State v. Bugbee

781 So. 2d 748, 2001 WL 194741
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 2001
Docket34,524-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 781 So. 2d 748 (State v. Bugbee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bugbee, 781 So. 2d 748, 2001 WL 194741 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

781 So.2d 748 (2001)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Deforrest Ray BUGBEE, III, Appellant.

No. 34,524-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

February 28, 2001.

*751 Louisiana Appellate Project, by J. Wilson Rambo, Monroe, Counsel for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Laura Owen Wingate, Tommy J. Johnson, Assistant District Attorneys, Counsel for Appellee.

Before NORRIS, STEWART & PEATROSS, JJ.

PEATROSS, Judge.

Defendant, Deforrest Ray Bugbee, III, was convicted of two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, adjudicated a second-felony, habitual offender, and sentenced to 14 years hard labor on each count to be served concurrently. He has appealed the convictions and sentences. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A.A. and E.R. are neighborhood friends who live near Old Mansfield Road in Caddo Parish. They and other neighborhood children frequently played together in a wooded area near their homes. On or about June 18, 1998, A.A. and E.R. saw Defendant for the first time in the front yard of B.F.'s home. B.F., who was 17 at the time, lived next door to A.A. Over the course of the following week, A.A. and E.R. encountered Defendant while playing in the wooded area. In June 1998, A.A. was 11 years old and E.R. was 12 years.

Corporal Pamela J. Lee of the Shreveport Police Department testified that she responded to a complaint by the mother of A.A. that Defendant had been touching A.A. and her friend, E.R. Corporal Lee interviewed A.A. and E.R. separately and each told her the same story. Defendant would tell the girls that their bathing suit tops needed to be adjusted. He would then offer to correct the situation and would untie their bathing suit tops and touch their breasts. He also touched their buttocks, either simply slapping or punching them in the buttocks if he was behind them; or he would ask for a hug and then *752 touch their buttocks. Defendant would downplay the instances where he would punch or slap A.A. and E.R. on the buttocks, stating his actions were part of an initiation into a "booty club."

A.A. and E.R. told Corporal Lee that B.F. was present on all but one occasion and that, on that one occasion, only E.R. and Defendant were present. A.A. and E.R. stated that B.F. had not touched them. Corporal Lee notified Detective Kyle Tanner of the Shreveport Police Department and he assumed responsibility for the investigation. Detective Tanner then took recorded statements separately from A.A. and E.R., receiving essentially the same information.

In their statements, the girls related that Defendant would talk about parties he had attended and his alleged sexual exploits. He had informed them that he was 32 years old; and, in graphic detail, he described the physical discomfort his alleged 13-year-old girlfriend suffered after having sex with him.

A.A. and E.R. also stated that Defendant came to each of their homes. A.A. said that, on two occasions, Defendant came to her home and tapped on her window. The first time was approximately 7:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. and the second time was approximately 1:00 a.m. or 1:30 a.m. the following morning. On each occasion Defendant asked A.A. to sneak out with him and each time she told him no. On two or three occasions Defendant came to E.R.'s home in the early morning hours and attempted to persuade her to come outside. One time in particular, A.A. was spending the night with E.R. and Defendant came to E.R.'s home at approximately 3:00 a.m. and asked them to sneak out with him. Both girls declined.

In her testimony, A.A. repeated the same things she told both Corporal Lee and Detective Tanner. A.A. estimated that Defendant touched her between 10 and 13 times. She testified that she continued to go back to the wooded area because she did not really expect Defendant to be there. She and her friends had been playing in the wooded area for years and no adults had ever been there.

A.A. stated that she did not initially tell her mother because she just hoped the problem would go away. She explained that she and her mother did not communicate very well, and she did not really feel comfortable talking about it. She knew that Defendant's actions were wrong, but she felt he did things in ways that were not recognizable, making her question her own judgment. Further, A.A. and E.R. were afraid of Defendant. He told them that he knew E.R.'s mother, that she had a tattoo, which he accurately described, and that he knew the type of car she drove.

E.R. also testified consistently with what she told Corporal Lee and Detective Tanner. She estimated that Defendant touched her eight or ten times. E.R. also said that she did not expect to see Defendant in the woods. She initially assumed he was staying with B.F.; but, because she saw Defendant in the wooded area every time she went there, she came to believe he was staying in the woods.

K.P., a 15-year-old friend of A.A. and E.R., testified that he lived in Stonewall and, during the summer of 1998, spent time in A.A.'s and E.R.'s neighborhood. He met Defendant that summer and, on several occasions, saw Defendant touch A.A.'s breasts. According to K.P., Defendant would offer to fix A.A.'s bikini top; and, in the process, he would put his hands inside her bathing suit. He also saw Defendant hit A.A. on her buttocks. He did not see Defendant touch E.R. K.P. further testified that A.A. was 11 years old at *753 that time and that Defendant told K.P. he was 32 years old.

B.F. testified that he met Defendant at a nearby gas station and they became acquainted. He told Detective Tanner, however, that Defendant was his ex-girlfriend's father or stepfather. B.F. would "hang out" in the woods with Defendant and talk. He considered Defendant to be "sort of" a friend. At trial, B.F. initially testified that he had only seen Defendant touch A.A. by placing his arm around her. After being pressed, however, by the assistant district attorney, B.F. related that he told Detective Tanner that he had seen Defendant place his hand on A.A.'s cheek[1]. After a recess, B.F. further admitted that he had seen Defendant touch E.R.'s breasts. According to B.F., Defendant asked E.R. to sit on his lap, which she did. While E.R. was on Defendant's lap, B.F. stated that he saw Defendant rubbing E.R.'s breasts. A.A. was not present.[2] B.F. acknowledged being interviewed by Detective Tanner and that the interview was tape recorded. B.F. denied telling Detective Tanner that he had not seen Defendant touch either A.A. or E.R. He contended that he told Detective Tanner at the beginning of, and at the end of, his interview that he saw Defendant touch E.R.

Detective Tanner described taking witness statements from A.A. and E.R. They each informed him that Defendant had told them his name was Deforrest, but he went by the name of "Bugsy." According to Detective Tanner, A.A. told him Defendant had touched her breasts and buttocks. She also mentioned he had unzipped her pants.[3] E.R. told him Defendant had touched her on parts of her body. Based on those interviews, he identified Defendant as a suspect. During the course of his investigation, Detective Tanner determined that Defendant was 32 years old, that A.A. was 11 years old and that E.R. was 12 years old at the time these incidences occurred.

Detective Tanner stated that, when he interviewed B.F., he advised him of his rights as a precaution because B.F.'s age and presence made him a possible suspect.[4] He also stated that A.A. had told him that B.F.

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Bluebook (online)
781 So. 2d 748, 2001 WL 194741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bugbee-lactapp-2001.