State v. Corwin

295 S.W.3d 572, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 1191, 2009 WL 2562667
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 20, 2009
DocketSD 29422
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 295 S.W.3d 572 (State v. Corwin) 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. Corwin, 295 S.W.3d 572, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 1191, 2009 WL 2562667 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

ROBERT S. BARNEY, Judge.

Jacob Montgomery Corwin (“Appellant”) appeals his conviction following a *575 jury trial for the unclassified felony of attempted forcible rape, a violation of section 566.030. 1 Having waived jury sentencing, Appellant was sentenced by the trial court to ten years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He asserts three points of trial court error. We affirm.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, State v. Withrow, 8 S.W.3d 75, 77 (Mo. banc 1999), the record reveals that on the evening of May 13, 2006, K.H. (“Victim”), a sophomore at Missouri State University, invited Appellant to join her and her friends at Harpo’s Restaurant and Bar in Springfield, Missouri. 2 Appellant arrived at the bar and spent time with Victim and her friends. Victim described herself as being “friendly” toward Appellant and they had several conversations that evening. At some point in time while they were at Harpo’s, Appellant began getting “touchy” with Victim by kissing the back of her neck. Victim related at trial that Appellant’s actions made her uncomfortable. Victim also stated that she was consuming alcohol that evening and, although she was not intoxicated while at Harpo’s, she was “feeling” the effects of the alcohol. 3

Some time before midnight, Victim invited Appellant to join her and her friends at another bar and the group went to Jordan Creek. There Appellant tried to dance with Victim but she backed away from him and did not dance with him. She testified that Appellant’s attempt to dance with her made her uncomfortable, but she was not alarmed by his behavior. Victim stated at trial that she had several more drinks while at Jordan Creek and estimated she had consumed at least five rum and Diet Cokes as well as five shots of liquor that evening. She felt that when she left Jordan Creek she was “slightly” intoxicated.

Around 1:00 a.m. or 1:30 a.m., a sober driver from Victim’s sorority transported Victim, Appellant, and several other people back to the university’s campus. Appellant lived alone in a dormitory about a block down the street from Victim’s sorority house. Victim testified that Appellant told her there was a party in his dormitory that night and Victim decided to go with Appellant to the party while the rest of the vehicle’s passengers went to the sorority house. Once inside the dormitory, Victim discovered there was no party but she, nevertheless, went with Appellant to his room. Victim testified she planned on going back to the sorority house at that time but decided to spend the night in Appellant’s room. Victim stated at that point she was moderately intoxicated and could feel the effects of the alcohol, but she did not feel like it affected her ability to perceive the events that followed.

While Appellant was in the bathroom, Victim, who was fully clothed, climbed into the only bed in his room and went to sleep. At some point thereafter Appellant got into bed with Victim and attempted to kiss her on the mouth. Victim pushed Appellant away and told him she just wanted to go to sleep. When Appellant, again, tried to kiss Victim she got out of bed and went to the bathroom. While Victim was in the bathroom, Appellant removed his own pants. When she returned to the bed and laid back down, Appellant tried to more forcefully kiss her. Victim told Appellant *576 to stop and that she did not want to kiss him. Appellant then “swung his body on top of [her].” Victim testified that he was holding her down with his arms on her shoulders and she “actually started to get scared....” She related he kept trying to kiss her and was saying things to her like “ ‘I’ve wanted to do this for so long; you don’t know how much I like you....’” Appellant “somehow ... pulled [her] pants [and underwear] off [her], just ripped them kind of ... ” and Victim began “moving all around” in an effort to get away from Appellant. Victim told Appellant to “please stop” and told him that if he did not stop she was going to scream as loud as she could. When he did not let her go, she then screamed. Appellant responded by saying “ ‘[n]o one can hear you; no one cares.’ ” 4

Victim continued “squirming all over the place” and Victim and Appellant somehow fell from the bed onto the floor. Once on the floor, Victim was in the “fetal position kind of and he was just pinning [her] down.” She related she then said to him, “ ‘[p]lease don’t do this; I don’t know why you’re doing this,” and Appellant responded by saying, “[i]f you don’t let me do this, I’m going to break every single bone in your body.” Victim then stated she “kind of gave up, and [she] was kind of preparing [her]self for whatever was going to happen.” She stated she again said to Appellant that she did not know why he was doing this to her and “all of a sudden he just got off of [her].”

At that point, Victim “immediately got up and started to run for the door, but [Appellant] was already standing at the door and wouldn’t let [her] leave.” She related she was crying and Appellant told her he would let her leave if she promised “not to tell anyone about this.” He then told her to get her “shit” and leave his room. Victim put her clothes back on and “ran out” of his room to the elevator. She related she was scared and crying when she left the building to walk back to her sorority house. 5 Once back at her sorority house, her friends called the police and they responded to interview Victim. After being interviewed by the police, Victim was taken to the hospital by her friends. Victim had an injured left thumb and some visible red marks on her arms, legs, and hip which turned into bruises the following day. 6

At some point later in the evening Appellant went to Ms. Leaver’s apartment to talk to her. After speaking with Ms. Leaver in her bedroom, Ms. Johnston told Appellant to leave and related to him that she was going to call the police about what *577 she overheard on the telephone. Appellant said he would do it for her and called the police himself. 7

When the officers arrived at Ms. Leaver’s apartment, Appellant told them that he and Victim “were getting hot and heavy and then he stopped.” Appellant was then arrested and transported to jail. When interviewed at the jail, Appellant again told officers that he and Victim had been out drinking that evening and ended up making out in his room. He said Victim then told him “no” and he was upset, but he stopped what he was doing. Appellant denied assaulting or attempting to rape Victim.

A trial was held on January 29, 2008, and February 1, 2008. Appellant did not testify on his own behalf. At the close of all the evidence, the jury found Appellant guilty of the crime charged and he was later sentenced by the trial court to ten years imprisonment. This appeal followed.

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Related

Corwin v. State
525 S.W.3d 614 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2017)
Mitchell v. Kardesch
313 S.W.3d 667 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
295 S.W.3d 572, 2009 Mo. App. LEXIS 1191, 2009 WL 2562667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-corwin-moctapp-2009.