Alicen Beckham v. State of Arkansas

ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

SAM BIRD, JUDGE

DIVISION IV

ALICEN BECKHAM,

APPELLANT

V.

STATE OF ARKANSAS,

APPELLEE

CACR00-901

MAY 2, 2001

APPEAL FROM THE LONOKE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT,

NO. CR99-542,

HON. LANCE LAMAR HANSHAW,

JUDGE

AFFIRMED

Alicen Beckham entered a conditional plea of guilty to possession of a controlled substance pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 24.3 (2000). She was sentenced by the Circuit Court of Lonoke County to three years of probation and to a $500 fine. Her sole point of appeal is that the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress methamphetamine that police found in a cigarette package in her purse after she was arrested for fleeing and for possession of stolen property. We affirm.

In reviewing a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence, the appellate court makes an independent determination based upon the totality of the circumstances, and we do not reverse the trial court's ruling unless it is clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Jennings v. State, 69 Ark. App. 50, 10 S.W.3d 105 (2000).

At the suppression hearing in this case, Deputy Sheriff Steve Rich of the Lonoke County Sheriff's Department testified to the events that led to Beckham's arrest on October

27, 1999. He said that officers of the sheriff's department were executing a search warrant at the residence of Cory Peacock about 11:00 p.m. when Peacock drove up in his truck, in which Beckham was riding. As uniformed officers approached the truck, it accelerated toward them, backed up, and came forward again. Officers fired shots at the vehicle, which Peacock drove across a field until it became disabled in high grass. Peacock left the vehicle but was apprehended a short distance away.

Rich testified that Beckham cooperated with officers' orders to step out of the truck. Rich stated that she was taken into custody for aggravated assault with the vehicle, for fleeing, and for possession of a stolen firearm. He said that a pistol was in Beckham's open purse, which was lying in the seat "between where the two were sitting," and that a check of the serial number revealed the pistol to have been stolen. Rich said that he did not know whether Beckham admitted that the weapon was hers, but that she did say that it was her purse. He said that she was not charged with possession of stolen property because at some point Peacock said the gun was his. Peacock did not make the statement to Rich, and Rich could not say when or to whom the statement was made. Rich reiterated that Beckham initially had been taken into custody for possession of stolen property. The substance later proven to be methamphetamine was found while Beckham was in the book-in area of the detention center. Rich did not know whether this was after he learned that Peacock said the gun was his.

On re-direct examination, Rich testified that Beckham was not charged with fleeing because she was not in control of the vehicle and at some point she stated that she had askedPeacock to stop the vehicle. He said that she was arrested for possession of a controlled substance after she was taken to the detention center and her purse was checked.

Carlisle Police Chief Brent Cole testified to essentially the same events concerning Peacock's fleeing by truck when he approached officers at his residence. Chief Cole said that he caught and arrested Peacock in the field when he tried to flee. Cole testified that he went back to the truck and asked Beckham, who was on the floorboard, to exit. She got out, Cole opened the purse that was lying there, and he found a small .380 Smith and Wesson. Peacock and Deputy Rich were at the vehicle when Cole approached it. Beckham did not answer Cole's questions about who owned the weapon, but after several times Peacock said that it was his. Cole said that he went through everything in Beckham's purse, including a pack of cigarettes, while she obeyed his orders to stand at the side of the truck with her hands on it. Cole found no controlled substances.

Regarding Peacock's statement that the gun was his, Cole opined on cross-examination that suspects do not always tell the truth. On re-direct examination, he said that the gun was in plain sight when he put his head inside the vehicle.

After hearing the testimony, the trial court ruled that the officers had reasonable cause to arrest and detain Beckham. The court found it of no consequence that the controlled-substance charge against her did not arise out of the reason that she was actually detained. Ruling from the bench, the court also found:

There was probable cause to detain her that evening, giving rise to the finding of the controlled substance found in the cigarette case. I find that the officers had reasonable suspicion that appellant had committed the offense of fleeing and seeinga gun in plain sight. The driver of the vehicle was on foot, running, but the officers saw a woman crouched in the floor with the gun in plain sight, to me would give them cause to further investigate her involvement in any of that. The fact that the car attempted to run the officers down and the driver fled gave them reasonable cause to search the vehicle, and they found the Defendant in the vehicle, they found a stolen gun in the vehicle, and subsequently they found the controlled substance in her purse. That's the basis for the Court's ruling in denying the motion to suppress.

In support of her challenge to the denial of her motion to suppress evidence, Beckham presents three arguments regarding lack of probable cause to arrest her. She first argues that the collective knowledge of the law enforcement officers present at the scene of the arrest negates a finding of probable cause for her arrest and subsequent search. Second, she argues that there was no probable cause to arrest her because there was no indication that she was fleeing. Third, she argues that the fact that she was never charged for fleeing or theft by receiving indicates lack of probable cause to arrest her for those offenses.

Probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within an officer's knowledge are sufficient to permit a person of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been committed by the person suspected. Travis v. State, 331 Ark. 7, 959 S.W.2d 32 (1998). In assessing the existence of probable cause, our review is liberal rather than strict. Id.

In making her first argument, Beckham points out that both Officer Rich and Chief Cole testified to being the person who asked her to get out of the truck. She notes that Rich also testified that she was taken into custody for aggravated assault with a vehicle and for the stolen weapon in her purse, that the weapon was in the open, and that he could not remember when he learned that Peacock claimed ownership of it. Beckham points to Cole's testimony that Rich was with him at the truck when Peacock claimed ownership of the gun. Beckham concludes from the testimony of the two officers that her detention was reasonable after the discovery of the gun but that there was no probable cause to continue to detain her after Peacock, in the presence of the two officers, stated that the gun belonged to him. We do not agree. Although Cole testified that Rich was present when Peacock said that he owned the gun, Rich testified that he was not aware of that statement until after Beckham was transported to the jail. As the preponderance of the evidence turns heavily on the question of credibility, we defer to the superior position of the trial court in making the determination of which evidence is to be believed. Folly v. State, 28 Ark. App. 98, 771 S.W.2d 306 (1989).

Beckham's second argument is that there was no probable cause to arrest her because there was no indication that she was fleeing. The State counters that the police had reasonable cause to arrest her in connection to her possession of the firearm. We agree with the State.

A person commits theft by receiving if she receives, retains, or disposes of stolen property of another person, knowing that it was stolen or having good reason to believe that it was stolen. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-36-106 (Repl. 1997). At the time of Beckham's arrest, officers had seen a stolen handgun in her purse, which was located between the passenger and driver's seats of the vehicle where she was crouched on the floor. We find that these facts constituted probable cause for Beckham's arrest.

Last, Beckham argues that the fact that she was never charged with fleeing or theft by receiving indicates lack of probable cause to arrest her for those offenses. We agree withthe trial court that it is of no consequence that the controlled-substance charge did not arise out of the reason she was actually detained. The existence of probable cause does not depend upon whether the defendant is actually guilty of the violation that was the basis for the stop. See Travis v. State, supra.

Affirmed.

Robbins and Roaf, JJ., agree.