Background
Police investigating a tip that Glen Gillette was selling drugs from his truck found fentanyl pills and cash in the truck outside his home. A later search of the home found additional fentanyl, marijuana, paraphernalia, and a loaded handgun under his mattress. Gillette was charged with several drug- and firearm-related offenses, as well as misdemeanors, and faced revocation of a suspended sentence in a separate case.
The day before trial, Gillette sought to dismiss his retained lawyer and obtain a continuance to hire unnamed replacement counsel. The circuit court denied the request after considering the timing, four prior defense continuances, and Gillette’s failure to retain new counsel. After the first day of trial, Gillette removed his ankle monitor and fled. The court denied his lawyer’s motions for a mistrial and continuance, completed the trial in Gillette’s absence, and later sentenced him to an aggregate 158 years’ imprisonment.
The Court’s Holding
The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that the circuit court acted within its discretion in continuing the noncapital felony trial after Gillette voluntarily absconded. Arkansas law permits a court to proceed to a verdict when a defendant who was present at the start of trial makes himself unavailable, and Gillette’s flight waived his right to be personally present and confront witnesses. His counsel remained present to conduct the defense.
The court also upheld the denial of Gillette’s last-minute request to replace counsel. The circuit court considered the applicable factors and reasonably found that the request, made on the eve of trial without replacement counsel retained, appeared designed to delay proceedings. Finally, the statutory defense to simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms did not apply because Gillette was standing in his driveway, rather than inside his home, when police discovered the firearm in the house.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant who voluntarily flees after trial begins may be tried to verdict in absentia in a noncapital felony case.
- A last-minute request to replace retained counsel may be denied when it would disrupt trial and no new lawyer has been retained.
- The Arkansas simultaneous-possession home defense requires the defendant to be inside the residence when the firearm is discovered.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that a defendant cannot manufacture a mistrial or delay by fleeing after trial has begun. It also underscores the narrow scope of the home-based defense to Arkansas’s simultaneous-possession offense and the limited nature of a defendant’s right to substitute counsel on the eve of trial.