John v. People

63 V.I. 629, 2015 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 28
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedSeptember 24, 2015
DocketS. Ct. Criminal No. 2014-0030
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 63 V.I. 629 (John v. People) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John v. People, 63 V.I. 629, 2015 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 28 (virginislands 2015).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

(September 24, 2015)

Swan, Associate Justice.

Appellant Tydel John contends that he presented evidence substantially contradictory to the evidence against him which raised reasonable doubt as to his guilt on charges of aggravated rape and unlawful sexual contact, and that the evidence presented by the People of the Virgin Islands was insufficient to convict him on a number of charges in the information. John further asserts that the evidence against him was illegally obtained from suppressed evidence. Lastly, he asserts that a mistrial should have been granted because of the People’s failure to disclose information about a separate civil suit by at least one of the victims. Because none of these claims is meritorious, we affirm the judgment and commitment of the trial court.

[635]*635I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

John was employed as an elementary school teacher with several primary schools in St. Croix. Allegations of inappropriate conduct between John and his students at one school became known to school officials in November 2007 when outreach program specialists made a presentation to the students regarding “good touch/bad touch” from adults. After the presentation, several students informed the specialists that John had touched them inappropriately. Police officials subsequently investigated these students’ allegations.

Police Detective Naomi Joseph obtained a warrant to search John’s home for evidence of child pornography as part of the investigation. During the search of John’s home, police officers confiscated computers, notebooks, and journals. While the specific contents of the notebooks were never disclosed, the People moved to admit into evidence statements recorded in the notebooks as admissions and as evidence of prior bad acts. John moved to suppress the notebooks on the grounds that there was no probable cause to support the search. The trial court granted John’s motion to suppress and the People appealed. On July 1, 2009, we upheld the decision of the trial court to suppress the evidence, finding that no probable cause existed to support the warrant and resultant search of John’s residence for child pornography. People v. John, 52 V.I. 247, 263 (V.I. 2009).

Consequently, the People filed a two-count information against John on September 30, 2009, charging him with one count of unlawful sexual conduct and one count of child abuse. On January 11, 2012, the People filed a 21-count amended information against John. On August 28, 2012, the People filed a 16-count amended third superseding information charging John with six counts of child abuse, eight counts of unlawful sexual contact in the first degree, and two counts of aggravated rape in the first-degree in offenses against victims K.W., L.C., D.S., A.D., J.R., T.O., M.D., and M.F. (J.A. at 87, 206-11.) The case proceeded to trial and the jury heard testimony from all named victims as well as 30 other witnesses called by the People. (J.A. at 87.) The jury returned verdicts convicting John of all charges except those involving alleged crimes against D.S. (counts four through six) and M.F. (count sixteen).

Subsequently, John filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal for which the trial court granted a dismissal of the child abuse counts (counts [636]*636three, eight, eleven, thirteen, and fifteen), but denied the motion as to the remainder of the counts. In a judgment and commitment entered on June 20, 2014, John was sentenced as follows: count one, unlawful sexual contact with victim K.W., 15 years; count two, unlawful sexual contact involving victim L.C., 15 years; count three, unlawful sexual contact with victim L.C., 15 years; count seven, unlawful sexual contact involving victim A.D., 15 years; count nine, aggravated rape in the first degree of victim J.R., 50 years; count ten, unlawful sexual contact involving victim J.R., 15 years; count twelve, unlawful sexual contact with victim T.O., 15 years; and count fourteen, unlawful sexual contact with victim M.D., 15 years. (J.A. at 103-04.) The sentences on counts one, two, seven, twelve, and fourteen were ordered to be served concurrently with each other, and were further ordered to be served concurrently to count nine.1 Id. Count ten was ordered held in abeyance and to be dismissed [637]*637upon the completion of sentence pursuant to 14 V.I.C. § 104. This timely appeal ensued.

II. JURISDICTION

Title 4, section 32(a) of the Virgin Islands Code provides, in pertinent-part, that “[t]he Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction over all appeals arising from final judgments, final decrees or final orders of the Superior Court, or as otherwise provided by law.” It is well-established that in a criminal case, the written judgment embodying the adjudication of guilt and the sentence imposed based on that adjudication constitutes a final judgment for purposes of this statute. Williams v. People, 58 V.I. 341, 345 (V.I. 2013). Accordingly, we have jurisdiction over this appeal.

III. ISSUES AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

On appeal John contends A) that the People failed to show an independent source apart from the information allegedly obtained from suppressed evidence, B) that the trial court erred in failing to declare a mistrial based upon the People’s alleged violation of the obligation to disclose exculpatory information pursuant to Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963), and specifically that the People failed to disclose that a civil suit had been filed against John, and C) that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of counts one, two, seven, nine, ten, twelve, and fourteen.

The standard of review of the trial court’s application of law is plenary, while its findings of fact are reviewed for clear error. Najawicz v. People, 58 V.I. 315, 323 (V.I. 2013). We review denials of motions for mistrial for abuse of discretion. Connor v. People, 59 V.I. 286, 299 (V.I. 2013). Similarly, we review decisions on motions for a new trial based on Brady violations for an abuse of discretion. Stevens v. People, 55 V.I. 550, 556 (V.I. 2011). When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we review the trial court’s determination de novo and view the evidence in the light most favorable to the People. Percival v. People, 62 V.I. 477, 484 (V.I. 2015). We affirm the conviction when any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence presented at trial. Id.

[638]*638IV. DISCUSSION

A. Information was not derived from suppressed evidence

During the initial investigation by Officer Joseph into John’s alleged inappropriate conduct with his students, she conducted interviews with the alleged victims. These interviews revealed that John possessed two notebooks, in which he allegedly maintained a record of his inappropriate conduct with his students. Officer Joseph recounted this information in an affidavit which was the basis for a search warrant to locate these notebooks in John’s home.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
63 V.I. 629, 2015 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 28, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-v-people-virginislands-2015.