Full Opinion

Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 392 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION II No. CR-25-613 Opinion Delivered September 9, 2026 DEDRIC PATTERSON APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE CRAWFORD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 17CR-24-45] V. HONORABLE CANDICE A. SETTLE, STATE OF ARKANSAS JUDGE APPELLEE AFFIRMED; MOTION TO WITHDRAW GRANTED CASEY R. TUCKER, Judge Appellant Dedric Patterson appeals after the Crawford County Circuit Court entered a sentencing order revoking his probation on June 18, 2025. Patterson’s counsel filed a timely notice of appeal followed by a no-merit brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-3(b) (2023), along with a motion to be relieved as counsel asserting that there is no issue of arguable merit on appeal. The clerk of the court mailed Patterson a copy of counsel’s no-merit brief and advised him he had thirty days from the date the brief was filed to file pro se points for reversal. Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 4- 3(b)(2). Appellant provided no pro se points for reversal, so the State filed no response. In October 2024, Patterson entered a negotiated guilty plea to the crime of third- degree domestic battery second offense—a Class D felony. He was given a sentence of 120 days in the Crawford County Detention Center with an additional six years of probation subject to certain conditions of behavior. The State filed a petition to revoke on March 11, 2025, and an amended petition to revoke on June 3 in which the State alleged that Patterson violated the terms of his probation and more specifically stated: That as of March 11, 2025, the Defendant had failed to abide by the terms and conditions of probation by failing to report to the probation office, failing to provide proof of employment or education enrollment, failed to provide a valid residence and is delinquent in supervision fees in the amount of $70. That as of June 3, 2025, the Defendant has failed to make any payments towards his fines, costs and fees leaving an unpaid balance of $3,400. Said conduct is in violation of the terms and conditions of his probation/suspended sentence and the Order of this Court. The revocation hearing was conducted on June 17. Deborah Martin, the financial coordinator for the Crawford County prosecutor’s office, testified that Patterson had failed to pay his $2,500 fine, $150 in court costs, a $40 booking fee, and a $250 DNA fee he agreed to pay as a condition of his probation. Martin testified that Patterson agreed to pay $65 a month toward these fees, fines, and costs beginning on March 3, 2025, but Patterson failed to make any payments. Daisy Lear, the parole and probation officer assigned to Patterson’s case, testified that Patterson never reported for intake, failed to provide a valid address and proof of employment, and never paid the $105 supervision fee due at the time of the revocation hearing. Since Lear had no contact information for Patterson, a petition to revoke was filed. During closing remarks, the State asked the court “to revoke him, give him the six years, satisfy the fines and costs, and send him on his way.” Patterson’s counsel requested leniency in sentencing given this was his first felony offense, and the sentencing guidelines 2 allow “CCC[1] or alternative sentencing.” Patterson’s counsel pleaded that he be sentenced to “either 90 or 180 days in County and then restart probation.” The State responded that probation was the only possible alternative under the guidelines, and based on Patterson’s noncompliance with probation, it urged the court to sentence him to six years. The circuit court found that Patterson had violated the terms and conditions of his probation because “he’s not paid any of the fine and court costs, he’s failed to report to DCC, [2] he’s not paid any of their fees, [and] he did not sign up for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program as the Court ordered. . . . [H]e’s basically not done a single thing that the Court ordered him to do.” The circuit court sentenced Patterson to six years in the Arkansas Division of Correction and, in exchange, satisfied his court costs and fines. He received twenty-nine days of jail credit for time served. A sentencing order was filed on June 18, 2025, and this timely appeal followed. To satisfy Rule 4-3(b)(1) and the framework set forth in Anders, supra, counsel is required to file a brief in which counsel sets forth all objections and motions decided adversely to the appellant and explains why there is nothing in the record that would support an appeal. Skaggs v. State, 2023 Ark. App. 325, 670 S.W.3d 811. The requirement for briefing every adverse ruling ensures that the due-process concerns in Anders are met and prevents the unnecessary risk of a deficient Anders brief resulting in an incorrect decision on counsel’s 1 “CCC” is a Community Correction Center. 2 “DCC” is Department of Community Correction. 3 motion to withdraw. Id. Pursuant to Anders, we are required to determine whether the case is wholly frivolous after a full examination of all the proceedings. Id. We previously ordered rebriefing because counsel failed to adequately explain why the circuit court’s rejection of Patterson’s request for a lesser sentence was proper. Patterson v. State, 2026 Ark. App. 325, 738 S.W.3d 352. What is before us now is counsel’s substituted brief addressing the following adverse rulings: (1) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the revocation of Patterson’s probation; and (2) the circuit court’s denial of his request for a lesser sentence. The first adverse ruling identified by counsel was the court’s revocation of Patterson’s probation. A circuit court may revoke a defendant’s probation at any time before the expiration of the probationary period if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has inexcusably failed to comply with a condition of probation. Yarberry v. State, 2021 Ark. App. 265. The State has the burden of proving a condition of probation has been violated, and proof of only one violation must be shown to sustain a revocation. Id. The conditions of Patterson’s probation, which he signed on November 1, 2024, included that he would begin paying costs, fines, and fees at the rate of $65 a month within 120 days following his release and that he would report to the DCC for probation intake within two weeks of his release. Undisputed testimony at the trial was that Patterson had never contacted the probation officer and had not paid any amount toward his fines, fees, and costs, resulting in $3,400 in arrears. This is sufficient evidence to support the revocation of Patterson’s probation. 4 The other adverse ruling addressed by counsel was the circuit court’s denial of Patterson’s request for an alternative or lesser sentence. In a revocation proceeding, the circuit court has discretion in the sentence imposed and is authorized to impose any sentence that could have originally been imposed. Richmond v. State, 2025 Ark. App. 408. Patterson was sentenced to six years in prison, which is within the statutory guidelines for a Class D felony as set out in Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-401 (Repl. 2024). With respect to the request for the lesser sentence of time in county jail and then probation, the circuit court said it best—“[H]e’s basically not done a single thing that the Court ordered him to do.” Besides not paying any fines, fees, or costs, Patterson did not report to the DCC or sign up for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program as the court had ordered. The circuit court did not abuse its discretion when it rejected Patterson’s request for a lesser sentence. With respect to the request for CCC, this alternative was not available to Patterson because he was not an eligible defendant under the guidelines. Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-93-1202(6)(C) (Supp. 2025) specifically excludes from the definition of an offender eligible for CCC consideration a person convicted of a “violent act or for sexual misconduct listed under subdivision (10)(A)(ii).” Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-93- 1202(10)(A)(ii)(c) defines a violent offense as “[a]n offense containing as an element of the offense the use of physical force, the threatened use of serious physical force, [or] the infliction of physical injury.” Patterson was convicted of third-degree domestic battery, 5 which includes as an element purposely causing physical injury to a family or household member. See Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-305 (Repl. 2024). Patterson was not eligible. Given that the sentence imposed was within the guidelines and the circuit court’s discretion to impose the sentence, no meritorious argument can be made that the circuit court abused its discretion by denying Patterson’s request for a lighter sentence. With respect to his request for a sentence to the CCC, Patterson was not eligible. In deciding whether to allow counsel to withdraw from appellate representation, counsel has complied with Rule 4-3(b), and we hold that the appeal is without merit. Accordingly, we affirm the revocation and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. Affirmed; motion to withdraw granted. GLADWIN and BARRETT, JJ., agree. Robert M. “Robby” Golden, for appellant. One brief only. 6