Full Opinion

Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 471 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION II No. CR-25-664 GOVERNOR D. FAULKNER Opinion Delivered October 7, 2026 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE GREENE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 28CR-23-610] V. HONORABLE PAMELA HONEYCUTT, STATE OF ARKANSAS JUDGE APPELLEE AFFIRMED CASEY R. TUCKER, Judge Governor Faulkner appeals the order of the Greene County Circuit Court revoking his probation and sentencing him to two concurrent terms of five years in the Arkansas Division of Correction. His sole point on appeal is that the circuit court erred in finding that he had failed to comply with the sex-offender-registration requirements and conditions. We affirm. On August 19, 2024, Faulkner pleaded guilty to the crimes of sexual indecency with a child, a Class D felony, and attempting to disarm an officer, also a Class D felony. The circuit court sentenced him to forty-eight months of supervised probation on each count. As a part of the conditions of his probation, Faulkner was required to obey all federal and state laws, local ordinances, and court orders. The State filed a petition to revoke Faulkner’s probation on May 7, 2025. The bases for the petition were that (1) Faulkner was removed from his reported residence on February 18, 2025, and failed to inform his supervising officer, and (2) Faulkner owed $960 in court costs and fines to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office as of March 13 and had made no payment since August 2024. The revocation hearing was held on July 14. Frank Brawley, who volunteers with Agape House in Paragould, testified that Faulkner lived at Agape House until the evening of February 17, 2025. Faulkner tested positive for alcohol, which violated Agape House rules, so Brawley asked Faulkner to leave. Brawley testified that Faulkner did not live in the house or on the property after that date. He confirmed with the “house mom” that she had kicked Faulkner out of the house. She told Brawley that before she left, Faulkner was sitting on the front porch, and somebody picked him up. When Brawley returned on February 19, Faulkner was gone. Brendan Baldridge of the Paragould Police Department, the sex-offender- registration coordinator for the city of Paragould, testified that the sex-offender-registration law requires offenders to report where they live in addition to other information. The law requires them to verify their information every six months. Sex offenders are required to immediately report any changes in the interim. Offenders must report address changes five days before moving. On February 18, before Faulkner’s biannual update, Baldridge received information that Faulkner no longer lived at Agape House. Baldridge contacted Detective Robert Sexton to investigate and make a determination as to whether Faulkner still lived at his reported address. Faulkner came for his biannual visit to verify his 2 information on February 24, 2025. When Faulkner completed paperwork reflecting that his address remained at Agape House, Baldridge asked whether he was sure the information he provided was correct. Faulkner did not change his information. On March 3, Faulkner called Baldridge and made an appointment to see him. Baldridge notified Sexton that Faulkner was coming to his office. Sexton told Baldridge that he had enough information to make an arrest, so Baldridge had a patrol officer come to his office and take Faulkner into custody. Detective Sexton testified that he spoke with multiple individuals who corroborated that Faulkner was not living at Agape House as he had reported to the registry. He had spoken with Brawley, who lived at Agape House; Sunny Ann, who “ran” Agape House; and Eric Woodward, who was dispatched to Agape House to drug test the residents upon complaints that someone had vomited in the Agape House vehicle and that the vehicle smelled like alcohol after Faulkner used it. When Sexton interviewed Faulkner upon his arrest, Faulkner was very remorseful, stating that he had messed up one time, and it had “set him back.” Faulkner did not deny that he had provided a false address. Faulkner testified that at the time in question, he had gone to a female friend’s house to console her because she was going through a divorce. Afterwards, he was instructed to take the car, which belonged to Agape House, to a certain location. According to Faulkner, he asked if someone could retrieve the vehicle because he was not feeling well. This did not sit well with someone at Agape House, and they decided to drug test the residents. Faulkner tested positive for alcohol, and his father, who is the pastor at 3 the church that owned Agape House, told him he needed to find a different place to live. Faulkner testified that he stayed with friends, which was already his plan that night because they lived closer to his work and it was snowing. It was Faulkner’s testimony that he returned to Agape House and ultimately slept in his car on the property. He further testified that he told his father he “couldn’t just up and move like he wanted” because he would be out of compliance with the registry. Faulkner confirmed that he saw Baldridge on February 24 and again on March 3. He had told him he was living at Agape House because he was staying there in his car. Faulkner took the position that the individuals who told Sexton that he was not living at Agape House were not there enough to know and that Brawley was lying. According to Faulkner, when he reported to Baldridge on the 24th, he told Baldridge that he was currently living at Agape House but was looking for a new place to live within the next few weeks. When he called Baldridge on March 3, he stated that he needed to come in and update his residency status. When he went to Baldridge’s office, he was arrested immediately upon arrival before he had an opportunity to explain anything to Baldridge. In ruling from the bench, the circuit court reviewed the testimony of each witness. It then determined that the State’s witnesses were credible, while Faulkner was not. The court granted the petition to revoke and sentenced Faulkner to concurrent sentences of sixty months’ incarceration on each of the two offenses. 4 In order to revoke a defendant’s probation, the circuit court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant inexcusably violated at least one condition of his probation. Cockrell v. State, 2024 Ark. App. 184, 686 S.W.3d 612; Ark. Code Ann. § 16-93-308(d) (Supp. 2023). We will not reverse the circuit court’s decision to revoke unless it is clearly erroneous or clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. O’Connor v. State, 2025 Ark. App. 326, 715 S.W.3d 138. We defer to the circuit court’s superior position to judge the weight and credibility of the testimony. Cockrell, supra. The circuit court is not required to believe a defendant’s self-serving testimony. Hayes v. State, 2024 Ark. App. 347. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence in a revocation case, this court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Burnsed v. State, 2025 Ark. App. 43, 704 S.W.3d 370. Faulkner’s probation was conditioned on his not committing any new offenses, including the offense of failing to comply with the sex-offender-reporting requirements. Having pleaded guilty to a sex offense requiring registration on the Sex Offender Registration, Faulkner was required to verify that his information remained accurate on a biannual basis. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-906(g)(1) (Supp. 2025). A change of address must be reported five days before it occurs, or if it is due to eviction or unforeseen circumstances, within five days after it occurs. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-909 (Supp. 2023); Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-904(a)(2)(B) (Supp. 2023). Failure to report in person a change of address is a Class C felony. Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-904(a)(1)(A)(ii). 5 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and deferring to the circuit court’s superior position to judge the credibility of the witnesses, Faulkner moved out of Agape House and off the property on February 17, 2025. On February 24, he verified in his biannual meeting with Baldridge that he still lived at Agape House. On March 3, he admitted that he had not updated his address as required under the sex- offender-registration laws. The circuit court did not err in finding that this constituted a Class C felony and a violation of a condition of his probation. We affirm the revocation. Affirmed. WOOD and HIXSON, JJ., agree. Nicole Gillum Ogles, Esquire, PLLC, by: Nicole Gillum Ogles, for appellant. Tim Griffin, Att’y Gen., by: Michael Zangari, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee. 6