Sheridan v. State

• Citation: 852 S.W.2d 772,313 Ark. 23
• Decision Date: 03 May 1993
• Docket Number: No. CR,CR
• Parties: Darrell Wayne SHERIDAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee, 90-295.
• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas

Page 772

852 S.W.2d 772

313 Ark. 23

Darrell Wayne SHERIDAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee,

No. CR 90-295.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

May 3, 1993.

John Wesley Hall, Jr., Craig Lambert, Little Rock, for appellant.

Kent G. Holt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

HOLT, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from Darrell Wayne Sheridan's conviction for capital murder. After a jury trial, Sheridan was found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty for the premeditated murder of Laurie Ann Brown.

Darrell Wayne Sheridan and Laurie Ann Brown had formerly lived together in Little Rock. Darrell's brother, Robert Sheridan, lived with Laurie Ann's sister, Cherie Brown, for several years.

On February 9, 1990, Laurie Ann told Ray Bollen that she had informed the Sherwood Police that Darrell and his new wife, Connie, were involved in drug dealing. As a result, Ray Bollen went to Robert Sheridan's house in Benton, and the two went to Darrell's residence, where they told Darrell about Laurie Ann's statements.

The next day, February 10, 1990, Darrell and Connie went to Benton, in his words, to "scare" Laurie Ann. They went to Robert's house and asked him to show them where Laurie Ann lived. Robert willingly accompanied them and knocked on the door while Darrell stood behind. Darrell entered Laurie Ann's house and spoke with Mike Coker, Laurie Ann's boyfriend, and accused him of informing on them. Laurie Ann first hid in a bedroom but later came out, and she and Mike Coker got into the Sheridans' car to go and "talk."

They decided to go to Robert's house to talk because this was "neutral" territory, but when they reached the street to turn toward his house, Darrell told his wife Connie, who was driving, to drive straight and go to the China Grove Cemetery. Connie drove there and backed into the road leading to the cemetery. Darrell got out of the car and told Laurie Ann to get out of the car. He told his brother to hold her so she could not run away, but this proved unnecessary. Mike Coker testified that he saw a knife in Darrell's hand after he exited the car. Darrell Sheridan then told the passengers of the car, "Give me ten minutes." Then, Robert Sheridan, Connie Sheridan, and Mike Coker drove off.

After driving a short distance, Mike Coker asked to be let out of the car. Robert gave him his coat and let him go. Mike Coker walked to the nearest store, but there was no phone to call for help. He hitchhiked back to his house where he got into a truck and drove to Cherie Brown and Robert Sheridan's house.

After Connie and Robert returned to the cemetery in the car, Darrell asked her to open the trunk, where he put his shirt. Connie, Robert, and Darrell then went to Mike Magby's house, where Darrell asked Robert to get him another shirt. Inside Mike Magby's house, Darrell took a knife and cut his thumb and smeared his own blood on his pants. As Robert was getting in his truck to leave, Darrell Sheridan said to him, "If you have any trouble with Coker, tell him you'll get him." Robert replied, "No, I won't do that, I won't have to." Darrell then said, "Well, just tell him I will."

Robert returned to his own house but would not tell Cherie where her sister was. Immediately after this, Mike Coker reached Cherie's house, and Cherie and Mike then went out to the cemetery. After a short search, they found Laurie Ann Brown stabbed to death on the road to the cemetery. Laurie Ann received multiple injuries including stab wounds to her neck, face, forehead, jaw, right upper chest, arm, and back. Both hands had multiple defensive stab wounds. Laurie Ann was approximately six months pregnant with Mike Coker's child.

Later that night, Darrell and Connie took Darrell's clothes to the Arkansas River where they burned them.

There was conflicting evidence regarding the knife which was the actual murder weapon. Testimony at trial revealed that a large hunting knife was stuck into the wood frame over the inside front door of Laurie Ann's house and that, upon entering the house, Connie took this knife down. However, Darrell testified that he took this knife away from Connie and threw it down on a couch inside the house.

Another knife came up when Cherie Brown testified that Darrell "flashed" a knife at her at Robert Sheridan's apartment upon first arriving in Benton the night of the murder when Darrell alluded to killing Mike Guynn. Darrell positively identified this knife at trial as the same knife he had shown Cherie the night of the murder and as the same knife he gave the police through his attorney after his arrest, although this knife was not positively linked to the crime by police testing. Also, although Darrell stated that he did not have a knife with him, Mike Coker testified that he saw Darrell with a knife in his hand when he got out of the car with Laurie Ann at the China Grove Cemetery.

