Latoya Atkins Richards v. State of Mississippi

CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 23, 2019
Docket2017-KA-00809-COA
StatusPublished

This text of Latoya Atkins Richards v. State of Mississippi (Latoya Atkins Richards v. State of Mississippi) 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
Latoya Atkins Richards v. State of Mississippi, (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2017-KA-00809-COA

LATOYA ATKINS RICHARDS A/K/A LATOYA APPELLANTS ATKINS RICHARD AND FLOYD RICHARDS A/K/A FLOYD LEE RICHARDS

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 05/26/2017 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. ALBERT B. SMITH III COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: BOLIVAR COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: W. DANIEL HINCHCLIFF NICK CRAWFORD ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: LAURA HOGAN TEDDER DISTRICT ATTORNEY: BRENDA FAY MITCHELL NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED: 04/23/2019 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:

BEFORE BARNES, C.J., WESTBROOKS AND LAWRENCE, JJ.

LAWRENCE, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Floyd Richards (Floyd) was indicted for attempted sexual battery of his stepdaughter,

M.A., who was fourteen at the time of the disclosure of the allegations.1 M.A.’s mother,

Latoya Richards (Latoya), was jointly indicted with Floyd on a separate charge of

contributing to the neglect and delinquency of a child. After a joint trial, Floyd was

1 Actual names are not revealed in sexual-abuse cases. convicted of the lesser offense of touching a child for lustful purposes, and Latoya was

convicted of the crime charged. Both Defendants, each represented by separate counsel,

appeal, raising numerous issues. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm both

convictions and sentences.

FACTS

¶2. In the fall of 2015, Willie Joe McCall taught a “Healthy Relationships” class at Shaw

High School in Shaw, Mississippi. McCall and the students discussed several topics, such

as dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. M.A. was fourteen years old at the time and

a student in McCall’s class. On December 11, 2015, McCall gave the students a test

containing several “yes” or “no” questions. One question asked if the student had witnessed

or experienced child abuse or sexual abuse, and, if so, by whom. M.A. marked “yes” and

wrote “my stepdad.”

¶3. McCall informed the principal, Daphne Young, of M.A.’s answers and gave Young

M.A.’s test. Young and the school counselor met with M.A. immediately. During the

meeting, they noticed M.A.’s legs were bruised. After speaking with M.A., Young reported

the incident to the Department of Human Services (DHS).

¶4. DHS assigned Bertina White as M.A.’s caseworker. Based on the allegations of

sexual abuse, White scheduled a forensic interview for M.A. at The Family Resource Center

of Northeast Mississippi Children’s Advocacy Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Officer Ray

Morris of the Bolivar County Sheriff’s Department was contacted about the allegations. On

2 December 29, 2015, Officer Morris and White both observed M.A.’s interview with Marie

Frison, the facility’s forensic interviewer. After the interview, Frison generated a three-page

forensic interview summary detailing M.A.’s intake information and a summary of her

statements.

¶5. M.A. testified at trial. She began her testimony with the incident that led to Floyd’s

indictment. M.A. testified that sometime after entering ninth grade but before Thanksgiving

in 2015,2 she rode with Floyd to the Dollar General to get medicine. According to M.A.,

after leaving the store, Floyd “pretended” like something was wrong with his Jeep. Floyd

stopped the Jeep, turned it off, and asked M.A. to touch his penis. M.A. testified that she

touched his penis. Floyd then made M.A. get in the back seat and take off her clothes. Floyd

and M.A. both crawled into the back seat, and M.A. removed her clothing. Floyd remained

clothed but had his penis out of his pants. M.A. testified that Floyd was trying to get on top

of her, but she kept pushing him away. She also testified that she tried to open the door.

M.A. testified that Floyd’s penis touched the top of her vagina but that there was no

penetration. Eventually, Floyd ejaculated. He then turned the Jeep back on and drove home.

¶6. M.A. testified to several incidents before the “Jeep incident” that caused her to be

afraid of what Floyd may do to physically or sexually abuse her. One time, M.A. and her

brother, K.A., came home from school, and Floyd sent K.A. to his room. Floyd then ordered

2 Floyd was indicted for committing the crime of attempted sexual battery of M.A. between August 1, 2015, and November 25, 2015.

3 M.A. to walk around the living room naked and then lie on the couch, where he tried to have

sex with her. M.A. testified she pushed him off of her. She also testified that her mother was

out of town that day. On another occasion, Floyd touched M.A.’s chest area while she was

“picking his face.” M.A. also testified that Floyd had shown her pornography in the past

(before the “Jeep incident”). M.A. testified that she told Latoya “three or four” times about

the abuse. Each time, Latoya would tell Floyd what M.A. said, and Floyd would “beat up”

M.A. M.A. further testified that she and K.A. witnessed Floyd abuse their mother.

¶7. M.A.’s brother K.A. was the only defense witness. He testified that nothing ever

happened between M.A. and Floyd and that M.A. and Floyd were never alone together. K.A.

also testified that Floyd never harmed him or his mother.

¶8. The jury found Floyd guilty of the lesser offense of touching a child for lustful

purposes. The circuit court sentenced Floyd to serve fifteen years in the custody of the

Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). The jury also found Latoya guilty of

contributing to the neglect and delinquency of a child. Latoya was sentenced to serve ten

years in the custody of the MDOC. Latoya and Floyd each filed a motion for a judgment

notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial, which were denied.

DISCUSSION

¶9. Latoya and Floyd raise one issue together and several other separate issues on appeal.

In the interest of simplicity, their shared issue will be discussed first, and then their separate

issues will be addressed below.

4 1. Frison’s Testimony

¶10. Latoya and Floyd both argue that the circuit court erred in allowing Frison to testify

to M.A.’s reported time frame of the “Jeep incident.” Specifically, both Defendants argue

that the testimony was hearsay.

¶11. On cross-examination, Floyd’s attorney attempted to use the first page of Frison’s

forensic-interview summary to impeach M.A. with an allegedly inconsistent statement—that

M.A. said that the “Jeep incident” occurred on December 12, 2015, and not between

August 1, 2015, and November 25, 2015, as alleged in the indictment. The first page of the

summary document contained DHS’s referral information, which stated that the sexual-abuse

allegation stemmed from an incident occurring on December 12, 2015. The State objected

to the use of the document as improper impeachment since M.A. did not provide the

information on the first page of the forensic-interview summary nor was the document

prepared by her. The trial court overruled the State’s objection and allowed M.A. to answer

questions concerning the information on the first page of the summary. When asked if she

told Frison that she was sexually assaulted on December 12, M.A. responded, “Yes.” But

on redirect examination, the State asked M.A. if December 12, 2015, was the date of the

“Jeep incident.” M.A. testified that it was not. She clarified the “Jeep incident” happened

before December.

¶12.

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Latoya Atkins Richards v. State of Mississippi, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/latoya-atkins-richards-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2019.