Alexander v. State

811 So. 2d 272, 2001 WL 19720
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 9, 2001
Docket1999-KA-00487-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 811 So. 2d 272 (Alexander v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alexander v. State, 811 So. 2d 272, 2001 WL 19720 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

811 So.2d 272 (2001)

Ronald Earl ALEXANDER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 1999-KA-00487-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 9, 2001.

*274 William C. Trotter, III, Kellie Williamson Koenig, Greenville, MS, Attorneys for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General, by Scott Stuart, Attorney for Appellee.

Before McMILLIN, C.J., BRIDGES, and MYERS, JJ.

BRIDGES, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Ronald Earl Alexander was indicted by a grand jury in Sunflower County, Mississippi on two counts of sexual battery, one count of attempted sexual battery and one count of attempted capital rape, all committed on a six year old girl, who, because she is a minor child, will hereinafter be referred to as "S.A." Following the indictment, a trial by jury was held in the Circuit Court of Sunflower County, Honorable W. Ashley Hines presiding. On February 9, 1999, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all four counts. Alexander was subsequently sentenced to twenty years on Count I of sexual battery; twenty years on Count II of sexual battery, to be served concurrently with the sentence on Count I; ten years on Count III of attempted sexual battery, to run consecutively with the sentence on Count I; ten years on Count IV of attempted capital rape, to run consecutively with the sentences on Counts I and III; and court costs.

¶ 2. At the conclusion of the State's case-in-chief, Alexander made a motion for a directed verdict stating that the State had not put on enough evidence to achieve a conviction. This motion was denied by Judge Hines. Following the trial, Alexander filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), or in the alternative, motion for a new trial. This motion was denied by Judge Hines as well. Alexander then filed a timely notice of appeal containing three issues for our review:

I. Whether the trial court erred in denying Alexander's motions for directed verdict, JNOV and new trial and refusing to overturn the jury verdict of guilty because such verdict was contrary to the law and against the overwhelming weight of the evidence?
II. Whether the trial court erred in denying Alexander's request that the State charge and try Alexander on only one charge pursuant to the "same transaction rule?"
III. Whether the trial court erred in denying Alexander's motion for a mistrial because evidence of other crimes was presented in front of the jury after a motion in limine was granted to disallow such evidence?

FACTS

¶ 3. The events leading to this matter took place on or about September 13, 1996, when Alexander was babysitting the victim, S.A., and her younger brother while their mother and a friend were apparently out for the evening. Alexander was the boyfriend of S.A.'s mother at the time of this incident. Seven weeks later, on November 2, 1996, S.A. told her grandmother, Evelyn, that she wanted to come live with her and then she told her grandmother the events that took place on what was determined *275 to have been September 13, 1996, the night Alexander babysat S.A. and her brother.

¶ 4. S.A. told Evelyn that Alexander had "messed" with her. More specifically, in her own terms, S.A. revealed that Alexander had "tried to stick his thing in her behind" and that he "stuck his thing in her" and "squirted white stuff all over her stomach." S.A. went on to say that Alexander made her put her mouth on his "thing" and then he did the same to her. According to S.A.'s account of the events, Alexander attempted to penetrate S.A.'s anus and vagina and then forced her to perform oral sex on him, where he thereafter ejaculated on her before performing oral sex on her. S.A. also revealed that Alexander placed his tongue around and inside her anus before preparing to attempt anal intercourse with her.

¶ 5. Immediately after hearing S.A.'s description of these happenings, Evelyn took S.A. to the family doctor, Dr. Edgar Donahoe, where S.A. again recounted these same events, after which he attempted to perform a short examination of S.A. Evelyn then took S.A. to the Indianola Police Department to file a complaint against Alexander, where S.A. once more repeated the details of this incident to Detective Brad McCoy.

¶ 6. Evelyn, Dr. Donahoe and Detective McCoy all appeared as witnesses at Alexander's trial. Also appearing as witnesses were Glyn Criswall-Kern, a child therapist specializing in child abuse who began meeting with S.A. regarding this incident in March 1997; Vickie Brocato, a child therapist specializing in child sexual abuse who began treating S.A. in June 1997; Gail Barnett, a family nurse practitioner with Charter Behavioral Systems who had a chance to observe and examine S.A. in September 1997; and Jennifer Pearce, a friend of S.A.'s mother who saw S.A. the morning after these events were determined to have occurred. Kern, Brocato and Barnett were all tendered by the State as expert witnesses in the field of child therapy. In order to prevent further trauma for S.A., the State filed a motion to make S.A. unavailable as a witness for Alexander's trial. The motion was granted by Judge Hines. Because S.A. would not be taking the witness stand on her own behalf in the trial, a hearing was held where the court ruled that it would allow the hearsay evidence of each of these witnesses who testified as to things that S.A. said and did regarding the incident on September 13, 1996. At Alexander's trial, each of these witnesses, for both the State and Alexander, duplicated the testimony they gave at the hearing.

¶ 7. Evelyn and Detective McCoy both testified about S.A.'s account of the events that took place between her and Alexander on September 13, 1996. Evelyn further testified that S.A. told her that she did not tell anyone about the sexual abuse at first because Alexander threatened the lives of her, her mother and her brother if she told. Evelyn also testified that S.A. began living with her from the time she told Evelyn of the incident until the present. There is no indication S.A.'s mother objected in any way to Evelyn's caring for S.A., taking S.A. to be examined after her discovery of these events or taking physical custody of S.A. Dr. Donahoe testified that his examination of S.A. on November 4, 1996, revealed nothing unusual about S.A.'s vagina and he stated that her hymen appeared to be intact. However, Dr. Donahoe also admitted at trial that he did not do a thorough exam on S.A. because she was highly agitated, and therefore he could say nothing to a medical certainty. On the other hand, Barnett testified that in her examination of S.A.'s female organs, she found that S.A. had "no hymenal tissue *276 whatsoever" and that "her vaginal opening was gaping." Kern and Brocato both testified that S.A. exhibited signs of a child who is disturbed by a trauma such as sexual abuse. Pearce, Alexander's witness, testified that she observed S.A. the morning after the alleged incident and thought that S.A. seemed "normal" and was outside playing as if nothing was bothering her.

¶ 8. Police testimony revealed that when Alexander was questioned by the police regarding the events of which S.A. had accused him, he replied that he was not sure if he had done those things or not, but he did not think that he did. Alexander denied that he ever made this or any statement to the police and he claimed that the officers gave him a blank sheet of paper to sign and later "made up" a statement and inserted it in between the initials of Alexander which he had written on the "blank" piece of paper.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Hendrix v. State
957 So. 2d 1023 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2007)
Hill v. State
929 So. 2d 375 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2006)
Moses v. State
893 So. 2d 258 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2004)
Bridges v. State
841 So. 2d 1189 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2003)
Winters v. State
814 So. 2d 184 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
811 So. 2d 272, 2001 WL 19720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alexander-v-state-missctapp-2001.