Chad Alan Derrick v. State of Arkansas

── Chad Alan Derrick v. State of Arkansas ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 271 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CR-25-456 CHAD ALAN DERRICK Opinion Delivered April 29, 2026 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE HOT SPRING COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 30CR-23-250] STATE OF ARKANSAS HONORABLE STEPHEN L. SHIRRON, APPELLEE JUDGE AFFIRMED WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge A Hot Spring County jury found appellant Chad Derrick guilty of criminal attempt to commit disarming an officer and sentenced him to one year of imprisonment. Appellant argues that the circuit court erred by denying his motion for directed verdict. We affirm. On October 8, 2023, Sergeant Joshua Dicicco and Deputies Brian Douglas and Jeff Finley of the Hot Spring County Sheriff’s Office, along with Sergeant Jeremy Bray of the Rockport Police Department, responded to a domestic-assault call at appellant’s parents’ home in Glen Rose. There were also allegations that appellant might be armed with a firearm. Officers entered the home and announced themselves. Appellant’s mother came from the laundry room and subsequently exited the home. Appellant was told several times to come to officers, but instead, he exited the bathroom and went into the back bedroom. He attempted to shut the door, but Dicicco, who was holding a ballistic shield, kicked the door open and they were able to enter the room. Dicicco attempted to pin appellant with the shield due to concerns about a possible firearm. Bray came from around Dicicco to secure appellant but got hit in the head with what he believed was appellant’s fist as appellant was “striking out.” Appellant lunged forward and was able to grab the barrel of the shotgun Douglas was holding. Appellant subsequently fell while still holding onto the shotgun with both hands. Douglas yelled for appellant to let go of the firearm, but appellant refused. Douglas pushed the shotgun into appellant’s chest but appellant still would not let go of the shotgun. Douglas pushed the muzzle of the shotgun toward the ground, just in case it went off. Officers deployed “multiple drive stuns” before appellant released the barrel of the shotgun and was handcuffed. Appellant faced multiple charges, including criminal attempt to commit disarming of an officer.1 Appellant’s jury trial took place on April 17, 2025. The above facts were presented, and the jury was also able to review body-cam footage during the State’s case. At the conclusion of the State’s evidence, appellant made a motion for a directed verdict, stating: On the charge of the criminal attempt to disarm - - disarm an officer, the elements of the case or of that particular charge are that in order to prove it, the [S]tate would have had to prove that Chad Derrick intended to commit the offense of disarming an officer. And, second, that he purposely engaged in conduct that was a substantial step in the course of conduct intended to culminate in the commission of the disarming of an officer. The testimony has been inconsistent, at best. It has been 1 Appellant was acquitted of third-degree domestic battering and second-degree battery. His resisting-arrest charged was nolle prossed. 2  consistent to the point that the gun scraped or somehow injured Chad whenever it . . . struck him. There was testimony that he held the barrel of the gun, but he was face down. And Officer Douglas testified that, you know, as - - as soon as he saw Chad touch the gun, he pushed it fo