State of Missouri v. Marcus Weaver

475 S.W.3d 695, 2015 Mo. App. LEXIS 164
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 24, 2015
DocketED100299
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 475 S.W.3d 695 (State of Missouri v. Marcus Weaver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Missouri v. Marcus Weaver, 475 S.W.3d 695, 2015 Mo. App. LEXIS 164 (Mo. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

ROBERT G. DOWD, JR., Judge

Marcus Weaver appeals from the judgment entered on his convictions after a jury trial on three counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree, four counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree, one count of child molestation in the first degree, two counts of misdemeanor child molestation and four counts of incest. We affirm as modified, with correction of two clerical errors in the judgment and sentence.

The sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged on appeal. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdicts, the evidence showed that Weaver repeatedly engaged in sexual misconduct in various ways with his step-daughter over the course of several years. When confronted with the allegations by police, Weaver initially denied that he had ever touched the victim in a sexual way, but also admitted that he drank a lot and that, if it hap *697 pened, he did not remember it. Eventually, Weaver admitted to police that he had touched the victim’s vagina and buttocks with his hand and licked her vagina. At trial, however, he testified that he had never touched the victim inappropriately and claimed he had falsely confessed. 1

In Point I, Weaver claims the State improperly referred to his criminal proclivities and speculated about his propensity to commit future crimes during the following portion of its closing argument:

Yesterday defendant told you that when he confessed to the police, that he made a false confession because he would do anything to save his family. This may surprise you, but in a way I agree with him. Defendant’s confession may save his family because on your finding him guilty of the crimes that he perpetrated on a child, an innocent child, the family will be able to move on. [The victim] will, remain safe. [Her sister] will be safe. And any future child whom defendant would have a sexual interest
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At this point, defense counsel objected that this was “improper argument,” which was overruled. The court then admonished the jury that this was argument and they should be guided by the evidence as they recalled it and by the court’s instructions. In Weaver’s motion for new trial, the asserted basis for the objection changed to “inflammatory and irrelevant.”

As the State points out, comments about the victim’s and her sister’s safety were permissible references to Weaver’s stated reason for confessing to the crimes. As for the brief reference to Weaver’s propensity to commit future criminal acts, the objection “improper argument” is not specific enough to preserve the issue for appellate review. State v. White, 870 S.W.2d 869, 873 (Mo.App.W.D.1993). Moreover, Weaver has not maintained the same grounds for the objection at trial, in his post-trial motion and on appeal. “The general rule with resp'éct to preservation of error is that an objection stating the grounds must be made at trial, the same objection must be set out in the motion for "new trial and must be carried forward in the appeal brief to preserve it.” State v. Petty, 967 S.W.2d 127, 140 (Mo.App.E.D.1998). Thus, we can review only for plain error, which is rarely found in closing argument. State v. McFadden, 369 S.W.3d 727, 747 (Mo. banc 2012). Reversal is required only if the comment had a decisive effect on the jury’s determination. Id. The defendant bears the burden to prove the decisive significance of the comment, which Weaver.has failed to do in this case. This was an isolated reference to the notion that'Weaver, might commit the crime again, and the trial court immediately admonished the jury that this was argument and should be guided by the evidence and the court’s instructions.

Point I is denied.

In Point II, Weaver claims, there was a fatal variance between the indictment and the verdict-directing instruction on count 5 for child molestation in the first degree. The indictment charged Weaver with this crime “by squeezing [the victim’s] breast with defendant’s hand.” The instruction stated.that he “sucked upon the breast of [the victim].”

Weaver admits this claim of error was not preserved because he failed to object to the instruction at'trial. We have discretion to review it’ for plain error, therefore, only if manifest injustice would *698 otherwise occur. State v. Wurtzberger, 40 S.W.3d 893, 898 (Mo. banc 2001). “Instructional error seldom rises to: the level of plain error.” State v. Drisdel, 417 S.W.3d 773, 786, (Mo.App.E.D.2013). In the context of whether a variance amounts to a plain error affecting the verdict, the question is whether the defendant can demonstrate prejudice in that he would have been better able to defend his case had the change not occurred. Id. Weaver’s ability to present his defense to this charge did not hinge on whether he touched or sucked on the victim’s breast— rather, at trial, he retracted his confession and denied any sexually inappropriate conduct at all. Moreover, the record demonstrates that Weaver had notice of this change at least by the close of the State’s case. At that point, counsel acknowledged that there was sufficient evidence to submit this count on the basis of sucking and was aware of — -and did not object to — the State’s plan to submit that as the method instead of touching. ’

Point II is denied.

In Point III, Weaver contends the trial court erred in allowing the victim to testify about waking up with her underwear removed when she was very young. He claims this evidence is not relevant and caused jurors to speculate that Weaver was responsible for these uncharged bad acts. We disagree.

First, this cannot be deemed evidence of uncharged bad acts because — as Weaver himself points out in his brief — the victim was clear in her testimony that she-did not know who removed her underwear on those occasions. See State v. Byrd, 423 S.W.3d 882, 888 (Mo.App.ED.2014) (evidence runs afoul of rule against propensity evidence if it shows defendant has committed, been accused of, been convicted of, or been definitely associated with another crime). Second, even if this testimony suggested Weaver’s propensity to commit sexual offenses, it is not reasonable to believe, as Weaver argues, that the jury’s guilty verdicts were based on. or influenced by this testimony alone and not on all of the other evidence before it supporting the multiple and various acts of sexual misconduct that were charged. Again, there is no challenge to the sufficiency of that evidence. To find error of any kind from the admission of this evidence, we would have to conclude that the jury believed only this part of the victim’s testimony and disbelieved all of her other explicit testimony about the charged sexual conduct. We decline to reach such an unreasonable result.

Point III is denied.

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Bluebook (online)
475 S.W.3d 695, 2015 Mo. App. LEXIS 164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-missouri-v-marcus-weaver-moctapp-2015.