State v. Barrett

41 S.W.3d 561, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 303, 2001 WL 168057
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 21, 2001
Docket23390
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 41 S.W.3d 561 (State v. Barrett) 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 v. Barrett, 41 S.W.3d 561, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 303, 2001 WL 168057 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

PARRISH, P.J.

Lendell Ray Barrett (defendant) appeals a conviction for statutory sodomy in the first- degree. § 566.062. 1 This court .affirms.

For purposes of this court’s review, all evidence tending to prove defendant guilty is accepted, together with all reasonable inferences supportive of the Verdict. State v. King, 964 S.W.2d 480, 486 (Mo.App. 1998). Portions of the record contrary to the verdict are disregarded. Id.

The offense of which defendant was found guilty occurred “on or between the 1st day of January, 1998 and the 11th day of February, 1998.” The victim was defendant’s 13 year-old stepdaughter, J.S.

Defendant married J.S.’s mother when J.S. was six or seven years old. Shortly thereafter, defendant began touching J.S.’s breasts and rubbing her breasts and vagina. On one occasion defendant watched a pornographic movie with J.S. He rubbed J.S.’s breasts and vagina while he watched the movie.

When J.S. was 11 years old, defendant began kissing her and making J.S. kiss him. He began touching her more under her clothing. Defendant began walking into the bathroom when J.S. was taking showers.

Defendant would call for J.S. to come into his bedroom. He would call for her to bring him a towel. When she would try to hand the towel into the room without entering, he would have her come in. He would be lying on his bed unclothed. Defendant would make J.S. rub his penis and put her mouth on his penis.

Defendant would have J.S. put on her mother’s lingerie. He would tell J.S. that her chest looked nice. When J.S. had a girlfriend visit, defendant told them they were pretty and that he wanted to get into bed with them.

On February 11, 1998, J.S. and a friend went to a school counselor and told the counselor about defendant’s conduct. J.S. had told the friend about the events the evening before. A report was made to police.

As part of the police inquiry, Detective Mark Hall of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department contacted J.S.’s mother and told her he would like J.S. to place a call to defendant that could be recorded. J.S.’s mother had no objections. J.S. agreed. They picked a time for the call to be made when J.S.’s mother would be away from the house she shared with defendant. The call was placed from J.S.’s grandmother’s house. Detective Hall asked J.S. to attempt to get defendant to discuss what defendant had done to her.

The call was tape-recorded without defendant’s knowledge. The tape-recording was introduced in evidence, over defendant’s objection, and played for the jury. Copies of what was represented to be a transcript of the tape-recording were provided the jury “so they [could] follow along.” Neither the tape-recording nor the transcript was filed with this court.

Defendant’s first allegation of trial court error, Point I, asserts the trial court erred by admitting testimony concerning “prior uncharged sexual misconduct between [defendant] and [J.S.].” Defendant argues that the testimony was *564 irrelevant; that any probative value “was outweighed by its prejudicial impact.” He contends the only evidence that should have been admitted was evidence of conduct during the interval in which the crime with which he was charged occurred — between January 1, 1998, and February 11, 1998.

Evidence a defendant committed crimes separate and distinct from the crime charged is not admissible to show the defendant is likely guilty of the charged offense because he has a propensity to commit such crimes. State v. Clover, 924 S.W.2d 853, 855 (Mo. banc 1996). However, evidence of prior misconduct is admissible if it is logically relevant to the offense charged, i.e., if it has some legitimate tendency to establish the defendant is guilty of the offense for which he is on trial. State v. Bernard, 849 S.W.2d 10,13 (Mo. banc 1993).

State v. Fouts, 939 S.W.2d 506, 512-13 (Mo.App.1997). Evidence of other uncharged misconduct has a legitimate tendency to prove the crime for which a defendant is being tried “when it tends to establish (1) motive; (2) intent; (3) the absence of mistake or accident; (4) a common scheme or plan embracing the commission of two or more crimes so related to each other that proof of one tends to establish the other; [or] (5) the identity of the person charged with the commission of the crime on trial.” State v. Sladek, 835 S.W.2d 308, 311 (Mo. banc 1992), quoting People v. Molineux, 168 N.Y. 264, 61 N.E. 286, 294 (1901). Motive to commit a crime involving sexual misconduct may be shown by evidence of prior acts of sexual misconduct toward the victim. State v. Richardson, 918 S.W.2d 816, 819 (Mo.App.1996).

An additional exception applies when uncharged crimes are part of the circumstances or sequence of events surrounding the offense charged. State v. Harris, 870 S.W.2d 798, 810 (Mo. banc), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 953, 115 S.Ct. 371, 130 L.Ed.2d 323 (1994). Evidence of uncharged crimes is admissible to present a complete and coherent picture of what transpired. Harris, 870 S.W.2d at 810; see State v. Boulware, 923 S.W.2d 402, 405 (Mo.App.1996). The evidence about which defendant complains falls within these exceptions. Point I is denied.

Point II asserts the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the tape-recorded conversation between defendant and J.S. Defendant argues that no party to the conversation gave consent to the recording as required by § 542.402. He argues, alternatively, that the tape-recording constituted an interrogation of him without being advised of his Miranda rights. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).

Section 542.402 makes the interception of “wire communication” and the use of the content of such interception unlawful under certain circumstances. Section 542.402.2 provides, however:

It is not unlawful under the provisions of sections 542.400 to 542.424:
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(2) For a person acting under law to intercept a wire or oral communication, where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given pri- or consent to such interception;

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Bluebook (online)
41 S.W.3d 561, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 303, 2001 WL 168057, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barrett-moctapp-2001.