Lavar T. THOMPSON, Appellant
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Appellee
Page 164
APPEAL
FROM THE DREW COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 22CR-16-18],
HONORABLE SAM POPE, JUDGE
Montgomery,
Adams & Wyatt, PLC, Little Rock, by: James W. Wyatt, for
appellant.
Leslie
Rutledge, Atty Gen., by: David L. Eanes Jr., Asst Atty
Gen., for appellee.
OPINION
JOHN
DAN KEMP, Chief Justice
Appellant Lavar T. Thompson appeals an order of the Drew
County Circuit Court convicting him of two counts of
first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree
murder, and one count of aggravated residential burglary and
sentencing him to three terms of life imprisonment and one
term of fifty years to run consecutively. For reversal,
Thompson argues that the circuit court erred in denying his
motion for mistrial. We affirm.
I.
Facts
On
January 10, 2016, Thompson and two of his friends, Jeremiah
Jones and Kareena Gold, spent the early morning hours
drinking and gambling at a juke joint in Monticello.
According to Gold, Thompson had lost most of his money by
gambling with the proprietor, and she and Jones encouraged
Thompson to leave. Gold drove the friends to Joness house.
When they arrived, Thompson shot Jones and Gold while inside
the car. Jones died immediately. Gold sustained a gunshot
wound to the head but survived. She escaped the vehicle and
ran toward a neighbors house to seek help.
Thompson
then drove Golds car to the home of his former girlfriend,
Shalonda Binns. There, he broke a window, entered the
residence, and found Binns and her boyfriend, Markeia
Jamison, in a bedroom. Thompson shot and killed Binns.
Jamison and Thompson "tussled for the gun," and
Jamison shot two rounds at Thompson. Jamison fled the
residence and called the police. Law enforcement arrived at
the scene and found Thompson, wounded, in the home and
discovered Binns, deceased, with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police also discovered Golds vehicle near Binnss residence
with Joness body inside.
On
February 22, 2016, the State filed a felony information
charging Thompson with two counts of capital murder, one
count of attempted capital murder, one count of aggravated
residential burglary, and one count of felon in possession of
a firearm. The case proceeded to trial, and a jury found
Thompson guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, one
count of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of
aggravated residential burglary. The jury sentenced Thompson
to three life sentences for the murder convictions and fifty
years imprisonment for the burglary
Page 165
conviction to run consecutively. On November 2, 2018, the
circuit court entered a sentencing order reflecting the
jurys convictions and sentences. From this order, Thompson
timely filed his appeal.
II.
Mistrial
For
his sole point on appeal, Thompson argues that the circuit
court erred in denying his motion for mistrial. Specifically,
he contends that Golds testimony was nonresponsive to
defense counsels question, irrelevant to the crimes for
which he was tried, and intended to accuse him "of being
a bad man or a criminal." Thompson further asserts that
Golds testimony was so prejudicial that no admonition to the
jury could have cured it.
At
trial, the State called Gold as a witness. During
cross-examination by defense counsel, ...