Davis v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 328

Tracy Land Davis was convicted by a jury of first-degree criminal mischief and theft of property (each between $1,000 and $5,000) and sentenced as a habitual offender to consecutive ten-year terms.
Officer Tammie Goodwin encountered Davis around 2:00 a.m. carrying a rooftop air-conditioner condenser coil; he appeared nervous and sweaty, and the coil was cool with condensation.
A search incident to arrest found gloves, a flashlight, a pocketknife engraved with Davis’s name, cut copper tubing, a bag of tools, a toboggan cap with holes, and plastic garbage bags in his backpack.
School HVAC technician Dennis Robinson identified the recovered condenser coil as the unit removed from a rooftop air conditioner and noted similar prior damage to another unit; Robinson connected Davis to a March 28 incident.
Davis told police he had “found” the coil on a trail near his house; evidence (including wet gloves/cap placed in a drying box) and the circumstantial facts were presented to the jury.
On appeal Davis argued the State failed to prove he was the actor who committed the crimes, asserting only possession of found property and speculation that “someone” did the theft/damage.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence that Davis committed criminal mischief and theft	State: Circumstantial and direct evidence (possession of tools, coil, timing, physical signs) supports conviction	Davis: Evidence shows only possession of allegedly “found” property; no proof he committed the crimes	Affirmed — substantial evidence (including circumstantial) supports convictions

White v. State, 446 S.W.3d 193 (Ark. App. 2014) (standard for viewing evidence on sufficiency review and the test for circumstantial evidence)