Huggins v. State

2021 Ark. App. 74

618 S.W.3d 187

Brandy R. HUGGINS, Appellant

v.STATE of Arkansas, Appellee

No. CR-20-196

Court of Appeals of Arkansas, DIVISION II.

Opinion Delivered: February 17, 2021

William R. Simpson, Jr., Public Defender, by: Clint Miller, Deputy Public Defender, for appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Rebecca Kane, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

STEPHANIE POTTER BARRETT, Judge

Brandy Huggins was convicted in a bench trial before the Pulaski County Circuit Court of battery in the second degree, a Class D felony. She was found guilty by the court, placed on probation for five years, and fined $1000. On appeal, Huggins argues the circuit court erred in denying her motion to dismiss the charge because the State failed to introduce substantial evidence that the victim sustained serious physical injury as a result of Huggins's actions. We affirm Huggins's conviction.

A motion to dismiss in a bench trial is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Ferry v. State , 2021 Ark. App. 34, 617 S.W.3d 295. When an appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, the test is whether there is substantial evidence to support the verdict; substantial evidence is evidence of sufficient force and character that it will, with reasonable certainty, compel a conclusion one way or the other. Id. In determining whether evidence is substantial, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, considering only that evidence supporting the verdict. Id. A person commits battery in the second degree if, with the purpose of causing physical injury to another person, the person causes serious physical injury to another person. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-13-202(a)(1) (Supp. 2019).

The evidence at trial revealed that Huggins went to Albert Porter's house around 2:00 a.m. on March 17, 2018. Porter is Huggins's brother. Jennifer Williams, Porter's live-in girlfriend at the time, testified that Huggins was "hysterical" and seemed intoxicated, and she accused Williams of making allegations that Huggins was having an inappropriate relationship with her brother. The verbal altercation escalated into a physical confrontation that moved from the living room to the bedroom. While Porter was holding Williams down on the bed, Huggins ran to the living room, returned with a glass gallon bottle of Grey Goose vodka, and swung the bottle at Williams's head. Williams raised her right arm in a defensive motion, and the bottle hit her arm around her elbow and shattered. As a result, Williams's arm was sliced open, and forty-seven stiches were required to close the wound. Williams explained that it took two and a half months for her arm to heal, and she was unable to perform the duties of her two restaurant jobs after the injury. Williams testified that she still had problems with her arm at the time of trial. Pictures of Williams's arm two days after the incident were introduced, showing the stitched-up wound that went from above her elbow to halfway down her forearm, and the circuit court was able to view the scar on Williams's arm.

Huggins argues on appeal that the State failed to introduce substantial evidence that she caused serious physical injury to Williams. "Serious physical injury" is defined as "physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes protracted disfigurement,...