By Ray King
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected arguments by a Grant County man who contended that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction.
Joey D. Watts, 38, is serving a 36-year prison sentence after being convicted of aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm following an incident on Nov. 29, 2018.
During his trial, a witness testified that Watts, who was the boyfriend of her mother, pointed a long gun at her after she told him she had called police because Watts and her mother had been arguing and her mother said Watts had been hitting her.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Capt. Mark Harper testified that he responded to the call and found three rifles leaning against a chicken coop located behind a storage building about 30 feet from the house. A pistol, scope and .22-caliber shells were found between two mattresses lying on the ground behind the storage building.
An attorney for Watts asked the court for a directed Verdict, contending that the evidence presented by the state did not establish a substantial danger of death or injury, going on to say that “a gun alone does not create a substantial danger of death or injury unless its’ loaded or there is some other kind of actual assault that would have created that risk.”
Trial Judge Eddie Easley denied the motion for a directed verdict and Watts was convicted as a habitual offender. He then filed his appeal.
Writing for the court of appeals, Justice Rita Gruber said the aggravated assault statute does not require that a weapon be used or that the victim actually fear for his safety but requires a substantial danger of death of injury to another person.
“in addition, we have stated our statute does not require that a verbal threat be used, instead, it is the appellant’s (Watts) overall conduct that must be examined. The fact finder does not and need not view each fact in isolation but rather considers the evidence as a whole.”
Reviewing the testimony, Gruber wrote that “there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have concluded that an aggravated assault was committed.”
Watts will be eligible to apply for parole in 2025.
