People v. Peggese

102 Cal. App. 3d 415, 162 Cal. Rptr. 510, 1980 Cal. App. LEXIS 1497
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 21, 1980
DocketCrim. 35109
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 102 Cal. App. 3d 415 (People v. Peggese) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Peggese, 102 Cal. App. 3d 415, 162 Cal. Rptr. 510, 1980 Cal. App. LEXIS 1497 (Cal. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

Opinion

BURKE (M. L.), J. *

Defendant was convicted by a jury of one count of rape (Pen. Code, § 261, subds. 2 and 3) and sentenced to state prison. He appeals.

Upon awakening at about 6 a.m. on July 21, 1978, the victim, Mrs. Hendricks (56 years old), and her husband both dressed and Mr. Hendricks left the hotel room where they had been staying to get them some food. The cafe where Mr. Hendricks went was about 6 blocks away and he was there about 45 minutes to an hour waiting for the *418 food to be prepared. About 20 minutes after her husband left, Mrs. Hendricks heard a knock at the door. Believing it was her husband returning, she unlocked and opened the door.

Defendant, a man she had never seen before, stood in the doorway, said, “I want some of you,” pushed the door open despite her efforts to close it, and rushed inside. He pushed her over onto the bed, held her down and tore off her clothing. She repeatedly begged him, “Don’t do this,” and began screaming for help. Defendant slapped her and put his hand over her mouth when she screamed. With one hand keeping her down, he removed his pants and shirt with his other hand and inserted his penis into her vagina. He was on top of her “something like” half an hour.

In the meantime Mr. Hendricks returned from the cafe to find the door to their room unlocked, which was unusual since Mrs. Hendricks always locked it when he went out. He opened the door and saw defendant on top of his wife on the bed. She was crying. They were both unclothed. Defendant turned and looked at Mr. Hendricks, then rolled off the bed and, leaving his clothing, ran past Mr. Hendricks to the room directly across the hall. Mr. Hendricks heard a door open and close. Mr. Hendricks tossed defendant’s clothing out into the hall. His wife was hysterical and, since there was no phone in the room, Mr. Hendricks told her to get her clothes on and they would go down to the lobby and call the police. It took about five minutes for her to get dressed and for them to get downstairs where they told the manager, Mr. Parson, and the desk clerk, Mr. Rabke, what had happened.

Mr. Rabke immediately called the police. While waiting for their arrival about 10 minutes later, and within minutes after Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks had come downstairs, defendant appeared on the stairway. He came down carrying some clothing and said he was going to the laundry. Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks screamed, “That’s the man.”

Mr. Parson recognized defendant as the man who occupied the room directly across from that of Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks. He told defendant that no laundry was open in the area at that hour and detained him until the police arrived. Defendant was arrested by the officers after Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks identified him as the rapist.

Defendant was being detained by Mr. Parson when Officer Morgan and his partner arrived in response to the call. Mrs. Hendricks was cry *419 ing and unable to talk. Mr. Hendricks told him what happened and pointed out defendant as his wife’s attacker. Mrs. Hendricks was later calm enough to talk and she, too, positively identified defendant.

Officer Morgan recalled having seen defendant earlier that same morning, at about 2:30 a.m. Defendant was alone on foot at the time and the officers were seated in their patrol car waiting for a traffic light to change. The location was about two blocks away from the hotel where defendant was subsequently arrested. Defendant was standing on the curb about two or three feet from the passenger side of the car where Officer Morgan was seated.

Defendant asked what the problem was with the women in Long Beach. The officer inquired as to why he was asking. Defendant replied that he was having some trouble in locating a woman. The officer then jokingly commented that it might be his approach. He said to defendant, “Maybe what you need to do is offer them some gifts or possibly propose marriage to someone.” Defendant stated that he had proposed marriage and had even gone so far as to buy gifts, but for some reason they still rejected him.

The officer, having by then concluded that possibly defendant had some mental problem, and in a “private joke” with his partner, stated that there was a place called “Norwalk” (having in mind Metropolitan State Hospital), and asked defendant if he had ever attempted to talk to anyone in Norwalk about it. Defendant answered in the negative, but said he would be willing to go if someone would take him there and if someone was there who was willing to marry him. At this time a call came through the dispatcher and Officer Morgan informed defendant of this and said they would have to leave. Defendant concluded the conversation by stating, “Thank you. I guess I’ll go find me a woman.” He then turned and walked off. The entire conversation lasted about 30 or 40 seconds. The officer smelled no alcohol on defendant’s breath.

When, during the trial, the prosecutor first began to question Officer Morgan about the aforementioned street-corner conversation with defendant, defense counsel objected and asked for a bench conference. Out of the presence of the jury an offer of proof was given by the prosecutor, and defense counsel objected on general hearsay and relevancy grounds. The court overruled the objection and the testimony as to the conversation followed.

*420 I

As grounds for reversal, defendant first contends the trial court erred in permitting Officer Morgan to relate his street-corner conversation with defendant. It is argued that (1) the only relevance of this testimony was to suggest “that appellant had the general propensity to commit rape,” and further, (2) that since the issue in the action “was not appellant’s state of mind but whether appellant had been the perpetrator of the offense,” the statement was inadmissible hearsay. Neither argument has merit.

Defendant’s statement to the officer, made a few hours before the attack on the victim, indicating frustration in his repeated attempts to find female companionship and resolve that he “was going to find me a woman,” was certainly relevant, in that, by reasonable inference, it suggested that he had carried out his intention by perpetrating the crime. “[W]hen an intent has been declared to do a particular thing, an inference may be drawn that the thing was done. [Citations.]” (People v. Horace (1954) 127 Cal.App.2d 366, 369 [273 P.2d 923].) Nor was the statement rendered inadmissible by the fact it did not, on its face, absolutely manifest the intention to commit a rape. The test of relevancy is whether the evidence tends, logically, naturally, or by reasonable inference to establish a material fact, not whether it conclusively proves it. (People v. Ott (1978) 84 Cal.App.3d 118, 127 [148 Cal.Rptr. 479].) “[T]o be admissible, evidence need not absolutely confirm anything. It is axiomatic that its weight is for the jury.” (People v. Vernon (1979) 89 Cal.App.3d 853, 869 [152 Cal.Rptr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
102 Cal. App. 3d 415, 162 Cal. Rptr. 510, 1980 Cal. App. LEXIS 1497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-peggese-calctapp-1980.