The only other description of that gunman was that he wore wire-framed glasses with tinted lenses, was armed with a .38 revolver and seemed to be quite at ease during the robbery. In a voice line-up both victims identified appellant, a Little Rock policeman, as the person who had ordered them into the woods. Mr. Burnett testified he was 90% certain, but Mr. Sims stated he was positive appellant was the man. Appellant was tried before the court, sitting as a jury, on September 4, 1979. Both victims testified that the gunmen's vehicle was a large car, a luxury model, that was light blue in color. Although victim Burnett first reported that the vehicle was a Cadillac, when he next saw the rear of an Oldsmobile 98 he informed the police that he had made a mistake and that the car was an Oldsmobile. Other testimony indicated that appellant owned a light blue 1976 Oldsmobile 98, which the victims had identified prior to trial as the assailant's vehicle.
Trooper Larry Gentry of the Arkansas State Police testified that on October 26, 1978, he was instructed to set up a roadblock near Pine Bluff to check passing vehicles in connection with the investigation of a bank robbery earlier that day in Wilmar, Arkansas. The first car he stopped at the roadblock was a vehicle occupied by appellant and a man named Walker, who appellant said was the owner of the automobile. Testimony revealed that the vehicle of Mr. Burnett taken at the time of the robbery was found abandoned near Wilmar a few days after the bank robbery. Special Agent Donald Jarrett of the F.B.I. testified that on October 28th he participated in the search of an automobile belonging to Danny Walker, at which time several items were recovered that had been in Mr. Burnett's vehicle when it was stolen. Appellant testified that he was somewhere else at the time of the robbery of Burnett and Sims, and also presented several alibi witnesses, but he did admit on cross-examination that he had been convicted of robbing the bank at Wilmar on October 26, 1978, and that he left the bank in a dark blue 1970 or 1972 Malibu. He was found guilty in this case of theft of property and two counts of aggravated robbery. For the robberies he received two twenty-year sentences, to run concurrently, and for theft of property he received a five-year sentence, to run consecutively to the others. Urging three points for reversal, appellant brings this appeal.
Appellant first contends that the evidence adduced at trial is insufficient to sustain his conviction. The thrust of appellant's argument here is that the only admissible evidence linking him to the crime was the voice identifications made by the two victims, which appellant claims are insufficient, standing alone, to support his conviction. It is well-settled that on appeal in criminal cases the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to appellee and the judgment affirmed if there is any substantial evidence to support the finding of the trier of fact. Chaviers v. State, 267 Ark. 6,...
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...Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Phillips v. State, 271 Ark. 96, 607 S.W.2d 664 (1980). This standard must not totally insulate the Commission from judicial review and render this court's function in these ......
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...Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Phillips v. State, 271 Ark. 96, 607 S.W.2d 664 (1980). We do not reverse a decision of the Commission unless we are convinced that fair-minded persons with the same facts be......
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