State v. Johnson

529 So. 2d 466, 1988 WL 66219
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided June 21, 1988·No. 87 KA 1719·Published·Cited by 44 cases

Opinion

529 So.2d 466 (1988)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Leonard Gay JOHNSON a/k/a Leonard Kinchen.

No. 87 KA 1719.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

June 21, 1988.
Rehearing Denied September 2, 1988.

*467 Charles V. Genco, Asst. Dist. Atty., Amite, for plaintiff-appellee.

Marion B. Farmer, Covington, for defendant-appellant.

Before WATKINS, CARTER and FOIL, JJ.

WATKINS, Judge.

The defendant, Leonard Gay Johnson, a/k/a Leonard Kinchen, was charged by grand jury indictment with forcible rape, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:42.1. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was found guilty of the responsive verdict of sexual battery, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.1. On June 15, 1987, the defendant received a sentence of ten years at hard labor for this conviction. However, on July 8, 1987, the prosecution filed a habitual offender bill of information; and, after a hearing, the defendant was adjudicated a second felony offender. The trial court vacated the previously *468 imposed sentence and resentenced the defendant to serve fifteen years at hard labor. The defendant has appealed, alleging five assignments of error, as follows:

1. The trial court erred by continuing the trial, over defense objection, after the jury had been selected and sworn in.

2. The trial court erroneously adjudicated the defendant a habitual felony offender based on insufficient and inadmissible evidence.

3. The trial court erred in imposing an excessive sentence.

4. The evidence was insufficient to support the defendant's conviction of sexual battery.

5. The trial court erred in dismissing the defendant's motion for a preliminary examination.

Sometime after 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, 1986, the victim, a nineteen-year-old female, was beaten by the defendant and forced to engage in sexual intercourse. At the trial, the victim testified that on Friday, May 9, 1986, she had driven to Ponchatoula to visit Anita Keaton, a close family friend, always referred to as "Aunt Anita." She was accompanied by her friend, Beth Hyde. The two girls were going to babysit Ms. Keaton's children on Saturday, May 10th.

The victim and Ms. Hyde arrived at Ms. Keaton's house at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9. The two girls decided to go out dancing and went in Ms. Hyde's car to Razzy's Bar in Hammond. They arrived at Razzy's at approximately 11:00 p.m. and remained until the bar closed at approximately 2:00 a.m. Both Ms. Hyde and the victim testified that they each consumed only three drinks and that they were certain of this fact because they had not brought enough money to buy more. However, both girls became extremely "intoxicated" or perhaps drugged. Both Ms. Hyde and the victim testified that they acted as if intoxicated but could not possibly have been intoxicated because they had only consumed three drinks each. Both Ms. Hyde and the victim speculated that someone had put something in their unattended drinks to create their seemingly "intoxicated" condition.

Ms. Hyde testified that, while in the bar, the girls had met two men, the defendant and another man known only as "Joe." Ms. Hyde testified that the defendant had approached them and tried to persuade them to dance with him. She testified that she informed the defendant that they were not interested in him but in another man at the bar, whereupon the defendant replied that this other man was a friend of his and that he would introduce his friend to them. The other man, known only as "Joe" was introduced to the girls by the defendant.

At approximately 2:00 a.m., the bar closed; and neither the victim nor Ms. Hyde was able to drive. When the victim and Ms. Hyde left the bar, Ms. Hyde was with Joe and the victim was with the defendant. The defendant and Joe offered to drive the girls to a hotel, and the girls apparently agreed. Joe drove Ms. Hyde in her car, and the victim rode with the defendant in his truck. The defendant checked them into the Best Western Hotel in Hammond. According to Ms. Hyde, the victim had been feeling ill since they left the bar. Nevertheless, the defendant did not cease making sexual advances to the victim. Ms. Hyde testified that the victim stated that she was sick and wished to go home. The victim then ran out of the hotel room, followed by the defendant. Ms. Hyde started to go after the victim but was persuaded by Joe that the victim would be alright and that the defendant would drive her home. Ms. Hyde stayed in the hotel room with Joe.

The victim testified that she did not remember anything between the time she left Razzy's and the time she "woke up" in Ms. Hyde's car with the defendant. The victim testified that she "woke up" in Ms. Hyde's car and became frightened because she was with a stranger (the defendant). Twice the victim jumped out of the car and fled; but the defendant caught her, beat her, and brought her back to the car. The victim testified that she tried to escape, screamed, cried, struggled, hit the defendant, *469 and informed him that she was a virgin and that she did not want to have intercourse with him. Nevertheless, the defendant beat her, removed her clothes, gagged her, and forced her to engage in sexual intercourse with him.

At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, the defendant drove the victim to her aunt's house. When they arrived, the victim ran inside and informed her aunt that she had been "raped" and that her assailant was still outside. Ms. Keaton went outside and confronted the defendant, who was sitting inside Ms. Hyde's car. Concerned for Ms. Hyde, Ms. Keaton asked the defendant where Ms. Hyde was. He replied that it was not his place to tell her, but he would show her where Ms. Hyde was if Ms. Keaton wanted to follow him. However, when Ms. Keaton went inside to use the phone, the defendant fled. Ms. Keaton immediately called the Sheriff's Department and reported the rape.

The defendant returned to the hotel room. Ms. Hyde asked him where the victim was, and he replied that he had driven her home. The defendant then persuaded Ms. Hyde to drive him home, and she reluctantly agreed. After driving the defendant to his trailer, Ms. Hyde was stopped by a policeman and informed that the victim had been "raped" and was in the hospital.

Dr. Glen Johnson performed a rape examination and physical examination of the victim on May 10, 1986. He testified that the victim had a bruise on both sides of her left wrist. His report also indicated that the victim had a burst blood vessel in her eye and that the eyelid was puffy. Dr. Johnson's pelvic examination of the victim revealed the presence of spermatozoa in her vagina and also revealed that her hymen was ruptured.

The defendant did not testify at the trial. However, the defense did not deny that the defendant had engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim. Instead, the defense theory of the case was that the victim had left the bar with the defendant, checked into a hotel room with him and, eventually, engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with him.

Defense witness Brian Ashcraft testified that, at approximately 2:00 a.m. on May 10, as Razzy's was closing, he observed the defendant and the victim leaving together. He spoke briefly with the defendant and observed that the victim, who appeared intoxicated, was hugging and kissing the defendant and had her hand on his behind. The other defense witness, Mary Ann Spring, worked at the Best Western Hotel. She testified that, between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. on May 10, 1986, the defendant rented a room and signed

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