Vilayvanh v. State
| Decision Date | 10 October 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. CACR12-132,CACR12-132 |
| Citation | 2012 Ark. App. 561 |
| Parties | PHETPHOUTHONE LEE VILAYVANH APPELLANT v. STATE OF ARKANSAS APPELLEE |
| Court | Arkansas Court of Appeals |
JUDGE
AFFIRMED
Appellant was found guilty by a jury of breaking or entering and was sentenced to six year's imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He argues on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial based on an asserted discovery violation and in failing to order that a second mental-competency examination be conducted after trial had begun. We find no error, and we affirm.
Appellant was found to have broken into an automobile in a parking lot at St. Edward's Hospital and taken a wallet belonging to the car's owner. The owner testified that he was a hospital employee and that a coworker informed him that the window of his vehicle had been "smashed in." The owner then went out to look at his car and found that the front passenger window was broken, that his front passenger seat was covered with glass, and thathis wallet was missing from the front console. The owner testified that he had never seen appellant prior to trial.
Michael Walker, a security guard at the hospital, testified that he reviewed a surveillance video on November 13, 2010, after receiving a complaint about the theft. Walker said that the video showed a man circle the exterior of the vehicle, then lean into the passenger-side window of the vehicle and leave the area. Walker stated that he could not make out the features of the man in the video.
Officer Carson Addis, a patrolman with the Fort Smith Police Department, testified that he encountered appellant when he responded to a call reporting suspicious conduct on November 15, 2010. Officer Addis said that he first saw appellant walking southbound through a cemetery but, when he approached, appellant began walking northbound. Appellant began acting extremely nervous and agitated as Officer Addis talked to him, and the officer requested identification. Appellant denied having any identification, but Officer Addis could plainly see an ID card in a bag carried by appellant. Inspecting the ID card, Officer Addis found that it belonged to the owner of the vehicle that had been broken into at the St. Edward's parking lot. The bag carried by appellant also contained a wallet belonging to that vehicle's owner and a screwdriver. Appellant told Officer Addis that the ID card belonged to a friend, and that he was taking it home to him. Learning from police dispatch that a wallet containing that ID card had been reported stolen, Officer Addis placed appellant under arrest. Appellant was taken to the Sebastian County Detention Center. Shortly thereafter, appellant executed a written waiver of Miranda rights and gave a statement to Detective LarryPhillips at the Fort Smith Police Department, ultimately admitting that he had broken into the car. A video recording of the interview was introduced into evidence.
We first address appellant's argument that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial based on an asserted discovery violation, that being the State's failure to provide defense counsel with a copy of the parking-lot surveillance video. The existence of such a copy was suggested by the testimony of Michael Walker, the security officer at St. Edward's Hospital. On cross-examination, Walker testified that, as far as he knew, no one had kept the surveillance video and the hospital no longer had it. He explained on redirect that the hospital maintains video on the server for only three months. On re-cross, the following ensued:
Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 17.1(d) requires the prosecuting attorney promptly to disclose to defense counsel any material or information within his knowledge, possession, or control which tends to negate the guilt of the defendant as to the offense charged. The prosecuting attorney is required by Ark. R. Crim. P. 17.3(a) to use diligent, good-faith efforts to obtain material in the possession of other government personnel that would be discoverable if in the possession of the prosecuting attorney; if the prosecuting attorney's efforts are not successful, the court shall issue suitable subpoenas or orders to cause such material to be made...
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