Robert L. Wann v. State of Arkansas

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Judge Miller’s unpublished opinion for 10­31­07 DIVISION II  CACR06­1423  October 31, 2007  ROBERT L. WANN                                     AN APPEAL FROM THE SEBASTIAN  APPELLANT         COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT  [CR­05­  932­C]  v.  HON. J. MICHAEL FITZHUGH, JUDGE  STATE OF ARKANSAS  APPELLEE  AFFIRMED  Robert L. Wann appeals the revocation of his suspended imposition of sentence on  an underlying charge of breaking or entering, a Class D felony.  The conditions of Wann’s  suspended sentence required that he pay a $750 fine (including a $250 DNA fee) and $150  in court costs at the rate of fifty dollars a month.  Wann argues that the State failed to show  that he violated the conditions of his suspended sentence.  We affirm.  The State petitioned to revoke Wann’s suspended sentence on February 23, 2006,  alleging, among other things, that Wann violated the conditions of his suspension by failing  to pay court­ordered fines, costs, and DNA fees.  A suspended sentence may be revoked at  any  time  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  period  of  suspension  when  the  court  finds  by  a  preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has inexcusably failed to comply with a  condition of suspension.  Ark. Code Ann. § 5­4­309(d) (Repl. 2006); Williams v. State, 351  Ark. 229, 91 S.W.3d 68 (2002).  This court will not reverse a trial court’s decision to revoke  unless it is clearly against the preponderance of the evidence.  Id.  We give great deference  to the trial court in determining the preponderance of the evidence because the trial judge is  in a superior position to determine the credibility of witnesses and to determine the weight  to be given to their testimony.  Richardson v. State, 85 Ark. App. 347, 157 S.W.3d 536  (2004).  Indeed, the State need only show that the appellant committed one violation in order  to sustain a revocation.  Id.  Where the alleged violation is a failure to make court­ordered payments, the State has  the  burden  of  proving  by  a  preponderance  of  the  evidence  that  the  failure  to  pay  was  inexcusable.  Reese v. State, 26 Ark. App. 42, 759 S.W.2d 576 (1988).  Once the State has  introduced  evidence  of  non­payment,  the  burden    shifts  to  the  defendant  to  offer  some  reasonable excuse for his failure to pay.  Id.  At his April 19, 2006 revocation hearing, Wann admitted that he failed to make the  court­ordered payments.  He testified, however, that on two separate occasions, he gave his  fine money to his girlfriend and that the money was stolen from her.  He further testified that  he was trying to get the money to pay his fines and that he had contacted his attorney to ask  whether he could work off his fines.  The trial court held that Wann violated his suspended  sentence and sentenced him to three years in prison and a three­year suspended sentence  upon release from prison.  The ruling of the trial court is affirmed because it did not err in revoking Wann’s  suspended sentence. We reviewed the record to reach this opinion because Wann’s brief was 2  deficient, in that his addendum contained neither the original terms and conditions of his  suspension nor the revocation petition.  See Lewis v. State, 84 Ark. App. 327, 139 S.W.3d  810 (2004)(holding that the appellate court may review the record to affirm).  By his own admission, Wann failed to pay court­ordered fines.  Although he offered  reasons  as  to  why  he  failed  to  pay  his  fines,  the  trial  court  weighed  the  evidence  and  apparently determined that Wann’s testimony was not credible.  The trial court is better  positioned than we are to determine the credibility of witnesses and therefore, we find no  error.  Affirmed.  HART and GLOVER, JJ., agree. 3 

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