State Of Washington v. Andrew Jason Trotman

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 24, 2017
Docket74549-2
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington v. Andrew Jason Trotman (State Of Washington v. Andrew Jason Trotman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington v. Andrew Jason Trotman, (Wash. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

SlgVE Cf 1-12.4

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) ) DIVISION ONE Respondent, ) ) No. 74549-2-1 v. ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ANDREW JASON TROTMAN, ) ) Appellant. ) FILED: April 24, 2017 )

DWYER, J. — Andrew Trotman appeals from the judgment entered on a

jury's verdict finding him guilty of rape in the second degree, assault in the fourth

degree, and two counts of supplying liquor to a minor. Trotman was sentenced

to a standard-range indeterminate sentence of 280 months to life imprisonment.

On appeal, Trotman contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for

a mistrial, by admitting evidence that he fled from police, and by imposing various

community custody conditions. Finding no error, we affirm.

In March of 2015, 17-year-old A.M.C. was dating Anthony Cox—Trotman's

20-year-old son. A.M.C. lived at home with her mother. Cox would frequently

visit A.M.C. and stay the night. On March 28, A.M.C. spent the day with her

close friend, B.E., who returned home with A.M.C. to spend the night. That

evening, Cox called and text messaged A.M.C. to convince her and B.E. to come No. 74549-2-1/2

out. Cox told A.M.C. that he had a bottle of Fireball whiskey and was already

outside.

When A.M.C. and B.E. went outside, they discovered that Trotman was in

the car with Cox. Trotman drove the group around South King County and the

four of them shared the whiskey. Ultimately, the car got a flat tire and Trotman

pulled over to the side of the road. A.M.C. started feeling sick and vomited

outside of the car. The girls decided to telephone B.E.'s older sister and ask her

to pick them up. B.E.'s sister picked up the two girls and dropped A.M.C. off at

her home for the night. B.E. returned home with her sister.

After arriving home, A.M.C. text messaged Cox to let him know that her

bedroom window was unlocked in case he wanted to come over. During the

night, A.M.C. received five telephone calls coming from Trotman's cell phone.

She answered three of these calls, assuming that Cox was trying to contact her

using his father's cell phone, but there was no response from the caller. Each

time, she went back to sleep.

A.M.C. awakened around 9:00 a.m. and noticed someone next to her in

bed. A.M.C. got out of bed and went into the bathroom, where she noticed that

there was semen leaking out of her vagina. A.M.C. went back into her bedroom

and realized that the person in her bed was Trotman. A.M.C. searched around

the house for her boyfriend, but he was not there. A.M.C. telephoned her older

sister to pick her up. Later, A.M.C. went to the hospital. A DNA swab revealed

that the semen found inside of A.M.C. belonged to Trotman.

2 No. 74549-2-1/3

At trial, A.M.C. testified as the State's final witness. During direct

examination, A.M.C. testified that Trotman would usually wait in the car or in the

living room when Cox would come to visit. The prosecutor asked A.M.C. why

Trotman would wait in the car and she replied, "I just didn't want him in my

house." The prosecutor asked A.M.C. why she did not want Trotman in the

house and she replied,"Because he just got out of jail." Immediately after

A.M.C.'s statement, Trotman's counsel moved for a mistrial. The trial court

deferred ruling on the motion in order to allow the parties an opportunity to brief

the issue.

The trial resumed and the court instructed the jury to disregard A.M.C.'s

statement. Previously, Trotman's counsel had agreed with the proposed wording

of the instruction, stating, "I don't think there's anything stronger than that, your

honor." The trial court later denied the motion for a mistrial.

The jury found Trotman guilty of rape in the second degree, assault in the

fourth degree, and two counts of supplying liquor to a minor. Trotman timely

appealed.

II

Trotman contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a

mistrial. This is so, Trotman asserts, because A.M.C.'s testimony that "he just

got out of jail" effectively denied him a fair trial. We disagree.

