Date: 10-25-2024

Case Style:

State of Missouri v. Ricky Arnold

Case Number: 22WR-CR00622

Judge: Laura J. Johnson

Court: 38th Judicial Circuit Court, Christian County, Missouri

Plaintiff's Attorney: Christian County, Missouri District Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

Click Here For The Best Ozark Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory

Description:

Ozark, Missouri criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with class E felony of resititing a lawful stop and the class A felony of murder in the second degree.

On June 9, 2022, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Dedmon ("Trooper Dedmon") was driving eastbound on Highway 60 when he observed a black Cadillac, driven by Arnold, driving westbound at 90 miles per hour. The speed limit in that area was 65 miles per hour. Trooper Dedmon cut through the median, activated his lights and sirens, and began to follow the black Cadillac in an effort to stop Arnold for speeding. While he was attempting to stop Arnold on Highway 60, Trooper Dedmon was traveling as fast as 108 miles per hour and closing the distance between the Cadillac and himself. During his pursuit, several other vehicles on the highway yielded to Trooper Dedmon.

Arnold then exited the highway onto Cravens Road, and Trooper Dedmon followed. Cravens Road is a county road that begins paved, but turns to gravel approximately one mile away from Highway 60. Cars do not usually exit there as there is "nothing" at the Cravens Road exit. The speed limit on Cravens Road is 55 miles per hour on the paved portion, and 50 miles per hour on the gravel portion. Shortly before the road turns to gravel, there is a sharp 90-degree left turn where the suggested speed limit is 35 miles per hour, at which point the road becomes a narrow, one lane 10-foot wide gravel road that is not well maintained or commonly used.

As Trooper Dedmon pursued the Cadillac, he informed the troop that he had a "vehicle trying to take off" on him and he believed the vehicle was trying to "elude the traffic stop." Trooper Dedmon was traveling at speeds of 90 to 100 miles per hour on the paved portion of Cravens Road in pursuit of Arnold. Upon the transition to the gravel portion of Cravens Road, Trooper Dedmon was traveling at about 60 miles per hour. While on the gravel, Arnold began to run off the left side of the roadway, overcorrected, ran off the right side of the roadway, struck an embankment, became airborne, overturned, and hit a tree. The event data recorder in Arnold's car recorded Arnold traveling at 58 miles per hour between 1 and 0.5 seconds before the crash.[2]

When he came upon the accident, Trooper Dedmon quickly exited his patrol car and jumped into the brush to reach the Cadillac. He found Arnold sitting in the driver's seat. After talking with Arnold for 30 seconds to a minute, he learned there was a passenger in the car. It was evident to Trooper Dedmon that the passenger, Arnold's girlfriend of five years ("Victim"), was deceased. Trooper Dedmon asked Arnold, "Why were you running?" After Trooper Dedmon got Arnold out of the car, Arnold asked him, "[w]hy was [sic] you chasing me?" to which Trooper Dedmon responded, "[b]ecause you was [sic] speeding."

Arnold was charged by a first amended felony information with resisting a lawful stop (Count I) and felony murder in the second degree (Count II). The case proceeded to jury trial on May 1, 2023.

At trial, Trooper Dedmon testified that Cravens Road was "basically a one lane" road and that if "[y]ou meet another vehicle, you're going to have to pull over"; he further stated that on gravel roads, "you begin to fishtail" at high speeds and steering gets "loose." Trooper Dedmon testified that he had five years of experience as a state trooper, and that he had previously worked in Henry County, Benton County, and Lee's Summit, and that he currently works in Wright County and Texas County. During this time, he was required to go through extensive training and follow a "pursuit policy[,]" which "gives . . . descriptions and orders on how to conduct a pursuit, [and] when to conduct a pursuit." Trooper Dedmon testified to completing approximately 80 to 100 vehicle stops per month, approximately five of which are pursuits. Additionally, Trooper Dedmon indicated that it was not typical for vehicles to exit the highway when being stopped. While testifying, the prosecutor asked Trooper Dedmon if he "believe[d] [his] pursuit was beginning [when the Cadillac turned onto Cravens Road,]" to which Trooper Dedmon responded, "Yes, at that time I believed the vehicle was trying to elude the traffic stop."

Also at trial, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Gruben ("Trooper Gruben"), a crash reconstructionist, testified that once a vehicle is on top of loose gravel on the sides of the road, the gravel will "start rolling with the tire" and make it difficult to stick to the road. Trooper Gruben stated that, like in inclement weather, a driver must reduce their speed accordingly on a gravel road "or they're going to crash." He further
explained that the drag factor[3] was reduced due to the gravel, and that it was a "driver's responsibility to adequately reduce [their] speed." Trooper Gruben testified that, based on his investigation of the crash, the "driver was operating the vehicle too fast to maintain control of it for the roadway conditions at the time" and that in such operation, the driver was "putting himself and his passenger at risk." During trial, the parties stipulated that Victim "died because of her injuries she sustained as a result of the motor vehicle collision on June 9, 2022," and the stipulation was read to the jury.

The jury found Arnold guilty of the class E felony of resisting a lawful stop and of the class A felony of murder in the second degree. The trial court sentenced Arnold to four years' imprisonment for resisting a lawful stop and 19 years' imprisonment for felony murder in the second degree, each sentence to be served consecutively to the other. This timely appeal follows.

* * *

State v. Arnold, SD38137 (Mo. App. Oct 25, 2024)

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: