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Court: Fort Smith police did not entrap man convicted of loitering for sex Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Fort Smith police did not entrap a man who was arrested in a Fort Smith park in 2006 and convicted of loitering with the purpose of engaging in sexually deviant conduct, the state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The court upheld Christopher Eugene Wagnon's conviction on the misdemeanor charge, rejecting his argument that a police officer induced him to commit an offense he was not predisposed to commit. Officer Danny Baker testified at Wagnon's trial that Baker was working an undercover assignment in a park on Jan. 13, 2006, when he saw Wagnon begin walking toward a public bathroom, then turn and look at him. Baker said he interpreted the look as a request to follow Wagnon into the bathroom, which he did. Baker said he then asked Wagnon if he was looking for anything, and Wagnon replied, "I don't know, are you?" Baker testified that he told Wagnon he was looking for a good time, and when Wagnon asked what he meant, he named a sex act. Baker said Wagnon nodded, then said the bathroom was not very private. The men left the bathroom and began walking to a wooded area, and as they walked Wagnon asked Baker if he was a cop, according to Baker's testimony. When they reached the wooded area, Baker arrested Wagnon. Wagnon later was sentenced to 14 days in jail and fined $100. On appeal, Wagnon argued that his motion for a directed verdict should have been granted because the case constituted entrapment. The Court of Appeals disagreed. "Appellant's responses (to Baker) were not typical of a normally law-abiding citizen who was at the park for purposes other than sexual solicitation," Judge Robert Gladwin wrote for the court. The appeals court also rejected Wagnon's argument that the jury's instructions incorrectly stated the law regarding entrapment. |