We review a trial court's decision to deny a motion for a mistrial for abuse

of discretion. State v. Williams, 159 Wn. App. 298, 321, 244 P.3d 1018(2011).

"A mistrial should be granted only when 'nothing the trial court could have said or

3 No. 74549-2-1/4

done would have remedied the harm done to the defendant." State v. Gilcrist,

91 Wn.2d 603, 612, 590 P.2d 809(1979)(quoting State v. Swenson,62 Wn.2d

259, 280, 382 P.2d 614 (1963)).

"The trial court should grant a mistrial only when the defendant has been so prejudiced that nothing short of a new trial can insure that the defendant will be tried fairly. Only errors affecting the outcome of the trial will be deemed prejudicial." In determining the effect of an irregular occurrence during trial, we examine "(1) its seriousness;(2) whether it involved cumulative evidence; and (3) whether the trial court properly instructed the jury to disregard it."

State v. Johnson, 124 Wn.2d 57, 76, 873 P.2d 514(1994)(footnote and internal

quotation marks omitted)(quoting State v. Hopson, 113 Wn.2d 273, 284, 778

P.2d 1014 (1989)). We presume that the jurors followed the court's instructions.

State v. Stenson, 132 Wn.2d 668, 729-30, 940 P.2d 1239(1997).

Here, in considering the motion for a mistrial, the trial court first

determined that A.M.C.'s statement was not a serious irregularity. In so

concluding, the trial court relied on our decision in State v. Condon,72 Wn. App.

638, 865 P.2d 521 (1993). In Condon, we noted that the "mere fact that

someone has been in jail does not indicate a propensity to commit" the charged

crime. 72 Wn. App. at 649. Indeed, the fact that someone has been in jail "does

not necessarily mean that he or she has been convicted of a crime." Condon, 72

Wn. App. at 649.

The trial court then determined that A.M.C.'s statement did not involve

cumulative evidence and that its instruction to the jury was sufficient to cure any

prejudice. The trial court concluded:

Based on the Condon case, combined with the type of irregularity that occurred here, and the fact that there was an

-4- No. 74549-2-1/5

immediate sustaining of the objection and then an instruction to disregard the information, Ifind that the irregularity was not so serious that the instruction could not prevent an unfair trial for Mr. Trotman.

The trial court's ruling was tenable. A.M.C. was the State's final witness.

Although she testified that Trotman had been in jail, the statement was entirely

ambiguous. No details surrounding the circumstances of Trotman's incarceration

were given. Contra State v. Escalona, 49 Wn. App. 251, 742 P.2d 190(1987)

(witness testified that the defendant had previously committed a crime similar to

the charged crime). Upon objection, the trial court immediately and emphatically

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Related

State v. Halstien
857 P.2d 270 (Washington Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Gilcrist
590 P.2d 809 (Washington Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Stenson
940 P.2d 1239 (Washington Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Saltarelli
655 P.2d 697 (Washington Supreme Court, 1982)
Carson v. Fine
867 P.2d 610 (Washington Supreme Court, 1994)
State v. Johnson
873 P.2d 514 (Washington Supreme Court, 1994)
State v. Condon
865 P.2d 521 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1993)
State v. Bruton
401 P.2d 340 (Washington Supreme Court, 1965)
State v. Hopson
778 P.2d 1014 (Washington Supreme Court, 1989)
State v. Riley
846 P.2d 1365 (Washington Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Escalona
742 P.2d 190 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1987)
State v. Powell
893 P.2d 615 (Washington Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Nichols
491 P.2d 677 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1971)
State v. Dennison
801 P.2d 193 (Washington Supreme Court, 1990)
United States v. Reeves
591 F.3d 77 (Second Circuit, 2010)
State v. Valencia
239 P.3d 1059 (Washington Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Williams
244 P.3d 1018 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
State v. Valencia
198 P.3d 1065 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2009)
State v. Bahl
193 P.3d 678 (Washington Supreme Court, 2008)
State v. Fualaau
228 P.3d 771 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)

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