Lamiesha Toney v. State of Arkansas

── Lamiesha Toney v. State of Arkansas ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: April 01, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 197 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CR-22-716 Opinion Delivered April 1, 2026 LAMIESHA TONEY APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE JEFFERSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 35CR-20-337] STATE OF ARKANSAS HONORABLE ALEX GUYNN, APPELLEE JUDGE AFFIRMED N. MARK KLAPPENBACH, Chief Judge Following a jury trial in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Lamiesha Toney was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree battery. She was sentenced to a total of twenty years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Toney challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her convictions. We affirm. Toney and a codefendant, Deric Smith, were both charged with capital murder in the death of Emmanuel Foster and first-degree battery in the shooting of Jason Anderson. Toney was found guilty of the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder and first-degree battery. Originally, her convictions were brought before this court in a no-merit appeal pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and Rule 4-3(b) of the Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. However, this court ordered rebriefing after determining that Toney’s counsel had failed to address adverse rulings resulting from an objection and Toney’s conviction of the lesser-included offense of second-degree murder. Toney v. State, 2025 Ark. App. 3. Following our opinion, Toney’s counsel was relieved, and she was appointed new counsel, who has chosen to file a merit brief. On appeal, Toney now argues that there was insufficient evidence that she acted as Smith’s accomplice in shooting the two men. Before addressing the sufficiency of the evidence, Toney argues that she has adequately preserved her sufficiency arguments for both second-degree murder and first-degree battery. At the close of the State’s case, Toney made the following directed-verdict motion: DEFENSE COUNSEL: Your Honor, I would like to make a motion for directed verdict on the charge of capital murder. I don’t think there’s been any evidence presented that shows that either one of my clients was committing the crime of terrorism, rape, kidnapping, vehicular -- robbery, aggravated robbery, residential burglary, commercial burglary, aggravated residential burglary. And I think those crimes -- one of those crimes has to be going on during the commission of the crime in which a person dies under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. So there’s been no proof put on that any of that happened during this particular incident. So I’m asking for an acquittal on the charge of capital murder. THE COURT: All right. State, any response? THE STATE: Your Honor, just as the Court can see from the Information, this is charged as a premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing the death of any person, Deric Smith and Lamiesha Toney caused the death of Emmanuel Foster. So none of those points that Mr. Howard made are relevant to the charges that we’ve charged his clients with. DE