State v. Bonds

189 S.W.3d 249, 2005 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1043, 2005 WL 2333572
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 22, 2005
DocketW2004-02447-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 189 S.W.3d 249 (State v. Bonds) 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 v. Bonds, 189 S.W.3d 249, 2005 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1043, 2005 WL 2333572 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

DAVID H. WELLES, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court,

in which NORMA McGEE OGLE and J.C. McLIN, JJ., joined.

This is a direct appeal as of right from a jury conviction of aggravated rape and criminal exposure of another to HIV. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to consecutive terms of twenty-five years and six years, for an effective sentence of thirty-one years. On appeal, the Defendant raises only one issue: there is insufficient evidence to find him guilty of the two offenses for which he was convicted. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

*252 FACTS

The Defendant was indicted by a Gibson County grand jury* on one count of aggravated rape of a thirteen-year-old male. 1 After it was learned that the Defendant was HIV positive, he was also indicted by a Gibson County grand jury on one count of criminal exposure of another to HIV. 2 The two cases were consolidated, and the Defendant’s first trial on these charges resulted in a hung jury. The Defendant was retried,'and a jury found him guilty as charged. This appeal followed.

At the second trial, the victim, M.S., 3 testified that at the time of the incident he was thirteen years old, weighed about one hundred five pounds, and was approximately five feet and two inches tall. Although he had since moved, at the time of the incident he lived in Milan with his mother. On the day in question, he attended school and then afterwards visited the home of his best friend, Brian Bradford, where the two “play[ed] games and stuff’ for a period of time. At some point, the two boys decided to walk to the Defendant’s house to get some cigarettes. M.S. stated that the two remained at the Defendant’s house for approximately- ten minutes, got the cigarettes, and left. Both boys returned to 1 Brian’s house where they continued to play video games and smoked the cigarettes.- M.S. further testified that he “knew of’ the Defendant because several months earlier the two boys and the Defendant had gone fishing together. The Defendant’s house was described as “around the corner” and only a “five to seven.minute walk” from Brian Bradford’s house.

At some point that same afternoon, M.S. decided to go back to the Defendant’s house alone to get more cigarettes. M.S. testified that he thought he may have told Brian where he was going but was unsure. M.S. testified that when he arrived at the Defendant’s house, there was “another man” there, sitting on the couch. M.S. described this man as “a large black male” who was about six feet four inches tall and weighed between three hundred and three hundred fifty pounds. The Defendant gave M.S. two more cigarettes, which he put in the front pocket of his jeans. As he attempted to leave, the large man stopped him. M.S. described what happened next as follows:

[H]e got up and grabbed me and he was a lot larger than I was so, I mean, he just threw me on the ground and he laid across my back across my shoulders and held my arms down and then Mr. Bonds pulled my pants down and he stuck his penis in my anus.... I kicked. I punched. I done everything. Screamed. There wasn’t much I really could do, ’cause I was so small and there was two of them and one of me.

M.S. testified that after the Defendant raped him, the Defendant also threatened to kill him if he told anyone what had happened. M.S. was then allowed to leave. M.S. stated that he pulled his underwear and pants up and started to walk back to Brian’s house. Because he felt “nasty and dirty,” he did not want anyone to see him, so he took a longer, more secluded route to Brian’s house. He walked slowly through a forested area and cried. It took him about ten to twelve minutes to get to Brian’s house, but upon arriving ,he and Brian played video games for thirty or forty-five minutes, smoked the two cigarettes, and then M.S. went home. He did not tell *253 Brian or his mother what had happened the day of the incident. After arriving at home that evening, he ate supper, and then went to his room where he sat for several hours until he was sure everyone else was asleep. At about 3:00 a.m., he took a shower because he “felt dirty and ashamed and nasty.” M.S. stated that he was not bleeding from his rectum as a result of the rape.

M.S. further testified that he did not tell anyone what had happened for some time because he was so ashamed. Two weeks after the incident, M.S. finally told Brian, who convinced him he should tell an adult. The two boys informed their school principal, who called the police. M.S. stated that he believed his mother first learned of the rape through the police. M.S. testified that since the incident, he has undergone years of out-patient counseling and spent a brief period of time in a medical facility for in-patient counseling. He has been tested for HIV eight times, each time testing negative.

On cross-examination, M.S. testified that the large man who held him down never spoke, but that he bit this man on the hand. He also stated that Brian never asked him if he had been crying when he returned with the cigarettes. Additionally, M.S. admitted that despite the violent nature of the attack, the cigarettes, which were in the front pocket of his jeans, were not significantly damaged. M.S. further testified that while he identified a large black man from a photo lineup shortly after the incident, when he saw the man in person he “was not sure.” 4

Brian Bradford testified that he was a friend of the victim, and had been with him on the date at issue. Mr. Bradford stated that he did not remember if M.S. specifically told him that he was going back to the Defendant’s house for more cigarettes, but that it was not unusual for him to come and go as he pleased. He did remember M.S. leaving that day and returning a short time later. Mr. Bradford testified that when M.S. returned he was “acting quiet,” and “walked funny.” However, Mr. Bradford did not question M.S. about this at the time. He did, however, remember this unusual behavior because M.S. “usually talked” when they were together.

Mr. Bradford stated that it was some time later when M.S. finally told him that a large man held him down while the Defendant raped him. He convinced M.S. to go and tell their high school principal. On cross-examination, Mr. Bradford admitted that when M.S. returned to his house after the incident he did not look like he had been crying or sweating.

The prior testimony of Carol Jones, a children and youth therapist, was introduced. 5 Ms. Jones stated that she had seen the victim on a professional basis one or two times a month for a year and sporadically after that. She testified that while the victim talked of the rape, she never pressed him for details. She further testified that the victim never gave her any reason to believe he was being deceptive about the incident.

Jane Vernon, a registered nurse, testified at trial that the Defendant’s medical *254

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

Related

State of Tennessee v. Richard Higgs, Jr.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
State of Tennessee v. J.P. Burrow, Jr.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
State of Tennessee v. Tony Banks and Tyrone Banks
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
State of Tennessee v. Amir Hassan Spears
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
State of Tennessee v. Sentrell Pittman
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Roy Frazier II and Bionka McGaughy
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Jay Walker
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Roderick Redmond
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Vincent Tredeau McCord
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Lizandro Guevara
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Steven Mitchel Ambrose
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Lee Enoch
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Kelby Lerha Taylor
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. John Shaffighi
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2023
State of Tennessee v. Albert Franklin Thompkins, Jr.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2023
State of Tennessee v. Isaiah Williams
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
State of Tennessee v. David Byron Alexander, Jr.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Morgan Dye
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2019
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Cooper
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2019
State of Tennessee v. Terry Leon Lancaster
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2019

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
189 S.W.3d 249, 2005 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1043, 2005 WL 2333572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bonds-tenncrimapp-2005.