Beckmann v. State
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
No.
DIVISION I
CACR 10-118
Opinion Delivered
MATTHEW RAY BECKMANN
APPELLANT
October 6, 2010
APPEAL FROM THE BENTON
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[NO. CR-08-338-2]
V.
HONORABLE DAVID S. CLINGER,
JUDGE
STATE OF ARKANSAS
APPELLEE
AFFIRMED
COURTNEY HUDSON HENRY, Judge
Appellant Matthew Ray Beckmann pled guilty to second-degree forgery, third-degree
domestic battering, and resisting arrest. Following a bench trial, the Benton County Circuit
Court found appellant guilty of first-degree criminal mischief. For these offenses, the circuit
court sentenced appellant as an habitual offender to twenty years’ imprisonment in the
Arkansas Department of Correction followed by an eight-year suspended imposition of
sentence, as well as two concurrent one-year terms in the Benton County jail. For reversal,
appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his first-degree criminal
mischief conviction. We affirm.
Deputy Michael John Wedgewood with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office testified
that, on November 26, 2007, he responded to a domestic disturbance involving appellant
striking his girlfriend, Jennifer Horton, with a broom handle. Deputy Wedgewood arrived
Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
at appellant’s house, and Deputy Paul Bevilacqua arrived as Deputy Wedgewood’s backup
officer. The two officers proceeded to the house and knocked on the door. When no one
answered, they began to search the property for appellant. At that time, Horton pulled into
the driveway, and the officers questioned her about the evening’s events.
Horton stated that she lived at the home and gave consent for the officers to search for
appellant. Inside, Deputy Wedgewood noticed that household items stood in disarray.
Deputy Bevilacqua testified that shelves were knocked into the kitchen, and he saw blood in
the kitchen and on a hallway wall. Deputy Bevilacqua also saw a broken broom lying in the
foyer area. The officers walked outside, spoke with Horton, and heard Horton’s cell phone
ring. When the officers learned that it was appellant calling Horton from the home phone,
Deputy Wedgewood proceeded to the back of the house where he could hear appellant
talking in a nearby field. The officer advised Horton to remain on the line and to coax
appellant inside. Appellant walked out of the field, hung up his phone, crawled across the
barbed-wire fence, and approached both officers. Appellant became tense and aggravated
when Deputy Wedgewood handcuffed him, and the deputy assured appellant that he was only
being detained for an investigation. As Deputy Wedgewood placed a second handcuff on
appellant, he became agitated and verbally protested. Deputy Bevilacqua held appellant at
taser point, as appellant became increasingly belligerent. The officers escorted him toward the
police car, and Deputy Wedgewood noted that appellant’s level of anger increased as they
approached the vehicle in the front yard.
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
Deputy Wedgewood patted down appellant and asked him to spread his legs to allow
the officer to check for weapons. At that time, Horton walked toward the police car, and
upon seeing her, appellant became enraged. Appellant began screaming and yelled louder as
the officer completed the pat-down. Deputy Wedgewood escorted appellant to the rear of
his vehicle, where Deputy Bevilacqua opened the door for Deputy Wedgewood to place
appellant inside the police cruiser. When appellant saw Horton, standing approximately ten
to fifteen feet from the car, he cursed at her and denied hitting her. Deputy Wedgewood,
who could not contain appellant, deployed a taser on appellant’s back. Appellant felt the
effects of the taser, tightened up, and stopped for a moment. Afterward, appellant continued
his tirade against Horton. Deputy Wedgewood attempted to get appellant into the car, but
appellant resisted. Deputy Bevilacqua then applied peroneal strikes to appellant’s legs. During
the struggle, Deputy Wedgewood tasered appellant a second time, and appellant fell to the
ground. In an attempt to gain control of appellant, Deputy Wedgewood fell on top of him
and grabbed his head and neck. According to Deputy Wedgewood, appellant became angry,
kicked both officers, and kicked his police vehicle, causing dents to the door and the fender.
When appellant kicked the police door shut, Deputy Bevilacqua jumped on appellant’s legs
to gain control of him. Deputy Wedgewood reacted, reminded appellant that he kicked both
officers and the car, and ordered appellant to calm down. Appellant stopped resisting, and the
officers helped him to his feet. However, upon seeing Horton, appellant again exploded into
anger. Deputy Wedgewood tasered appellant a third time, and appellant collapsed into the
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
police car. Deputy Wedgewood later took photographs of his vehicle and documented the
damage to the passenger-side, rear-quarter panel, and the fender.
