Thornton v. State

Calvin Thornton was charged as a habitual offender with capital murder and aggravated robbery. He was ultimately convicted by a Pulaski County jury of aggravated robbery and the lesser-included offense of first-degree murder and was sentenced to fifty years in the Arkansas Department of Correction.1 He appeals his convictions, alleging that the trial court erred in denying his motions for a mistrial and that there was insufficient evidence to support his first-degree-murder conviction. We affirm.

On July 8, 2015, Fred Pohnka was found beaten to death in his home. He was discovered by two…