State v. Curtis

921 S.W.2d 1, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 159, 1996 WL 31979
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 30, 1996
DocketNos. WD 49700, WD 50751
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 921 S.W.2d 1 (State v. Curtis) 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. Curtis, 921 S.W.2d 1, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 159, 1996 WL 31979 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

FENNER, Chief Judge.

Richard Edwin Curtis appeals from his conviction and 30 year sentence as a prior offender, persistent offender, and three-time offender for the forcible rape of C.C., pursuant to § 566.030, RSMo Supp.1993.

Appellant was initially tried in the Circuit Court of Boone County, Missouri, on May 17-18, 1994, on charges of armed criminal action and forcible rape. This jury acquitted appellant of armed criminal action but could not reach a verdict on the forcible rape charge. On May 26, 1994, appellant was found guilty of forcible rape after a second jury trial on that charge only and received the aforementioned prison sentence. Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal of this judgment.

On appeal, appellant claims that the trial court erred when it denied his motion in limine and overruled his subsequent objections to prohibit the introduction of evidence regarding the use or presence of a knife as part of the alleged rape during the second trial, arguing that the use of a knife was an ultimate issue decided by the jury when it acquitted appellant on the charge of armed criminal action in the first trial that was precluded by collateral estoppel from being reintroduced in the second rape trial. Appellant also claims that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction on the forcible rape charge because the State did not establish that he had sexual intercourse with C.C. by forcible compulsion.

Because this appeal involves a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, this court accepts as true all the evidence favorable to the State, including all favorable inferences drawn from the evidence, and disregards all contrary evidence and inferences. State v. Silvey, 894 S.W.2d 662, 673 (Mo. banc 1995). The appellate court neither weighs the evidence nor determines reliability or credibility of witnesses, but instead limits its determination to whether there is substantial evidence from which a reasonable jury might have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Idlebird, 896 S.W.2d 656, 661-62 (Mo.App.1995); Silvey, id.

The evidence reveals that on October 8, 1993, C.C. was living in an apartment with her young daughter in Columbia, Missouri. She arose at approximately 5:30 that morning to get ready for work, and had showered and dressed when she heard a knock on her door at approximately 6:00 a.m. She went to the door and asked who it was. The voice on the other side replied “Curtis.” She recognized the voice as that of the appellant, who was a friend and former schoolmate.

After being let in the apartment, appellant informed C.C. that his car had broken down and asked to use the telephone. C.C. overheard appellant using the phone and asking the person on the line if he or she would come get him. C.C. hung up the phone after she heard it beeping because appellant had not hung it up correctly when he finished his phone call. She asked appellant if he was working and he replied that he was not.

[3]*3At this point, as appellant leaned forward toward her bathroom mirror to finish putting on her makeup, she felt someone behind her. She looked in the mirror and discovered that the appellant had placed a knife to her throat, and had his left arm around her waist. She described the knife as a black-handled knife with a shiny, silver blade. C.C. asked appellant why he was doing this, and he responded by telling her to shut up.

Appellant then forced C.C. from her bathroom, down the hallway, and into her kitchen. He began fumbling through the drawers while maintaining the knife against C.C.’s throat, looking for what C.C. assumed to be a bigger knife. To distract appellant, C.C. told him that she had some money in her purse, which was in her bedroom. Appellant forced C.C. back down the hallway to the bedroom to retrieve the purse, all the while maintaining his hold on her. Appellant then returned to the living room with C.C. held at knife point and dropped the purse on the entertainment center.

Appellant then dragged C.C. to the front door and locked it. Appellant turned around, and with the knife still positioned at C.C.’s throat, began to kiss her on the neck. Appellant told C.C. to take her pants off and she began to do so. Before she completely removed them, appellant used his foot to pull them the rest of the way down. Appellant then laid C.C. on the floor using his right arm and braced himself as he laid down with his left arm. Using his left hand, with his right hand still holding the knife to C.C.’s neck, appellant pulled his own pants down and attempted to place his penis in C.C.’s vagina. He was unable to achieve penetration, so he spit on his left hand and rubbed his saliva on C.C.’s vagina. Appellant then penetrated C.C. and began to engage in sexual intercourse with her. After four or five minutes, appellant withdrew and released C.C. from his grasp, instructing her to get up and pull on her pants.

Appellant then told C.C. to sit down at her dining room table. He lit a cigarette, sat down near C.C. and asked repeatedly if she was going to “tell on him.” C.C. promised she would not tell on appellant and eventually convinced him to leave her apartment by reiterating the promise. C.C. immediately locked the door and called 911 upon appellant’s exit. Police responded shortly thereafter, though C.C. was reluctant to open the door for fear that it was appellant returning to her apartment. She was trembling and crying, and was unable to speak because she was so upset when police first arrived. Finally, she told the police that a male acquaintance, appellant, had come to her residence and raped her.

While officers questioned C.C., another officer observed a male drive up and park in front of the apartment complex. He walked toward C.C.’s apartment until the officer stopped him. This individual turned out to be appellant, who told the officer his name and that he lived at C.C.’s apartment. Appellant was placed under arrest, and a search of his person did not reveal any weapons.

C.C. was taken to University Hospital where she was examined, though she remained “extremely irrational and crying and difficult to communicate with.” A physical examination revealed no signs of physical injury, though seminal fluid was discovered in her vagina. Subsequent DNA testing revealed that appellant was the source of the semen. At trial, appellant testified in his own defense and admitted having sex with C.C. that morning, but claimed that it was consensual and that he did not use force and did not rape her.

I. ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE OF THE KNIFE

Appellant claims the trial court erred in overruling his motion in limine and subsequent objections to the introduction of the use of a knife in connection with the alleged rape during the course of the second trial because the jury in the first trial, in acquitting appellant on the charge of armed criminal action, necessarily determined the issue of the use of the knife in appellant’s favor. Appellant argues the introduction of such evidence violated the doctrine of collateral estoppel that is derived from the Fifth Amendment prohibition against double jeopardy. See Ashe v. Swanson, 397 U.S. 436, 90 S.Ct. 1189, 25 L.Ed.2d 469 (1970).

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921 S.W.2d 1, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 159, 1996 WL 31979, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-curtis-moctapp-1996.