Roles v. State

952 So. 2d 1043, 2007 WL 900959
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 27, 2007
Docket2005-KA-00362-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 952 So. 2d 1043 (Roles v. State) 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
Roles v. State, 952 So. 2d 1043, 2007 WL 900959 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

952 So.2d 1043 (2007)

Herbert G. ROLES, III, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-KA-00362-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

March 27, 2007.

*1045 Harry B. Ward, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Daniel Hinchcliff, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., CHANDLER and ROBERTS, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Herbert G. "Tinker" Roles, III, was convicted of the statutory rape of a thirteen-year-old girl in the Circuit Court of Hancock County, Mississippi, and sentenced to serve a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. After being denied motions for a directed verdict and a new trial, Roles appealed the judgment, raising the following issues, which we quote verbatim:

I. THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED IN NOT SUPPRESSING THE PANTIES WHICH WERE RETRIEVED WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRANT.
II. THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE THE ELEMENT OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.
III. THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED IN REFUSING A DIRECTED VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT.
IV. A BATSON HEARING SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. Because of the nature of the crime, we do not use the victim's name, her family's, or the names of the victim's underage friends. Herbert G. Roles was a police officer with the Bay St. Louis police department. K.M. was a thirteen-year-old girl at the time of the alleged incidents; Roles was thirty-four years old. A former co-worker of K.M.'s mother, Roles was a family friend and would frequently visit K.M.'s home.

¶ 4. On March 25, 2002, one of K.M.'s co-workers told K.M.'s mother, M.M., that Roles had been engaging in sexual activity with K.M.M.M. immediately drove to K.M.'s school and confronted her with the allegations. K.M. confirmed that she had sexual relations with Roles. M.M. then contacted the police and school officials, whereby K.M. proceeded to give two statements, one on March 25 and another on March 26.

¶ 5. K.M. stated that three separate incidents with Roles occurred. The first, on February 1, 2002, allegedly took place when K.M.'s mother was out of town, working at a Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana. K.M., who was supposed to be staying with her aunt, had gone back home for the evening to clean her room. Roles called the house to speak with M.M., was told that the parents were out of town, and thereafter arrived at the home by himself. K.M. claims that Roles took her into a bedroom, undressed her, and had sexual intercourse with her.

¶ 6. The second incident allegedly occurred on February 18, 2002, when Roles was visiting K.M.'s home. K.M. had recently purchased a car from her work earnings, although she was not old enough to drive legally. K.M. offered Roles a ride around the block to show him her new car, wherein she claims he penetrated her with his fingers while in the vehicle.

*1046 ¶ 7. On March 22, 2002, the third incident took place when Roles met K.M. at a movie theater. K.M. was at the theater to watch a movie with her friend, P.B., and P.B.'s boyfriend, but K.M. saw Roles in the parking lot and decided to go for a ride with him alone in his car. The two drove to a Welcome Center rest stop on I-10 and engaged in sexual intercourse in the vehicle. During this encounter, K.M. gave Roles a pair of her orange underpants, which he later put in a black bag in the back of his car.

¶ 8. After K.M. gave her initial statements concerning the February 18 and March 22 incidents, a warrant was issued for Roles's arrest. Officer Tom Burleson, who knew Roles, called Roles and asked him to come to the Bay St. Louis Police Station for questioning. During the interview, Burleson testified that Roles initially admitted to holding hands and kissing K.M., but after a question regarding whether "one thing led to another," Roles stated affirmatively that he had engaged in sexual relations with K.M. When asked if K.M. could be pregnant, Roles stated that was not possible because he had ejaculated on his stomach and her legs. At some point during the interview, Officer Matt Carver searched a black bag found in Roles's vehicle and found K.M.'s orange underpants.

¶ 9. The next day on March 26, 2002, K.M. went back to the police station with her aunt and recounted the allegations of the February 1 incident at her home. K.M. also spoke with Officer Burleson by phone that day and told Burleson that the underpants belonged to her.

¶ 10. Roles was indicted on July 18, 2002, in Hancock County, Mississippi, for two counts of statutory rape pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-65(1)(b) (Rev. 2006), along with sexual battery pursuant to Section 97-3-95(1)(d).

¶ 11. On February 21, 2003, Roles was found not guilty of Count I of statutory rape and Count III of sexual battery, but guilty on Count II of statutory rape, arising from the March 22, 2002 incident. Roles was sentenced to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Roles filed a motion for a directed verdict, and in the alternative, a motion for a new trial. Both motions were denied.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED IN NOT SUPPRESSING THE PANTIES WHICH WERE RETRIEVED WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRANT.

¶ 12. Roles first argues that K.M.'s undergarments were illegally obtained without a search warrant and, therefore, should not have been admitted into evidence. However, Roles admits that the record is "void" as to how the undergarments were obtained by law enforcement and that the record is also "void" of any specific motion to suppress the evidence. No objection was made at trial to the admission of the undergarments as evidence.

¶ 13. Because Roles did not make a timely objection to the admission of the undergarments as evidence, he is procedurally barred from appealing this issue. "Failure to make a contemporaneous objection waives an issue for purposes of appeal." Spicer v. State, 921 So.2d 292, 305 (¶ 22) (Miss. 2006). Therefore, this issue is without merit.

II. THE STATE FAILED TO PROVE THE ELEMENT OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.

¶ 14. Roles contends that the State failed to prove the essential element *1047 of "sexual intercourse," because K.M.'s testimony at trial differed from the statements she gave to a police investigator, and medical evidence was not used to corroborate her version of events. Essentially, Roles attacks K.M.'s credibility as a witness.

¶ 15. It is well established that "the jury is the judge of the credibility of a witness." Price v. State, 898 So.2d 641, 652 (¶ 25) (Miss. 2005). Matters regarding the weight and credibility of the evidence are to be resolved by the jury, and we will not set aside a guilty verdict unless the evidence is the result of prejudice, bias or fraud. Id. Initially, K.M. told a police investigator that she had sex with Roles in the passenger seat of his car in two different positions. At trial, K.M. testified that she had sex with Roles while sitting on top, facing him. While K.M.'s trial testimony may have been inconsistent with her initial statements to the police, her credibility was a matter for the jury to decide.

¶ 16.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Carter v. State
996 So. 2d 112 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
952 So. 2d 1043, 2007 WL 900959, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roles-v-state-missctapp-2007.