State of Tennessee v. Roger Wayne Henry, Jr.

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJanuary 16, 2015
DocketM2013-02490-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Roger Wayne Henry, Jr. (State of Tennessee v. Roger Wayne Henry, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Tennessee v. Roger Wayne Henry, Jr., (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE October 28, 2014 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ROGER WAYNE HENRY, JR.

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 2012-B-955 Monte D. Watkins, Judge

No. M2013-02490-CCA-R3-CD - Filed January 16, 2015

The Defendant, Roger Wayne Henry, Jr., was found guilty by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. § 39-13-504 (2014). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to nine years and six months at 100% service. On appeal, he contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction, (2) the trial court erred by restricting his cross-examination, (3) the trial court erred by allowing the State to elicit inadmissible hearsay testimony, (4) the trial court erred by failing to order the State to play all of the Defendant’s recorded statements to the police, (5) the trial court erred by failing to grant trial counsel’s motion to withdraw, (6) the trial court erred by denying his requests to continue the trial and for funds for an expert, and (7) the trial court erred by failing to compel the State to produce the police file relative to the victim’s acting as a confidential informant. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed

R OBERT H. M ONTGOMERY, J R., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J OHN E VERETT W ILLIAMS and R OGER A. P AGE, JJ., joined.

Manuel B. Russ, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Roger Wayne Henry, Jr.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Senior Counsel; Victor S. (Torry) Johnson III, District Attorney General; and Hugh T. Ammerman II and Tali Rosenblum, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

At the trial, Metropolitan Police Officer Sean Williams testified that on January 22, 2012, at 2:19 a.m., he responded to a possible rape call. He said the victim reported that she was raped at gunpoint. The victim was visibly shaken but composed and not crying at the scene. Officer Williams did not think the victim was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The victim was alert and coherent. The victim provided consistent statements to two additional officers, and she identified the Defendant as her attacker from a photograph obtained by Officer Williams from the police computer system.

Officer Williams testified that he took the victim to the hospital for an examination, that he spoke to Metro Police Detective Heather Baltz at the hospital, and that he left for the Defendant’s residence. He and additional officers arrived at the Defendant’s house around 5:20 a.m. He said that they received information that the Defendant was home but that he would not answer the door when the officers knocked and announced their presence. The Defendant’s wife arrived about forty-five minutes later and consented to a search of the house. As the Defendant’s wife opened the door, the Defendant “appeared out of the doorway,” and the Defendant was arrested.

On cross-examination, Officer Williams testified that the victim did not appear to have been experiencing withdrawal symptoms. He observed her for about two hours. He agreed that the Defendant opened the door to the house and came outside. He recalled the Defendant was holding his child at the time.

The victim testified that she was previously convicted of burglary, theft of property, filing a false police report, three counts of criminal impersonation, theft of services, and identity theft. She also had a pending theft charge and said the prosecutor had not offered anything in exchange for her testimony in the present case. The victim had a history of bipolar disorder with acute anxiety, severe paranoia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She was diagnosed when she was a teenager and had received treatment regularly since her diagnoses. She stated that she was taking her prescribed medications on the night of the incident but that it had been forty-five days since she last took her medications because of her arrest in the pending theft case. She said she was able to recall the events on the night of the incident.

The victim testified that she knew the Defendant before the incident. She had seen the Defendant on two previous occasions. On the first, the Defendant paid her for oral sex. On the second, the Defendant gave her a ride to her friend’s house. She said the Defendant was not violent on those occasions, which occurred a few months before the incident.

The victim testified that at 1:00 a.m. on January 22, 2012, she was walking down the street to her friend’s house to borrow money when she saw the Defendant drive by two or three times. She said that although she did not recognize the driver at first, she noticed the Blazer made a distinctive noise like the Defendant’s Blazer. She said the Blazer stopped, and the driver asked if she wanted a ride. She told the driver she wanted a ride to her friend’s

-2- house, opened the door, and saw the Defendant in the driver’s seat. She said she had engaged in prostitution regularly and knew when a car was circling her. She admitted she wanted to borrow money from her friend to purchase crack cocaine. She said she last used cocaine two days before the incident.

The victim testified that she told the Defendant she was “dope sick” and needed to purchase drugs. She asked him for $10, and the Defendant responded, “That’s fine. . . . Do you have a problem with me going by my house first?” The Defendant’s baby was in the backseat, and the Defendant said he needed to change the baby’s diaper and to get a bottle. The victim agreed to go to the Defendant’s house. The Defendant gave her the money before they arrived at his house. She said no agreement existed for sex in exchange for the money, and she did not anticipate having sex with him because she was sick.

The victim testified that after they arrived at the Defendant’s house, he placed the baby carrier in one of the bedrooms. She noticed that the only furniture inside the house was the bed. She said she sat on the edge of the bed, and the Defendant placed his jacket on the floor. She said that the Defendant began to stand over her and that he made her nervous. She said the Defendant unzipped his pants and told her he wanted her to perform oral sex. She said the Defendant had “changed” and was no longer nice to her. She performed oral sex on the Defendant and said she felt as though the Defendant forced her to do it. She said that afterward, the Defendant said he wanted her to have sex with him. She told the Defendant no. She said that at that point, the baby was screaming and crying but that the Defendant did not check on the baby.

The victim testified that she asked the Defendant, “What are you going to do, rape me?” and that the Defendant said, “You might as w[e]ll give it to me. What are you going to do, call the police? You’re a prostitute.” She said the Defendant reached for his jacket and pulled out a gun. She said that he told her to remove her pants, and she complied. She said he taped her hands behind her back with blue painter’s tape. The victim pleaded for her life, and the Defendant told her that he would not harm her if she cooperated. He first wanted her to lie on her stomach, but he permitted her to lie on her back when she expressed fear that he would anally penetrate her. She said the Defendant wore a condom and penetrated her for about one to one and one-half minutes. She said that afterward, the Defendant allowed her to get up, and he removed the tape. He left the bedroom to check on the baby.

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State of Tennessee v. Roger Wayne Henry, Jr., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-roger-wayne-henry-jr-tenncrimapp-2015.