After the State filed a felony information, appellant pled guilty to third-degree domestic
battering and resisting arrest. On September 15, 2009, the circuit court conducted a bench
trial on appellant’s first-degree criminal mischief charge.
The State called Detective
Wedgewood; Detective Paul Bevilacqua; Brian Meshell, the manager of Bob Morey’s Auto
Body, who testified that the damage to the police car amounted to $1,339.39 in repairs; and
Larry Laramore, the owner of Advanced Collision Center, who estimated the repair costs
totaled $1,036.03. Jennifer Horton, the defense’s sole witness, testified that she believed
appellant did not intentionally damage the officer’s car. Following the bench trial, the circuit
court found appellant guilty of first-degree criminal mischief and sentenced him as an habitual
offender to twelve years’ imprisonment on the criminal mischief charge, a fine, court costs,
and an additional period of eight years of suspended imposition of sentence conditioned upon
good behavior and compliance with the court’s conditions. Additionally, the court sentenced
appellant to two concurrent one-year terms in the county jail for third-degree domestic
battering and resisting arrest. Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal.
For the sole point on appeal, appellant argues that the circuit court erred in denying
appellant’s motion to dismiss and that the State failed to introduce evidence that supported
appellant’s conviction for first-degree criminal mischief. Specifically, appellant asserts that the
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
evidence merely established that he struggled with the police officers rather than purposely
caused damage to the officer’s vehicle.
A person commits the offense of first-degree criminal mischief if he purposely and
without legal justification destroys or causes damage to any property. Ark. Code Ann. § 538-203 (Repl. 2006). A person acts purposely with respect to his conduct or a result thereof
when it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result.
Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-202(1) (Repl. 2006). It is not enough to show merely that the
property was damaged or destroyed, for one essential element of this crime is that the damage
was willfully caused and not accidental. McGill v. State, 60 Ark. App. 246, 962 S.W.2d 382
(1998) (modifying the circuit court’s finding of first-degree criminal mischief to second-degree
criminal mischief because appellant fishtailed his car, thereby displaying reckless, rather than
purposeful, behavior resulting in the damage of another’s car). This crime is a class C felony
if the amount of actual damage to the property is $500 or more.
The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether the verdict is
supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Woodson v. State, 2009 Ark. App.
602, ___ S.W.3d ___. Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force and character to
compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture.
Id. On appeal, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, considering only
that evidence that supports the verdict. Id. In considering the evidence, we will not weigh
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses, as those are questions for the finder of fact.
Woods v. State, 363 Ark. 272, 213 S.W.3d 627 (2005).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that the
evidence supported appellant’s criminal mischief conviction. Here, Deputy Wedgewood
testified that appellant, throughout his struggle with the officers, was “flailing,” “kicking,” and
“trying to resist.” As Deputy Wedgewood deployed the second taser, he and appellant went
to the ground, and appellant “kicked the door shut.” According to Deputy Bevilacqua,
appellant kicked the officers and the police car after Deputy Wedgewood administered the
second taser. Deputy Bevilacqua further testified that he jumped on appellant’s legs after
appellant kicked the door shut. With Deputy Bevilacqua on top of his legs, appellant kicked
as high as the car’s quarter panel, and appellant became “locked in between this frame and
another frame.”
Deputy Bevilacqua’s testimony refuted appellant’s theory that he could not control his
kicking; rather, the deputy testified that the taser’s electricity causes one’s muscles to become
rigid. After appellant felt the effects of the second taser, appellant continued kicking the
officers and the car. Thus, this testimony reveals appellant’s intent to cause damage to the
vehicle and that his actions were not accidental. Further, Brian Meshell and Larry Laramore
estimated the value of repairing the vehicle between $1,036 and $1,339, which is well above
the $500 statutory requirement for a class C felony. Therefore, we hold that substantial
evidence supports appellant’s criminal mischief conviction. Accordingly, we affirm.
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Cite as 2010 Ark. App. 673
Affirmed.
G RUBER and B AKER, JJ., agree.
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