Parker v. State

486 S.E.2d 687, 226 Ga. App. 462, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 2079, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 647, 1997 WL 266612
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 14, 1997
DocketA97A0774
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 486 S.E.2d 687 (Parker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. State, 486 S.E.2d 687, 226 Ga. App. 462, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 2079, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 647, 1997 WL 266612 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge.

Stephen Loren Parker was convicted of burglary, rape, and aggravated assault. He appeals from the judgment of conviction and the denial of his motion for new trial. We affirm.

1. Parker contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. Such a motion should be considered under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979); that is, it should be granted only if a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not find the appellant guilty. See Duckworth v. State, 223 Ga. App. 250, 254-255 (3) (477 SE2d 336) (1996); see also OCGA § 17-9-1 (a).

Viewed in this light, the evidence shows the victim lived in the same mobile home park where Parker was staying with his friends, the Steversons. The victim testified that on the morning of June 14, 1995, after her husband left for work, which was customarily between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., she awoke to find a strange man in her bedroom. The man had a Swiss army knife and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. He did not wear any covering on his face. At trial, the victim identified Parker as the rapist.

Mr. Steverson testified Parker left the Steverson trailer on the night of June 13 and returned at about 8:15 a.m. on the morning of June 14, sweating and seemingly nervous, from the direction of the victim’s street. Parker asked Mr. Steverson to say he had returned at 7:30 a.m. and to dispose of the clothes he had been wearing. Mrs. Steverson testified that Parker asked her to wash the pants he had worn the night before, and that about two weeks after the rape, she found a Swiss army knife similar to the one described by the victim in a closet in her trailer.

Parker was arrested on June 14. After being advised of his rights, he made incriminating statements to a sheriff’s investigator. *463 A microanalyst with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Division of Forensic Sciences testified fibers found on Parker’s pants matched fibers from the sheet on the victim’s bed.

The trial court did not err in denying the motion for directed verdict of acquittal.

2. Parker contends the victim’s in-court identification of him was tainted by an allegedly improper lineup identification. He claims the lineup identification was invalid because there was no evidence the light in the trailer was sufficient for the victim to get a good look at her attacker, and because the other lineup participants’ height and hair color were dissimilar to his.

Parker did not raise the issue of the lighting in the trailer at trial. By failing to do so, he waived the right to raise it on appeal. See Smith v. State, 221 Ga. App. 428 (2) (472 SE2d 4) (1996); see generally Hunter v. State, 202 Ga. App. 195, 197 (3) (413 SE2d 526) (1991). The investigator, who was present at the lineup, testified in the hearing on the motion to suppress that the hair color and stature of the other participants were similar to Parker’s. The trial court was authorized to find this testimony credible. See State v. Leviner, 213 Ga. App. 99 (1) (443 SE2d 688) (1994). We therefore find no error in the admittance of the identification testimony.

3. Parker claims the trial court erred in admitting his incriminating statements to the investigator, contending they were not voluntary because he was handcuffed when he made them. Whether custodial statements are knowing and voluntary depends on the totality of the circumstances. Anderson v. State, 223 Ga. App. 125 (1) (476 SE2d 852) (1996). We review the trial court’s factual findings on the statements’ admissibility under the clear error standard. Martin v. State, 264 Ga. 826 (1) (452 SE2d 95) (1995).

The investigator testified that Parker was advised of his rights; that he did not request a lawyer or ask that the questioning stop; that no promises or threats were made to Parker; and that he was kept handcuffed because the only place available for the interview was a non-secured office area. Given this evidence, the trial court’s finding that Parker’s statements were voluntary is not clearly erroneous. See Ramos v. State, 198 Ga. App. 65, 66 (1) (400 SE2d 353) (1990); see generally Rachell v. State, 210 Ga. App. 106, 107 (2) (b) (435 SE2d 480) (1993).

4. Parker contends the trial court erred in admitting the knife into evidence because Mrs. Steverson found it almost two weeks after the crime at a place Parker stayed only occasionally, and because the victim testified she thought this knife was smaller than, though similar to, the one used by the rapist.

A trial court has broad discretion in the admission of evidence. Baker v. State, 211 Ga. App. 515, 517 (3) (439 SE2d 668) (1993). A *464 weapon is generally admissible if it is similar to one used in a crime, even though it is not the same one. Boyd v. State, 264 Ga. 490, 491 (2) (448 SE2d 210) (1994). Based on the testimony of Mrs. Steverson and the victim, the jury would have been authorized to find either that the knife admitted was the one used in the attack, or that it was merely a similar knife. In any event, any discrepancies in the victim’s description of the knife went to the weight and credibility of the evidence, not its admissibility, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the knife. See Davis v. State, 230 Ga. 902, 905-906 (5) (199 SE2d 779) (1973).

5. In two related enumerations of error, Parker claims the trial court erred in allowing the state to elicit testimony he contends improperly placed his character in issue.

Parker planned to call as a witness his bondsperson in this case, whom he first met when she posted bond for him on an earlier charge. He moved in limine to prevent the state from asking her how they met. The trial court denied the motion, on the ground that a witness’ relationship with the accused is relevant. See OCGA § 24-9-68. Parker called the bondsperson anyway and elicited testimony that she had heard him say he had befriended a married woman who lived in the trailer park and had the same first name as the victim. Parker asked her no questions going to his character.

During cross-examination, when it appeared the state was about to ask the witness how she met Parker, he objected. The trial court overruled the objection for the same reason it had denied the motion in limine. The witness then testified she met Parker when she posted bond for him in a theft by taking case two years before the rape trial. Parker enumerates as error both the denial of his motion in limine and the overruling of his objection.

If evidence places an accused’s character in issue, it is inadmissible unless it is relevant to some other issue in the case. See Robinson v. State, 192 Ga. App. 32, 33 (383 SE2d 593) (1989).

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Bluebook (online)
486 S.E.2d 687, 226 Ga. App. 462, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 2079, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 647, 1997 WL 266612, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-state-gactapp-1997.