Bryant v. State

2010 Ark. 7, 377 S.W.3d 152, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 22
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 14, 2010
DocketNo. CR 08-1033
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2010 Ark. 7 (Bryant v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryant v. State, 2010 Ark. 7, 377 S.W.3d 152, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 22 (Ark. 2010).

Opinion

JIM GUNTER, Justice.

|, Appellant Lloyal Willie Bryant appeals his conviction of two counts of rape and two counts of second-degree sexual assault for which he was sentenced to life plus forty years to run concurrently. On appeal, he asserts that the trial court erred (1) in denying his motion to suppress statements he made during interrogation; (2) in admitting into evidence letters he wrote to his wife while incarcerated; (3) in allowing testimony regarding a prior sexual-assault offense; and (4) in denying his motion for directed verdict. Because this is a criminal appeal in which life imprisonment has been imposed, this court has jurisdiction under Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1 — 2(a)(2). We affirm on all points.

On April 28, 2007, the Boone County Sheriffs Office was called to appellant’s mobile home in Lead Hill, where he lived with his wife and stepchildren, to investigate a domestic disturbance. During that investigation, five-year-old C.H. alleged that appellant had sexually ^abused him. Appellant was arrested, and two days later Detective Troy Walker interviewed him regarding the allegations of sexual abuse. Following that interview, appellant was charged with two counts each of rape and sexual assault in the second degree.

Prior to trial, appellant filed several motions, including: (1) a motion to suppress his statement made to Detective Walker alleging that it was involuntary and coerced in violation of his constitutional rights; (2) a motion in limine to exclude letters appellant wrote to his wife while incarcerated because they were more prejudicial than probative under Arkansas Rule of Evidence 403; (3) a motion in limine pursuant to Rule 609(a) to prevent the State from using a prior sexual-assault conviction to impeach appellant because the prior conviction was more prejudicial than probative; and (4) a motion in limine based on Arkansas Rules of Evidence 403 and 404(b) to exclude testimony regarding appellant’s prior crimes as more prejudicial than probative and because the introduction of the prior conviction was to show appellant’s bad character.1

Appellant’s trial began on April 28, 2008. His twenty-one-year-old stepdaughter, IsBrittany Bailey, testified that she was at the home the day the police arrested appellant. She stated that appellant was intoxicated that day and that he was arguing with her sister Belinda. Appellant had accused Belinda of molesting her brother, C.H., and Brittany explained that the argument escalated and that appellant “spit in her face.” Brittany stated that she talked to C.H. alone and that his story was inconsistent with appellant’s version. She stated that C.H. indicated that appellant had been the abuser.

C.H., at the time six years old, testified that he lived with appellant and thought of him as a father. C.H. stated that while he lived with appellant — who C.H. identified as the defendant sitting in the courtroom — appellant touched him inappropriately on his “wiener” and “bottom.” C.H. accurately located these areas on a diagram of body parts. He stated that appellant touched him with his hand, his arm, and his mouth. C.H. testified that appellant “sucked on” his “wiener.” C.H. also said that he was forced to put appellant’s penis in his mouth and that “white stuff came out.”

The State called Detective Walker to testify regarding his interrogation of appellant. Appellant objected to the introduction of the confession on the basis that the detective only mirandized appellant once during the six-hour interview and that when appellant indicated he wished to cease the interview, the detective did not honor that request. The court stated that it had “ruled on it, so I’ll just show it as a continuing objection.”

Detective Walker testified that prior to the interrogation, he read appellant his rights, using the form required by the sheriffs office, and that appellant indicated he could read, |4write, and had received an equivalency diploma after finishing the tenth grade. Detective Walker noted that the interview began just before noon and lasted approximately six hours, with three or four breaks during its course. Upon questioning appellant regarding C.H.’s allegations, appellant’s response was that the child was lying. When the detective asked appellant about specific events, he stated that he did not remember and continued to deny he abused the child. After Detective Walker and appellant viewed the videotaped interview of C.H., appellant said that he had never touched C.H. and that if he had been abused, someone else did it. The interrogation then turned to appellant’s excessive drinking, and Detective Walker asked appellant if he could have inappropriately touched C.H. while he was drunk. Appellant stated that “[i]f it happened, I don’t remember none of it.” Appellant admitted that he was an alcoholic and that if C.H. was telling the truth, “I don’t remember if it did happen.” Appellant also expressed that “[fit’s tearing me up right now. It’s hurts [sic] me to know that I could do something like that with him.” The detective then questioned appellant about his history of being sexually abused by his own father. Appellant admitted that his father had molested him and that he occasionally dreamt about the abuse. At one point, appellant stated that “I’m not denying it didn’t happen, it— more than likely, it has happened but I [inaudible] dreams about my dad.” Thereafter, the following colloquy occurred:

Detective Walker: We don’t have to wait Willie.
Appellant: Troy, I don’t remember it.
Detective Walker: Yes, you do.
Appellant: No, I don’t.
Detective Walker: Yes, you do. Stop, I’m not going to hear it.
Appellant: Okay, then we’re through with [inaudible] this interview then.
| ^Detective Walker: Be quiet.
Appellant: I can’t answer it, I can’t admit something ...
Detective Walker: He needs your support Willie.
Appellant: I know and I’m ...

Detective Walker continued to question appellant, and he continued to deny the allegations. Detective Walker described appellant’s demeanor throughout the interview as “stoic,” showing “no emotion,” and like a “statue.” The detective stated that appellant never seemed offended, even when the detective used profanity to attempt to elicit an emotional response. Detective Walker noticed tears in appellant’s eyes at one point during the discussion of his own abuse by his father.

A deputy with the Boone County Sheriffs Office testified that he served as jailer while appellant was incarcerated prior to trial. The deputy testified that appellant wrote two letters to his wife. Brittany Bailey was recalled to testify regarding letters received at her residence for her mother. She stated that she had seen appellant’s handwriting several times during the three years she lived with him. She indicated that she had no doubt the letters were from appellant. Appellant objected to the introduction of the letters on the basis that they were more prejudicial than probative under Rule 403 and that the State had failed to lay a proper foundation.

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Bluebook (online)
2010 Ark. 7, 377 S.W.3d 152, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-state-ark-2010.