Steven McDougal v. State of Arkansas

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS

ANDREE LAYTON ROAF, JUDGE

DIVISION II

STEVEN MCDOUGAL

APPELLANT

v.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

APPELLEE

CACR00-718

FEBRUARY 7, 2001

APPEAL FROM THE BENTON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT,

CR 99-186-2

HON. DAVID S. CLINGER, JUDGE

AFFIRMED

Steven McDougal was convicted in a Benton County bench trial of refusal to submit to arrest, for which he was sentenced to thirty days in the Benton County Jail and fined $500. On appeal, McDougal argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. However, because McDougal failed to make a directed-verdict motion regarding the refusal to submit charge, this issue is not preserved for appellate review and we therefore must affirm.

McDougal was charged and convicted in Rogers Municipal Court of refusal to submit to arrest, public intoxication, and endangering the welfare of a child. In his trial de novo incircuit court, Tonya Henderson, McDougal's live-in girlfriend, testified that a dispute between her and McDougal arose on October 10, 1998, when McDougal, who had been drinking, refused to accompany her to his father's house to visit relatives who had come to town because of the death of McDougal's uncle. When Henderson kept insisting that they leave for the family gathering, McDougal picked up his two-year-old son and carried him outside of his residence. When the argument continued outside, a neighbor called the police.

Lt. Ron Largent of the Rogers Police Department testified that he was dispatched to McDougal's residence along with Officer Andrew Harrison where they observed McDougal carrying a baby over his shoulder "like a sack of feed," dodging a group of two to four women who were chasing him and yelling for him to put the baby down. Lt. Largent and Officer Harrison ordered McDougal to put the baby down, and he responded with profanity. When the police grabbed for McDougal and the baby, McDougal spun around, and Lt. Largent was just able to keep the baby's head from striking the brick wall of the house. Lt. Largent applied repeated knee strikes to McDougal's leg and succeeded in getting him to release the child. At that point, Lt. Largent opined that McDougal began actively resisting arrest by trying to pull away and strike the officers. The police quickly subdued and handcuffed McDougal. Lt. Largent stated that McDougal was obviously intoxicated, but not so drunk that he could not recognize uniformed police officers. Once he was arrested, McDougal began to cooperate with the officers. Lt. Largent stated that he was mildly injured during the altercation.

Officer Harrison testified that he identified himself as a police officer "several times,"and during the altercation, he ordered McDougal to release the child. According to Officer Harrison, once he and Lt. Largent got the child away from McDougal, they attempted to take McDougal into custody by wrestling him to the ground. Officer Harrison estimated that it took approximately thirty seconds to a minute for him to place handcuffs on McDougal, even with Lt. Larson holding McDougal's wrist, because McDougal kept pulling his arm away. The State then rested, and McDougal moved for a directed verdict on the public intoxication charge, which the court took under advisement.

In McDougal's case, Henderson testified that she never heard the police tell McDougal that he was under arrest, and McDougal testified that he did not try to injure the officers and that the whole altercation took place very quickly. However, McDougal admitted that he was intoxicated and was "belligerent to the officers." He also admitted that he struggled with the police officers because he did not want them to handcuff him.

At the close of the testimony, McDougal's trial counsel obtained leave of the court to submit written briefs concerning the charges of public intoxication and endangering the welfare of a minor, and McDougal was acquitted on those charges. However, the record does not reflect that any argument concerning the refusal to submit to arrest charge was raised to the trial court. This omission is fatal to McDougal's appeal.

To preserve a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence for appeal, a criminal defendant in a bench trial must make a specific directed-verdict motion. Sweeney v. State, 69 Ark. App. 7, 9 S.W.3d 529 (2000). McDougal failed to make the required directed-verdict motion to the trial court, and therefore, we cannot consider his argument on appeal.

Affirmed.

Pittman and Baker, JJ., agree.