Holmes v. StateHolmes v. State
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Dudley
Aрpellant, a juvenile, was charged in circuit court with aggravated robbery. He filed a motion to transfer the case to juvenile court. The circuit court denied the motion. Appellant filed this interlocutory appeal from the circuit court’s denial of the transfer motion. We affirm the ruling of the circuit court.
A prosecuting attorney has the discretion to file charges in circuit court when a case involves a juvenile fourteen or fifteen years of age and the alleged act constitutes aggrаvated robbery.
The trial court is not required to give equal weight to each of the stаtutory factors. Ring v. State, 320 Ark. 128, 894 S.W.2d 944 (1995). “Moreover, proof need not be introduced against the juvenile on each factor.” Davis v. State, 319 Ark. at 616, 893 S.W.2d at 769. “We have often stated that the serious and violent nature of an offense is a sufficient basis for denying a motion to transfer and trying a juvenile as an adult.” Sims v. State, 320 Ark. 528, 536, 900 S.W.2d 508, 513 (1995) (citing Davis v. State, 319 Ark. 613, 893 S.W.2d 678 (1995)). No element of violence beyond that required to commit the crime is necessary under Ark. Code Ann
The standard of review in а juvenile transfer case is whether the trial court’s denial of the motion to transfer was clearly erroneous. Sims v. State, 320 Ark. 528, 900 S.W.2d 508 (1995). In this case the proof showed that early in the afternoon of October 11, 1994, appellant broke into a residence and stole, among other items, a .22 caliber handgun
There are several factors I simply cannot оverlook; obviously, the serious nature of these allegations, which apparently the defendant has admitted participating in. Aggravated robbery — violence as such may not have occurred in the traditional sense. In other words, no guns were fired or no one was assaulted or battered but certainly when a citizen looks down the barrel of a loaded revolver in the process of being held up, in my judgment that is a violent act.
In Johnson v. State, 317 Ark. 521, 878 S.W.2d 758 (1994), we affirmed the circuit court’s denial of a motion to transfer to juvenile cоurt. The defendant was charged with aggravated robbery, allegedly having pulled a gun on a clerk, but not firing it. The trial court determined that the crime of aggravated robbery was оne of violence. The defendant argued on appeal that his act was one of a threat to commit violence, not one of violence. We affirmed the trial court’s ruling and, in part, stated:
We also affirm the ruling on aggravated robbery based on our case of Williams v. State, 313 Ark. 451, 856 S.W.2d 4 (1993). The aggravated robberies in that case were almost identical to the one in the case at bar, and we “determined that there was violence employed in the commission of the offenses.” Williams, 313 Ark. at 455, 856 S.W.2d at 7. Thus, we affirm the circuit court’s ruling denying the motion to transfer the aggravated robbery charge to juvenile court.
Id. at 524, 878 S.W.2d at 760.
Similarly, in Johnson v. State, 307 Ark. 525, 823 S.W.2d 440 (1992), we considered the violent nature of the crime of aggravated robbery. The defendant, who was also charged with two counts of capital murder, filed a motion to transfer two counts of aggravated robbery. At the hearing, the defendant only presented evidence of his age to support his motion. His attorney made the statement that the defendant had no prior involvement with the law. The State only presented the violent nature of the crimes of aggravated robbery as evidence. In affirming the denial of the motion to transfer, we said:
We considered the sufficiency of violence attached to a crime as a sufficient factor to refuse transfer in Walker v. State, 304 Ark. 393, 803 S.W.2d 502 (1991). The crime in Walker was first degree murder whereas the offenses in this cаse are aggravated robbery.... [T]he question before us is whether multiple counts of aggravated robbery are sufficient to withstand a motion for transfer when the oppоsing evidence is essentially the defendant’s age.
While the charge here is not identical to Walker, it is nonetheless serious. First degree murder and aggravated robbery are both class Y felonies. The difference is that in murder, violence is necessarily present and though aggravated robbery can be completed without the actual use of violence [Ark. Code Ann. § 5-12-103 (1987)], nevertheless, there are policy reasons why the offenses are treated comparably by the legislature and the trial court could takе note of that parity.
Id. at 535-536, 823 S.W.2d 445.
Based on Johnson v. State, 317 Ark. 521, 878 S.W.2d 758 (1994), Williams v. State, 313 Ark. 451, 856 S.W.2d 4 (1993), the case cited in Johnson, and Johnson v. State, 307 Ark. 525, 823 S.W.2d 440 (1992), the trial court could have relied on the violent nature of the crime of aggravated robbery in denying appellant’s motion to transfer to juvеnile court. No violence beyond that necessary to commit the offense of which the defendant is accused is necessary under
The trial court considered appellant’s prior history, character traits, mental maturity, and other factors reflecting upon his prospects for rehabilitation. See
In my judgment, Mr. Holmes, considering the seriousness of this offense and the other factors which I have enumеrated, the prospects for your rehabilitation at present are, in my judgment, nonexistent. Attempts have been made, and for whatever reason, you didn’t avail yourself of the opportunity to get yourself straightened out.
Though he was not required to do so, the trial judge made specific findings of fact at the hearing. See Williams v. State, 313 Ark. 451, 856 S.W.2d 4 (1993); Vickers v. State, 307 Ark. 298, 819 S.W.2d 13 (1991). The trial сourt’s findings show that the court did in fact consider the three factors listed in
Affirmed.