Finally, when questioned about where the murder weapon came from, Darrell testified that Laurie Ann brought her own knife to the cemetery which she hid on her person. It was her knife which Darrell said slit her throat. Although it was never recovered by a police search, Darrell testified that he threw this knife into the woods after the killing.

The day after the murder, Darrell and Connie Sheridan met with an attorney, C.P. Christian, who arranged for them to turn themselves in. At the police station, Connie gave her statement first with Mr. Christian present. After hearing her statement, Mr. Christian opted to represent Connie and declined to represent Darrell.

After trial, a jury found the appellant, Darrell Sheridan, guilty of capital murder under Ark.Code Ann. § 5-10-101(a)(4) (Supp.1991), which defines capital murder as murder committed "[w]ith the premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing the death of another person." At sentencing, the jury found the aggravating circumstance existed which justified the death penalty because Darrell Sheridan committed the murder "for the purpose of avoiding or preventing an arrest or effecting an escape from custody," the statutory aggravating circumstance at Ark.Code Ann. § 5-4-604(5) (1987).

Darrell, Robert, and Connie Sheridan were originally all charged with capital murder. In exchange for his testimony, Robert pled guilty to hindering the apprehension of a criminal. The record before us is silent as to what happened to Connie.

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Sheridan moved for a directed verdict at the close of the State's evidence and again at the close of the case, thus preserving for appeal the issue of sufficiency of the evidence. Tisdale v. State, 311 Ark. 220, 843 S.W.2d 803 (1992); Sanders v. State, 308 Ark. 178, 824 S.W.2d 353 (1992).

On appeal, the appellate court does not weigh evidence on one side against the other; it simply determines whether the evidence in support of the verdict is substantial. Brown v. State, 309 Ark. 503, 832 S.W.2d 477 (1992); Black v. State, 306 Ark. 394, 814 S.W.2d 905 (1991). Substantial evidence is that which is forceful enough to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion one way or another. Lukach v. State, 310 Ark. 38, 834 S.W.2d 642 (1992); Smith v. State, 308 Ark. 390, 824 S.W.2d 838 (1992); Williams v. State, 304 Ark. 509, 804 S.W.2d 346 (1991). Circumstantial evidence may constitute substantial evidence. Hill v. State, 299 Ark. 327, 773 S.W.2d 424 (1989). To be sufficient to sustain a conviction, the circumstantial evidence must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence. Bennett v. State, 308 Ark. 393, 825 S.W.2d 560 (1992). This becomes a question for the fact finder to determine. Id. In determining whether there was substantial evidence, the court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee. Pope v. State, 262 Ark. 476, 557 S.W.2d 887 (1977). Guilt may be proved, even in the absence of eyewitness testimony, and evidence of guilt is no less because it is circumstantial. Smith v. State, 282 Ark. 535, 669 S.W.2d 201 (1984). See also Standridge v. State, 310 Ark. 408, 837 S.W.2d 447 (1992); Abdullah v. State, 301 Ark. 235, 783 S.W.2d 58 (1990).

Sheridan's first point of error is that there was insufficient evidence of the aggravating circumstance which the jury found justified the death penalty, i.e., that "the capital murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing an arrest or effecting an escape from custody," to support the death penalty. We disagree and find the evidence was overwhelming that Darrell Sheridan killed Laurie Ann Brown because she had informed narcotics agents that he was involved in drugs.

Some of this evidence includes:

(1) Laura Gill, Laurie Ann Brown's coworker, testified that Sheridan came to their workplace six months before the murder, and Laurie Ann told her he was "out to get her."

(2) One month before Laurie Ann's death, Darrell and Connie returned to her workplace and pointed a gun at Laurie Ann and threatened her.

(3) The day before the murder, Laurie Ann told Ray Bollen she had informed on Sheridan. As a result, Robert Sheridan testified that Ray Bollen came over and asked him to take him to Darrell's house in Little Rock. Once there, Robert stated that Ray Bollen and his brother talked in the other room and then Darrell came back in and asked Robert if he would take them to Laurie Ann's house.

(4) The next day, Darrell, Connie, and Robert Sheridan went to Laurie Ann's home and demanded that Mike Coker and Ms. Brown accompany them. Testimony revealed that Darrell Sheridan said he was taking Laurie Ann to a "black hole."

(5) In the car, Darrell asked Laurie Ann to "tell me what you've done," and he said she had "snitched on him."

(6) After Darrell and Laurie Ann got out of the car at the China Grove Cemetery, Connie Sheridan said to Mike Coker, "What else can happen? Don't know what else to do."

(7) After leaving the cemetery, Darrell told Robert to threaten Mike Coker to not reveal what had happened...