UPDATE: Deliberation continues Thursday in Shawna Cash’s capital murder trial
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — UPDATE: The jury is going home for the day. No verdict has been given yet.
Deliberation will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The jury is now deliberating in the trial for Shawna Cash. She is facing multiple charges for the death of Pea Ridge Police Officer Kevin Apple.
Those are capital murder, fleeing, two counts of aggravated assault and obstructing government operations. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for the capital murder charge for the 25-year-old.
As court began on Wednesday, the defense rested its case without calling any witnesses.
Judge Brad Karren gave the jury their instructions and then closing arguments began. The state gets to start in closing arguments.
To prove capital murder, the state has to prove there was a premeditated and deliberated purpose, that the defendant has a conscious object to cause death and that intention formed before acting.
Van Buren man gets life in prison for wife’s murder
The state begins by saying even the defense agrees that Cash killed Officer Apple. Prosecutor Josh Robinson told the jury intent was going to be the key to this case. Did Cash intend to kill Kevin Apple on June 26, 2021?
He said while it is impossible to get into her head at the exact moment that she sped away from the gas pump at the White Oak gas station in Pea Ridge, you can look at her actions.
He takes the jury back to the incident in Farmington that happened in July of 2020 when Cash and Anthony Poumskengko fled from police in a Dodge Charger.
Poumskengko’s testimony was that Cash told him to get in the car, that Cash was the one who got behind the wheel and as he tried to help her to avoid hitting other things, she told him to “shut the f*** up.”
Then October 2020 when Cash and Poumskengko are pulled over again by Fayetteville Police. Cash refused to give her name and at one point asked to tie her shoes. Several minutes later when the Fayetteville officer starts threatening arrest for littering a cigarette butt, Cash took off running.
And earlier in the day on June 26, 2021, when Cash and Elijah Andazola were at the Walgreens being held at gunpoint by Oscar Olvera for stealing a check from his mailbox, as soon as they heard sirens approaching, they jumped back into the Jeep, Cash behind the wheel, and took off.
Robinson said this proves that Cash is well-versed in making a plan to flee and escape when she is interacting with police officers.
The University of Arkansas’ history with desegregation
He said as soon as police surrounded the Jeep at the White Oak gas station, she began to formulate her plan to escape. She backed up and hit the officer behind her, realizing that the escape route was blocked. When Officer Kevin Apple got out of his car and got directly in front of her car with his gun drawn, Robinson said Cash had two choices: get caught and go to jail or drive forward and hit Apple.
He said her actions showed she had complete disregard for what happened to Apple as a result of her hitting him. He said she knew she needed to escape and Apple was in her way.
Testimony from the Arkansas State Crime Lab showed that the initial impact from the Jeep would not have killed Apple. Robinson said she had multiple opportunities to stop but she kept going, dragging Apple about 150 feet and ultimately killing him.
Fort Smith woman wins $130,000 playing Natural State Jackpot
He said previous incidents show that Cash is always in charge in these situations. She is the one behind the wheel. She is the one telling others to get in and shut up. She is the one who is skilled at evading police, whether it be on foot or by car.
The language for proving capital murder says the length of time it takes someone to make the decision to kill someone shouldn’t be considered by the jury. In other words, a decision can be made over hours or in a split second.
Robinson said the moment Cash decided to put her foot down on the pedal of the 3,000-pound Jeep, she made her decision.
The jury is allowed to consider finding her guilty of 1st-degree murder or 2nd-degree murder if they feel the state hasn’t met the burden of proof for capital murder.
Robinson finished out his closing argument by saying that he would rather the jury let Cash walk free than find her guilty of a lesser sentence. He said Kevin Apple and his family deserve for this crime to be called what it is.
He ended his arguments by replaying the recorded phone call between Cash and another person from December 31, 2022.
Cash is heard saying, “If I’m a cop and I’m standing in front of a car that’s revving its engine, I’m getting the f*** out of the way,” with a laugh.
The person on the other end of the line laughs back. They both laugh about being told to freeze.
Defense attorney Lee Short gave the closing arguments for the defense.
Robinson pointed to the recording of Cash being interviewed by Detective Michael Braswell from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. He said even as Det. Braswell tried to rephrase the situation, but Cash’s response was always about just trying to get away.
“All I knew was to go,” she said.
He said the evidence shown from the previous police encounters with Cash was that her intent was always to flee and to get away, but never once in those previous situations had she killed anyone so her intent was never to kill.
He said the language for what constitutes second-degree murder is clear and different from capital murder. For 2nd degree, someone only has to knowingly cause death, but causing death is not the purpose.
He said Cash’s only purpose that day was to get away and she didn’t care about the consequences of her actions, even if it caused death. He said she didn’t care if death was caused, but it was not her goal when she put the gas pedal down.
Robinson asked the jury, “Has the state proven her purpose was to kill?” If the answer is not yes beyond a reasonable doubt, then the jury has to go with a lesser charge.
He asked that the jury find Cash guilty of 2nd-degree murder.
The prosecution got a final chance to respond to this.
State rests its case in trial for woman accused of killing Pea Ridge officer
Robinson said that an intent to flee and a purpose to kill are not mutually exclusive. He said under the defense’s logic, how could we ever convict someone of murder without a confession?
He said people are not limited to one conscious object and it’s not the jury’s job to determine the main purpose behind someone’s actions.
He said he never suggested she only had the purpose to flee, he said she had the object to cause death to complete the purpose of fleeing.
Robinson is arguing that when Apple had his gun pointed at Cash, her decision was go to jail or floor it, I have to kill him or he’s going to kill me. So she had to kill him in order to get away.
He said the reason she had never killed another officer in one of the previous incidents was because an officer was never placed directly in front of her like Apple was. He said this was the first time she had to make this kind of decision with this kind of obstacle and she decisively chose to go through him.
He acknowledged that this was not going to be an easy decision and that no one would go home feeling good about it, but he urged the jury not to take the easier option with a 2nd-degree verdict.
The jury began deliberations at 12:05 p.m.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
