{
  "id": 1443820,
  "name": "Ronald KETELSON v. STATE of Arkansas",
  "name_abbreviation": "Ketelson v. State",
  "decision_date": "1994-06-20",
  "docket_number": "CR 93-1382",
  "first_page": "324",
  "last_page": "327",
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      "cite": "877 S.W.2d 910"
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    "name": "Arkansas Supreme Court"
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      "cite": "303 Ark. 335",
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  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T18:37:34.960752+00:00",
  "provenance": {
    "date_added": "2019-08-29",
    "source": "Harvard",
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  "casebody": {
    "judges": [],
    "parties": [
      "Ronald KETELSON v. STATE of Arkansas"
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "Jack Holt, Jr., Chief Justice.\nAppellant Ronald Ketelson appeals his conviction of capital murder on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient to support the State\u2019s charge that he contracted with another person to cause the death of Jeffrey Rhoades and that the trial judge erred in admitting into evidence photos of the deceased\u2019s burned body that were prejudicial. We hold that the trial court erred in denying Ketelson\u2019s motion for a directed verdict as the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, and, for this reason, it is necessary we reverse and dismiss this case.\nOn April 3, 1989, Jeffrey Rhoades was murdered by Frank Pilcher. Pilcher was convicted of capital felony murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. We affirmed his conviction. Pilcher v. State, 303 Ark. 335, 796 S.W.2d 845 (1990). The State subsequently charged Ketelson with the capital murder of Mr. Rhoades, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. \u00a7 5-110-101(a)(8), alleging Ketelson caused the death of Jeffrey Rhoades by \u201centering into an agreement\u201d with Pilcher to cause Rhoades\u2019 death \u201cin return for anything of value.\u201d\nAt the conclusion of trial, Ketelson made a motion for directed verdict which was denied by the trial court. A motion for a directed verdict is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. Friar v. State, 313 Ark. 253, 854 S.W.2d 318 (1993). The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether there is substantial evidence to support the verdict. Coleman v. State, 315 Ark. 610, 869 S.W.2d 713 (1994). On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee and sustain the conviction if there is any substantial evidence to support it. Abdullah v. State, 301 Ark. 235, 783 S.W.2d 58 (1990). Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force and character to compel reasonable minds to reach a conclusion and pass beyond suspicion and conjecture. Hodge v. State, 303 Ark. 375, 797 S.W.2d 432 (1990).\nReviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we still must hold that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain the State\u2019s charge. At best, the State established that Ketelson was agitated because Rhoades apparently owed him money. However, there was absolutely no proof that an agreement existed between Ketelson and Pilcher to murder Rhoades.\nThe State presented the testimony of six witnesses in support of its theory. Its primary witness, Marissa Bragg Sharp, testified at length about her involvement with Pilcher in the murder. She told the jury that prior to Rhoades\u2019 death, she had become indebted to Ketelson in the amount of $500 for drugs she had obtained through Rhoades. According to Sharp, she knew that Rhoades owed Ketelson money. She described an incident in which some unidentified male who owed Ketelson money had been beat up and had called and left a message on Ketelson\u2019s answering machine, asking Ketelson to \u201cget them off him.\u201d Sharp said Ketelson responded, \u201cThis is what happens when people owe me money and I think this is what is going to happen to Jeff [Rhoades],\u201d and that Jeff needed to be \u201ctaken care of.\u201d\nSharp also described the night of Rhoades\u2019 murder. She and Pilcher went to Rhoades to buy cocaine, and although Rhoades refused to sell any to her because of her debt, he agreed to sell to Pilcher. The three left Rhoades\u2019 apartment, and Rhoades followed Sharp and Pilcher to get Pilcher\u2019s money, although Sharp admitted that she and Pilcher intended to get away from Rhoades without paying him. The trio went to the Tull Bridge, and Pilcher left on Rhoades\u2019 motorcycle while Rhoades and Sharp waited in Sharp\u2019s truck. Pilcher returned, ostensibly with money for payment, and Rhoades remarked, \u201cMan, this is just $25.00.\u201d Sharp heard a gun shot, and Pilcher left on the motorcycle. Pilcher later returned, shot Rhoades again, and he and Sharp drove around with the body in the bed of the truck. Ultimately, they took Rhoades\u2019 body to a dump where Pilcher set it on fire.\nThe State\u2019s other witnesses also failed to provide any evidence of a murder-for-hire agreement between Pilcher and Ketelson. Saline County Sheriff Larry Davis and Medical Examiner Fahmy Malak testified about the crime scene and the cause of Rhoades\u2019 death. Joey Gibson testified that he knew Rhoades and that he and Rhoades had gone to Ketelson\u2019s house to purchase drugs.\nClaude Bennett, an acquaintance of Rhoades and Ketelson, stated that Rhoades owed Ketelson about $5,000 for drugs and for damage Rhoades did to Ketelson\u2019s truck. Bennett did not present any testimony of threats made by Ketelson against Rhoades. Rhoades\u2019 girlfriend, Sherry Carter, stated that Rhoades owed Ketelson money, but she did not testify regarding any threats Ketelson made against the victim.\nAlthough the State contends that, taken together, the testimony of these witnesses provides circumstantial evidence as to the existence of an agreement between Pilcher and Ketelson \u2014 to cause the death of Rhoades \u2014 we cannot agree.\nGranted, circumstantial evidence alone may be sufficient to support a conviction. Smith v. State, 314 Ark. 448, 863 S.W.2d 563 (1993). However, such evidence must be consistent with the defendant\u2019s guilt and inconsistent with any other reasonable conclusion. Akbar v. State, 315 Ark. 627, 869 S.W.2d 706 (1994). Although there was ample testimony to support the fact that Rhoades may have owed Ketelson money and that Ketelson was interested in having him \u201ctaken care of,\u201d this evidence does not provide proof of an agreement between Pilcher and Ketelson or that Pilcher was to receive anything of value from Ketelson in exchange for Rhoades\u2019 death, which is an essential element of the State\u2019s charge against Ketelson.\nAs a result, we reverse and dismiss this case on the insufficiency of the evidence. It is unnecessary that we address Ketelson\u2019s argument regarding the admission of certain photographs into evidence under the circumstances.\nReversed and dismissed.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "Jack Holt, Jr., Chief Justice."
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "John Wesley Hall, Jr., P.C., by: Craig Lambert, for appellant.",
      "Winston Bryant, Att\u2019y Gen., by: Brad Newman, Asst. Att\u2019y Gen., for appellee."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "Ronald KETELSON v. STATE of Arkansas\nCR 93-1382\n877 S.W.2d 910\nSupreme Court of Arkansas\nOpinion delivered June 20, 1994\nJohn Wesley Hall, Jr., P.C., by: Craig Lambert, for appellant.\nWinston Bryant, Att\u2019y Gen., by: Brad Newman, Asst. Att\u2019y Gen., for appellee."
  },
  "file_name": "0324-01",
  "first_page_order": 350,
  "last_page_order": 353
}