State of Washington v. Lance Theopolis Smith, 34153-4

On July 16, 2014, Lance Smith returned his father’s vehicle, acted aggressively at the residence, and left on foot; the father reported both the vehicle return and the disturbance to police.
Officers located Smith, observed escalating agitation and resistance to questioning, and decided to arrest him for taking the vehicle.
During the arrest and search, officers took Smith to the ground, struggled to handcuff him, and later lifted him for a frisk/search.
As Officer Florence approached to assist with the search, multiple officers testified Smith reared, leapt, or lurched and struck Florence under the eye with his forehead.
Smith testified the contact was accidental (he was “spooked” and bumped Florence); the jury convicted him of third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer.
The trial court found Smith competent to stand trial after psychiatric evaluation; he was sentenced to 3 months confinement and up to 12 months community custody.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the State presented sufficient evidence of intent to commit third-degree assault on a police officer	State: Officer testimony describing Smith rearing/leaping and striking Florence plus Smith’s aggressive conduct and statements permit an inference of intent	Smith: Contact was accidental; testimony at trial supports reasonable doubt about intent	Court: Sufficient evidence; intent may be inferred from conduct and circumstances and jury permissibly disbelieved Smith

State v. Green, 94 Wn.2d 216 (principles for sufficiency review)
State v. Witherspoon, 180 Wn.2d 875 (appellant admits truth of State's evidence for sufficiency challenge)
State v. Thomas, 150 Wn.2d 821 (deference to fact-finder on credibility)
State v. Brown, 140 Wn.2d 456 (intent required to convict for assault on officer)
State v. Wilson, 125 Wn.2d 212 (intent can be inferred from facts and circumstances)
State v. Bea, 162 Wn. App. 570 (jury may infer intent from actor’s conduct)