ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
DIVISION III
No. CR-15-132
JASON MUNDELL Opinion Delivered OCTOBER 7, 2015
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM THE CRAWFORD
V. COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[NO. 17CR-2013-444]
STATE OF ARKANSAS HONORABLE GARY COTTRELL,
APPELLEE JUDGE
REVERSED AND DISMISSED
DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge
Jason Mundell pled guilty to first-degree criminal mischief on April 10, 2014. The
trial court withheld imposition of sentence for one year and, among other things, ordered
Jason to perform thirty days of community service. On May 8, 2014, the State filed a petition
to revoke, alleging Jason had violated the terms and conditions of his suspended sentence
with his failure to comply with the conditions of his community service by failing a drug test.
Following a hearing on the petition, the trial court found Jason had violated the conditions
of his suspended sentence, revoked the suspension, and sentenced him to ninety days in the
Crawford County Detention Center, suspending an additional nine months. Jason appeals
from the revocation of his suspended sentence. As his sole point of appeal, he contends the
trial court erred in determining that he had inexcusably violated a term or condition of his
suspended sentence. The State concedes error, and we agree. We therefore reverse and
dismiss.
Cite as
The April 10, 2014 order is the only written statement setting out the conditions for
Jason’s suspended sentence. He was ordered to pay restitution, a fine, court costs, a booking
fee, administrative fees, and to have no offensive contact with Horace Pruitt. The order
conditioned his suspension on good behavior and the performance of thirty days’ community
service at the Crawford County Courthouse.
The May 8, 2014 petition to revoke alleges Jason had failed to comply with the terms
and conditions of his community service by failing a drug test, and his conduct was in
violation of the terms and conditions of the suspended sentence. However, as argued by
Jason, there was nothing demonstrating he was given any notice that the community-service
supervisor would require him to stop taking his prescription pain medication in order to
perform the community service. While he did not actually fail a drug test, Jason agreed that
he would fail the test if he took it because of his prescription medication, which was an
opiate. Jason was told of the requirement that he not be on any prescription drugs on the
first day of his community service, by the supervisor of community service.
It is undisputed Jason suffers from a debilitating joint disease, ankylosing spondylitis,
which involves the deterioration of his cartilage, and he has been prescribed pain opiates
since he was sixteen years old. When he appeared for community service, the supervisor told
him the workplace was 100% drug free, including prescription medication, and he would
have to stop taking the medication to complete the community service. That requirement
was not a written condition of his suspended sentence and doing so would cause debilitating
pain. Moreover, the only violation alleged in the petition to revoke was a “failed drug test.”
2
Cite as
The State concedes error in this case based upon our opinion in Schubert v. State,
2013
Ark. App. 698
. The facts are very similar, even involving the same community-service
supervisor. Our court concluded in Schubert that the additional requirement regarding
prescription medications was not an adequate basis for revocation. We see no credible way
to distinguish the instant case from Schubert. Therefore, we agree with the State’s concession
of error and reverse and dismiss the trial court’s revocation of Jason’s suspended sentence.
Reversed and dismissed.
VIRDEN and VAUGHT, JJ., agree.
Lisa-Marie Norris, for appellant.
Leslie Rutledge, Att’y Gen., by: Brad Newman, Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.
3
