State v. Jones

854 S.W.2d 60, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 799, 1993 WL 180374
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 1, 1993
Docket61434
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 854 S.W.2d 60 (State v. Jones) 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. Jones, 854 S.W.2d 60, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 799, 1993 WL 180374 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

*62 CRIST, Judge.

Defendant appeals from his conviction for third degree assault in connection with his attack on a thirteen-year-old girl. We affirm.

On March 16, 1991, Victim, a thirteen-year-old girl, was in her home with her sisters. Victim’s mother was not home. Victim ate dinner, then, eventually went to the living room to watch television. Victim’s mother’s boyfriend, Defendant, who had been spending the night for several months, was also in the house.

Defendant came into the living room and began a conversation with Victim. At one point in the conversation, Defendant started telling Victim that he killed people. He told Victim if he killed her right then, her mom would get mad for a little while, but would still come back to him.

Victim then went to her mother’s room and began looking in the mirror. Defendant came in the room and asked her to teach him to tie a tie. She used a scarf to show him, then put it around her own neck and sat on her mother’s bed. Defendant continued to speak about the fact that he killed people. Defendant then pushed Victim down on her back on the bed and pinned down her arms. With his legs, Defendant attempted to spread apart Victim’s legs. Defendant continued to talk about killing people during this time. He then let Victim go and she ran into the living room.

Defendant came in to the living room and asked Victim if she was ready for the truth. She said yes. Defendant went into the kitchen and returned with a knife in his back pocket and sat in front of Victim. Defendant began to ask Victim repeatedly to be his girlfriend. After Victim refused several times, Defendant grabbed the scarf which was still around Victim’s neck and tried to choke her. Victim screamed, and Defendant let go. Victim ran to her sister’s room.

In his first point, Defendant asserts the trial court abused its discretion in failing to grant a mistrial after certain testimony was given by an investigating police officer and by Victim. First, the prosecutor asked Officer Thomas Seymour, who responded to the crime scene, whether he wrote any notes at or near the time of the attack. Seymour responded he “wrote a report for an assault, sexual abuse, first degree.” Defendant was being tried only for assault, not sexual abuse. Defense attorney asked for a mistrial. The judge denied the mistrial but instructed the jury to disregard the remark.

When a witness unexpectedly volunteers an inadmissible statement, the rule is “the nature of the action called for rests largely within the discretion of the trial court, that the trial judge has a duty to evaluate the whole situation to ascertain whether some other remedy short of a mistrial will cure the error, and that the appellate court reviews that decision only to verify that there has been no abuse of discretion.” State v. McClain, 531 S.W.2d 40, 44-45[6] (Mo.App.1975). A mistrial is a drastic remedy and should be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. State v. Shaline, 793 S.W.2d 167, 171[15] (Mo.App.1990).

Here, the reference to the sexual abuse report was brief; and after a brief discussion with the attorneys, the trial judge instructed the jury to disregard the comment. Further, any prejudicial impact was weakened by the fact that other evidence of Defendant’s sexual attack on Victim was appropriately introduced into evidence. Victim testified that Defendant jumped on her, tried to force her legs apart with his legs, and asked her to be his “girlfriend.” See State v. West, 743 S.W.2d 592, 593[1] (Mo.App.1988) (testimony of other crimes is admissible where it is so closely intertwined with the facts of the crime being charged that it is an integral part of it).

In addition, another investigating officer, Patricia Thomas, testified that Victim accused Defendant of sexually assaulting her. This testimony was not objected to and Defendant does not complain about it on appeal. Where evidence is improperly admitted, but other evidence before the court establishes essentially the same fact, there is no prejudice and no reversible error. State v. Zagorski, 632 S.W.2d 475, *63 478 n. 2 (Mo. banc 1982). Thus, we find no error in the trial court refusing to grant a mistrial.

Defendant also complains Victim testified Defendant told her he had been in jail for robbery. After objecting to this testimony, the court immediately told the jury that Defendant had not been convicted of robbery and that they should ignore the remark. Given the brevity of the comment, the fact that the crime suggested was dissimilar to the crime charged, and ■the judge’s instruction that the remark was false, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant a mistrial. Point denied.

In Defendant’s second point, he asserts the trial court erred by failing to strike two venirepersons from the panel for cause. “An individual accused of a crime is entitled to a full panel of qualified jurors before he is required to expend his peremptory challenges.” State v. Walker, 795 S.W.2d 522, 525[1] (Mo.App.1990). The determination of whether a venireperson is qualified to serve on a jury is within the sound discretion of the trial court and such decision will only be reversed upon a clear showing of abuse of discretion. Id. at 525[3]. “To show such an abuse, the bare possibility of prejudice is not enough — it must clearly appear from the evidence that the challenged venireperson was in fact prejudiced.” Id. If for any reason, statutory or otherwise, a venireperson cannot serve on a case with an open mind free of bias, that person is not a competent juror. State v. Holliman, 529 S.W.2d 932, 938[5] (Mo.App.1975) (citation omitted). Whether a venireperson is qualified to serve on a jury is determined from the entire examination. Walker, 795 S.W.2d at 595[3].

Defense attorney asked that a female venireperson, who had been raped six years prior to the trial, be struck for cause. The venireperson initially stated she would be biased toward Victim. However, upon further questioning she stated she could make a determination just on the evidence presented, put her bias aside, follow the judge’s instructions, and be fair and impartial. In a subsequent line of questioning, she stated it would be very difficult for her to listen to the evidence impartially.

Additional questions about whether the venireperson could “separate” her rape in 1985 and the case before her were broadly phrased. The venireperson responded that she “could probably handle it” and she “could try.” Defense attorney commented after these questions that the venireperson seemed emotional.

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Bluebook (online)
854 S.W.2d 60, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 799, 1993 WL 180374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jones-moctapp-1993.