APPEAL
FROM THE PULASKI COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, THIRTEENTH DIVISION
[NO. 60PR-17-2433] HONORABLE RANDALL WELCH MORLEY, JUDGE
William R. Simpson, Jr., Public Defender, by: Clint Miller,
Deputy Public Defender, for appellant.
Leslie
Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Vada Berger, Ass't
Att'y Gen., for appellee.
MIKE
MURPHY, JUDGE.
Appellant
Anthony Beare appeals from the December 1, 2017 Pulaski
County Circuit Court's order committing him to the
custody of the director of the Arkansas Department of Human
Services (DHS) for continued treatment of his schizophrenia.
On appeal, Beare argues that the circuit court erred in
finding that he failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing
evidence that his release would not create a substantial risk
of bodily injury to others. We affirm.
This
case began when Beare, forty-six years old, was charged with
aggravated assault and robbery.[1] On October 27, 2017, the
Mississippi County Circuit Court entered a judgment
acquitting Beare of the aggravated-assault charge on the
basis of mental disease or defect. The judgment specifically
found that the offense involved bodily injury to another
person or serious damage to property or a substantial risk of
such injury or damage and that Beare remained affected by
mental disease or defect. In accordance with Arkansas Code
Annotated section 5-2-314 (Supp. 2017), the judgment
committed Beare to the custody of the director of DHS for an
examination by a psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist.
Pursuant to the statute, the judgment also ordered the
director to file within thirty days a report of the
examination with a circuit court of jurisdiction, with a
hearing to be held within ten days of the filing of the
report.
On
November 29, 2017, DHS filed its report in the Pulaski County
Circuit Court concerning Beare's mental health. The
report was prepared by Dr. John Casey at the Arkansas State
Hospital in Little Rock. Based on his evaluation, Dr. Casey
diagnosed Beare with schizophrenia, moderate cocaine use
disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Casey
reported that Beare continues to be affected by mental
disease but not mental defect and that Beare remains a
substantial risk to persons and property if not confined to a
structured therapeutic environment. In the patient-history
section of the report, Dr. Casey noted that Beare reported
that he has spent fifteen of the last twenty-six years
"locked up" in hospitals, residential-care
facilities, and jails. He has a ten-to-fifteen-year history
of cocaine use. Beare also reported to Dr. Casey a history of
two past suicide attempts (one in his early twenties and the
other four or five years ago). Beare has been convicted of
forgery and public intoxication and has been arrested for
aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, terroristic
threatening, and battery.
Dr.
Casey concluded the report with the following opinions:
Mr. Beare remains affected by the mental disease
Schizophrenia, as evidenced by paranoid and persecutory
delusions and evidence of hallucinations. He was acquitted of
Aggravated Assault and Robbery based on this diagnosis.
Although he participates in group therapy and the therapeutic
milieu, he does not currently take medications, which are
necessary in order to stabilize his psychosis. He constitutes
a risk of dangerousness if not maintained in treatment. This
conclusion is based on the following risk factors:
1. Mr. Beare has a history of dangerousness to others or
property as evidenced by the acquittal on the above charge
and past convictions for Battery.
2. Mr. Beare remains affected by the mental disease
Schizophrenia, which the court determined was a causative
factor for the crime for which he is acquitted.
3. Mr. Beare has a history of using illicit substances, which
increases his risk of dangerous behaviors if he relapses to
substance use in the community.
4. Mr. Beare's score on the Hare PCL: SV was highly
indicative of psychopathy and he requires further treatment
to maintain a low risk of future violence as indicated by the
HCR-20.
5. Mr. Beare requires continued hospitalization and
court-ordered medications to stabilize his psychosis, as he
has ...