CR06-822
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. CR06-822
JARROD MATTHEW LOAR,
APPELLANT,
VS.
STATE OF ARKANSAS,
APPELLEE,
Opinion Delivered November 30, 2006
AN APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT
COURT OF LONOKE COUNTY,
ARKANSAS, NO. CR 05-51,
HONORABLE LANCE HANSHAW,
CIRCUIT JUDGE
AFFIRMED.
TOM GLAZE, Associate Justice
Appellant Jarrod Loar was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after
a routine pawn-shop-record check by Cabot Police Officer Chris Huggins. Following a
bench trial, Loar, who had three previous felony convictions stemming from various drug
charges, was found guilty. Because Loar had three prior convictions, the trial court
sentenced him as a habitual offender to thirty-six months in prison. On appeal, Loar argues
that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he either actually or constructively
“possessed” the firearm, and that the trial court erred in denying his presentencing motion
for continuance.
As mentioned, Loar was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a
violation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-103 (Repl. 2005). That statute provides, in pertinent
part, as follows:
Loar does not challenge the sufficiency of the State’s proof of his status as a
1
felon; the State introduced copies of Loar’s convictions (possession of a controlled
substance with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia — both
convictions occurred in 1996).
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CR06-822
(a) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section or unless
authorized by and subject to such conditions as prescribed by the Governor,
or his or her designee, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives of the United States Department of Justice, or other bureau or
office designated by the United States Department of Justice, no person shall
possess or own any firearm who has been:
(1) Convicted of a felony[.]1
The present appeal questions exactly what is meant by the phrase “possess or own.”
On appeal, Loar argues that no witnesses at his trial ever testified that he physically
possessed the gun, and