Christa Craig v. State of Arkansas

── Christa Craig v. State of Arkansas ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: March 11, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 179 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION III No. CR-25-447 Opinion Delivered March 11, 2026 CHRISTA CRAIG APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NOS. 49CR-23-57, 49CR-24-16] V. HONORABLE ANDY RINER, JUDGE AFFIRMED STATE OF ARKANSAS APPELLEE MIKE MURPHY, Judge The Montgomery County Circuit Court revoked appellant Christa Craig’s probation and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Craig challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the revocation. We affirm. In April 2024, Craig pleaded guilty to nonfinancial identity fraud and failure to appear (cases Nos. 49CR-23-57 & 49CR-24-16). She was sentenced to forty-eight months’ supervised probation, with the first 120 days to be served in a Community Correction Center (CCC). On January 6, 2025, the State petitioned to revoke Craig’s probation due to several alleged violations: failure to report, failure to report change of address, failure to pay supervision fees, and failure to pay toward fines and court costs. A revocation hearing was held on April 4, 2025, and established the following.  Probation Officer Howard Watts testified that Craig was sentenced to “probation plus,” which is probation preceded by a term of imprisonment in the CCC. After her release from the CCC on September 26, 2024, she contacted the Mena probation office and was instructed to report the following day. She did not report. Watts conducted a home visit to Craig’s address in Mount Ida on December 13, 2024, and no one answered the door. He left a card on the door instructing her to report to the Mena office the following Monday, December 16. She again failed to report. Watts did not see Craig until she appeared in court for her first appearance on the revocation petition on January 17, 2025. Watts asked her to remain in the lobby after court so they could have an office visit, but Craig left without doing so. Craig did not complete an official visit with Watts until March 11, just a few weeks before her revocation hearing. By the time of her hearing, Craig had made no payments towards her fines, fees, and costs, although by the date of the hearing, she had caught up and owed only the current month’s $35 supervision fee. Craig testified that she did appear at the Mena probation office on September 27, 2024, but the front-desk staff told her that Watts had already left for the day and would contact her. She offered no explanation for why she failed to follow up with Watts at any time during the next four months. She also stated that although she was able to work, she made no payments toward her financial obligations because she never received the “packet” explaining how to make those payments. Craig acknowledged, however, that she received and signed the order of adjudication and probation in court. She admitted she knew she 2 had been placed on probation but claimed she was unaware of the specific terms and conditions, believing she was doing everything required of her. Craig’s mother, Belen Mena, testified that Craig was living with and helping take care of her after her surgery during the probationary period. The court found from the above facts that Craig violated her probation by failing to report as directed and failing to pay her fines, fees, and costs, and it sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment. This appeal followed. To revoke probation, the burden is on the State to prove the vi