Sherrel Courvelle v. State of Arkansas

── Sherrel Courvelle v. State of Arkansas ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: April 08, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 227 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CR-25-262 Opinion Delivered April 8, 2026 SHERREL COURVELLE APPEAL FROM THE GARLAND APPELLANT COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 26CR-23-712] V. HONORABLE KARA A. PETRO, JUDGE STATE OF ARKANSAS AFFIRMED APPELLEE WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge Appellant Sherrel Courvelle appeals her three failure-to-appear convictions for which she received a fifteen-year prison sentence for each count, to be served consecutively. She was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine on each count. Courvelle argues that (1) substantial evidence does not support the convictions because she had a reasonable excuse for failing to appear in court as she was required to do; and (2) two of her three failure-to-appear convictions should be reversed and dismissed on double-jeopardy grounds. We affirm the convictions. On August 22, 2023, Courvelle failed to appear before the Garland County Circuit Court for a disposition hearing for three felony cases: 26CR-19-84; 26CR-21-123; and 26CR-21-531. Consequently, on October 6, the State filed a criminal information charging Courvelle with three counts of Class C felony failure to appear with a habitual-offender enhancement for having previously been found guilty of four or more felonies.  A jury trial was held on September 23, 2024. John Muldoon, owner and president of H&H Bail Bond Company (“H&H”), testified that the company posted three bonds on Courvelle, each one for a separate felony case. He stated that he received notice from the court that Courvelle failed to appear for her August 22, 2023 court date. H&H immediately reached out to Courvelle using the personal information she provided on the bond contracts. She failed to answer or return H&H’s phone calls. Muldoon then began visiting her known addresses in an attempt to apprehend her and avoid bond forfeiture, to no avail. Through the use of other investigative and technology searches, H&H discovered a Hot Springs Village address associated with Courvelle. Muldoon contacted the Hot Springs Village Police Department and was told that they had received calls concerning that residence. Officers checked the address regularly but were unable to apprehend Courvelle. Muldoon and other H&H bondsmen surveilled Courvelle’s addresses and monitored the activities at the residences for several months. With the assistance of law enforcement, she was ultimately apprehended and arrested on a failure-to-appear warrant in February 2024 at the Hot Springs Village address. Captain Joel Ware with the Garland County Sheriff’s Office testified that he obtained a search warrant for the Hot Springs Village address associated with Courvelle. During execution of the search warrant on February 28, Courvelle was located inside the residence and arrested. Deputy circuit clerk Olivia Dorman testified that Courvelle was notified that she was to appear before the court on August 22, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. for a disposition hearing on three pending felony cases. The written notice was dated July 25 and was signed by Courvelle and her counsel. On cross-examination, Dorman testified that on August 21, the day before the scheduled court date, 2 Courvelle requested a continuance, claiming that she had to go to Dallas to pick up her granddaughter because her son had been in an automobile accident. David Jones, the court bailiff, called the hall for Courvelle on Aug