State v. MLS

275 S.W.3d 293, 2008 WL 4620433
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 21, 2008
DocketWD 68568
StatusPublished

This text of 275 S.W.3d 293 (State v. MLS) 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. MLS, 275 S.W.3d 293, 2008 WL 4620433 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

275 S.W.3d 293 (2008)

STATE of Missouri, Respondent,
v.
M.L.S., Appellant.

No. WD 68568.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

October 21, 2008.
Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to Supreme Court Denied November 25, 2008.
Application for Transfer Denied February 24, 2009.

*294 Craig A. Johnston, Columbia, MO, for Appellant.

*295 John M. Roodhouse, Columbia, MO, for Respondent.

Before THOMAS H. NEWTON, C.J., RONALD R. HOLLIGER, and ALOK AHUJA, JJ.

THOMAS H. NEWTON, Chief Judge.

M.L.S.[1] appeals his convictions and sentences for resisting lawful detention, section 575.150,[2] obstructing government operations, section 576.030 and four counts of third-degree domestic assault section 565.074. We reverse in part and affirm in part.

Factual and Procedural Background

On November 22, 2006, the police responded to a domestic disturbance call at M.L.S. and D.S.'s condominium. The neighbor below them told the 911 operator that she and her friends had heard two or three big bangs from her neighbor's upstairs apartment. Additionally, the neighbor stated that the woman was crying and her face had been beaten up. The police requested that M.L.S. open the door so they could ensure that everyone was safe. M.L.S. refused to open the door until he spoke with his attorney. The police officers threatened a forced entry. After speaking to his attorney, M.L.S. opened the door. The police removed him from the apartment.

A protective sweep of the condominium showed no sign of a struggle. Officer Cathy Dodd interviewed D.S. and noticed no apparent injuries to her but her face was kind of "puffy and red." At the conclusion of the interview, Officer Dodd informed D.S. that she was arresting M.L.S. for domestic violence because D.S. stated that she pushed M.L.S. because she felt threatened by him. Officer Shannon Hedrick ordered M.L.S. to place his hands behind his back, but M.L.S. did not comply and verbally protested. He also stiffened his arms and used muscle pressure to avoid placing his arms behind his back.

On the way to the police station, M.L.S. stated that he wanted his seat belt buckled. Officer Hedrick notified other officers to pull over because he wanted witnesses to observe him fasten M.L.S.'s safety belt. Officer Hedrick noticed that M.L.S. had moved his handcuffs from the back to the front. Concerned for his safety, Officer Hedrick placed the handcuffs on M.L.S. behind his back and told M.L.S. not to move his handcuffs to the front. Sometime during the transportation, M.L.S. indicated that he needed to scratch his nose and he moved the handcuffs to his front to do so. Officer Hedrick radioed his sergeant about the incident and the sergeant told him to continue driving to the police station. Other officers were ready to receive M.L.S. and place him in a cell when he arrived at the police station.

M.L.S. was charged with third-degree domestic assault and with resisting a lawful detention. The information was later amended without an objection from M.L.S. *296 The first amended information added the offense of obstructing government operations and charged an additional count of third-degree domestic assault based on the same facts. The information was subsequently amended again to include two additional counts of third-degree domestic assault based on the following facts.

K.S., M.L.S.'s daughter from a previous marriage, stated that she observed M.L.S. be abusive toward D.S., during late December of 2006. According to K.S., M.L.S. moved toward D.S. after becoming upset with D.S. when she refused to "shut up" about a personal matter. M.L.S. then placed his hand on D.S.'s neck and kind of "threw her back" but did not "really choke her," grabbed her hair, and yanked it twice. D.S. challenged him twice to do it again and M.L.S. did so, snapping her head back. Shortly thereafter, D.S. and M.L.S. were arguing in the kitchen and K.S. heard a slapping noise. K.S. approached D.S. and saw a red mark on her collarbone. When she confronted M.L.S., he claimed that D.S. hit him, but he did not hit her. D.S. told her, "He's lying. He hit me again. Look, the mark is right here."

M.L.S. filed suggestions in opposition to the joinder of these two additional charges. The trial court allowed the State to file the second amended information. Subsequently, the State filed a third amended information. The jury found M.L.S. guilty as charged. M.L.S. timely filed a motion for new trial, which was denied. He was sentenced to a total of three years in jail and was fined $2,750. M.L.S. appeals, raising six claims.

Legal Analysis

In his first point, M.L.S. contends that the trial court plainly erred in entering judgment of conviction and sentence against him on both counts of third-degree domestic assault for the events that occurred on November 22, 2006, because it amounted to double jeopardy. Whether a defendant is afforded the protections of the Double Jeopardy Clause is a question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Mullenix, 73 S.W.3d 32, 34 (Mo.App. W.D. 2002). Since M.L.S. did not raise a double jeopardy defense at the trial court, this claim can be reviewed only for plain error-as he concedes. See State v. Beggs, 186 S.W.3d 306, 311 (Mo.App. W.D.2005). When deciding whether to exercise our discretion under plain-error review, we look to the face of the defendant's claim to determine whether substantial grounds exist for believing that the trial court committed a plain error, which resulted in manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice. Id. Thus, we engage in a two-step analysis: we must determine (1) whether the trial court committed an evident, obvious, and clear error that would affect the defendant's substantial rights, and (2) whether manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice resulted from the plain error. Id. at 311-12.

The Double Jeopardy Clause "`prevents a criminal defendant from being subjected to multiple punishments for the same offense.'" State v. Harris, 243 S.W.3d 508, 511 (Mo.App. W.D.2008) (quoting State v. Dravenstott, 138 S.W.3d 186, 190 (Mo.App. W.D.2004)). Section 556.041 states:

When the same conduct of a person may establish the commission of more than one offense he may be prosecuted for each such offense. He may not, however, be convicted of more than one offense if
....
(4) The offense is defined as a continuing course of conduct and the person's course of conduct was uninterrupted, unless the law provides that specific periods *297 of such conduct constitute separate offenses.

M.L.S. argues that his domestic assault convictions for the events in November 2006 violate the Double Jeopardy Clause because the factual basis for the separate charges were a single continuous and uninterrupted assault, which lasted for seconds. Additionally, he argues that the record contains no evidence of a separation in time sufficient to provide him an opportunity to formulate a new intent.

We agree that the encounter constituted a single course of conduct.

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State v. M.L.S.
275 S.W.3d 293 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
275 S.W.3d 293, 2008 WL 4620433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mls-moctapp-2008.