State v. Mutz

896 So. 2d 1129, 2005 WL 356243
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 15, 2005
Docket04-KA-1072
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 896 So. 2d 1129 (State v. Mutz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Mutz, 896 So. 2d 1129, 2005 WL 356243 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

896 So.2d 1129 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Leonard R. MUTZ, Jr.

No. 04-KA-1072.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

February 15, 2005.

*1131 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Twenty-Fourth Judicial District, Parish of Jefferson, Terry M. Boudreaux, Juliet Clark, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Bruce G. Whittaker, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges MARION F. EDWARDS, SUSAN M. CHEHARDY and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

On August 14, 2001, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Leonard Mutz, Jr., with sexual battery upon R.H., in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.1.[1] The defendant pled not guilty at arraignment. On March 21, 2002, the State filed a notice of intent to use evidence of other crimes. After a hearing, the trial judge took the matter under advisement, and on March 28, 2002, the trial court granted the State's motion. Defendant was tried before a six-person jury, which returned a verdict of guilty as charged on January 31, 2003.

Defendant filed a motion for new trial, which was denied by the trial judge on April 7, 2003. On that same date, the trial judge sentenced defendant to serve four years at hard labor. This timely appeal follows.

FACTS

At trial, R.H. testified that she fell asleep on a couch in the early morning hours of June 3, 2001 at the Office Lounge located on the Westbank Expressway where she worked as a bartender. When she awoke, she found herself on her stomach, with her pants and underwear pulled down. Defendant was behind her, with his penis pushing against her "anal area."

Approximately one week earlier, R.H. first met defendant, whom she knew as "Ging Ging," through Christy Brumfield and Mike Roussell, with whom R.H. was living. R.H. said she never dated defendant or had any other social contact with him. However, during the week preceding June 3, 2001, defendant began showing up at the Office Lounge and Murphy's, another lounge where R.H. bartended.

On June 2, 2001, after working at Murphy's until approximately 7:00 p.m., R.H. went home for a few hours. Around 2:00 a.m. on June 3, 2001, R.H. went to pick up her friend, Casey, who worked at a lounge on Lafayette Street. Because Casey and her boyfriend were having an argument, R.H. and Casey left the lounge around 2:30 a.m. However, Casey's boyfriend ran out in front of R.H.'s car and smashed into the windshield. Casey exited the car, and R.H. went to the Office Lounge.

After talking about the accident to some police officers at the Office Lounge, R.H. had several drinks. She estimated that, around 4:00 a.m., she fell asleep on the couch in the bar. George Parks, the owner of the lounge, locked up and left at approximately 7:30 a.m. Parks testified that R.H. was sleeping on the couch, and *1132 that there were no other patrons in the lounge when he left. Parks went home to get some sleep before he had to return to the lounge in a few hours.

Between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., R.H.'s friend, Casey, went to the apartment where R.H. lived. Casey related to Mike Roussell the events that had occurred earlier in the morning involving her boyfriend, and she told Roussell that she could not find R.H. At 8:30 a.m., defendant showed up at the apartment, just to "hang out." Since no one had heard from R.H., defendant volunteered to look for her. According to Roussell, defendant said he would go to Murphy's and the Office Lounge, and he left between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.

Sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., R.H. woke up on her stomach with her pants and underwear around her knees. She felt the "pressure" of a penis and "almost penetration" on her "anal area." R.H. rolled out from under defendant and saw defendant pulling up his pants. R.H. pulled up her pants and ran out of the lounge. She went to the residence where Parks stayed with his girlfriend and another person, O'Neal Boudreaux, who answered the door. R.H. told Boudreaux what had happened, and he called Parks, who was already at the lounge by that time.

Parks looked around, but did not see anyone else in the lounge. Parks testified that, when entering the lounge that morning, he discovered that the doorknob was locked, but the dead bolt was not. Parks found this to be strange, because he had recalled locking the deadbolt, but not the doorknob. Upon closer inspection, Parks observed that the wood around the striker plate for the deadbolt had been gouged out of the jamb.

Several days later, on June 11, 2003, R.H. reported the incident to the police. R.H. explained the delay in reporting the incident by the fact that she was in shock and was working a great deal. Officer Guidry of the Gretna Police Department was the first officer who recorded the complaint. He also interviewed Parks and observed the pry marks on the door jamb. The complaint was transferred to Detective Lawrence, who obtained a taped statement from R.H. Detective Lawrence also observed the pry marks, and said that it was very easy to unlock the deadbolt. According to Detective Lawrence, he was able to unlock the door by slipping a pocket knife in between the jamb and the door and sliding the bolt backwards. Detective Lawrence also testified that the couch area where R.H. had been sleeping was visible by standing outside and looking through a window. Detective Lawrence showed R.H. a photographic lineup, and R.H. positively identified defendant as the perpetrator. She also identified defendant at trial.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erred in allowing the State to present evidence of other crimes, specifically an incident involving defendant's sister-in-law, C.R.[2] According to defendant, the evidence was inadmissible under LSA-C.E. 404(B)(1)[3] because it was not independently *1133 relevant. Defendant also contends that the other crimes evidence was not substantiated, and that its admission was not harmless.

The State responds that the offense involving C.R. was admissible pursuant to LSA-C.E. art. 412.2. The State further responds that the event was substantiated through C.R.'s testimony, that the evidence was relevant to the defendant's propensity to sexually assault women who have fallen asleep or passed out after consuming alcohol, and that it was not unduly prejudicial.

On March 21, 2002, the State filed a notice of intent to use evidence of other crimes to show defendant's knowledge, intent, guilty knowledge, system and motive. In its notice, the State indicated it planned to introduce evidence that defendant was arrested for simple rape of his sister-in-law on April 6, 2000 while she was intoxicated and passed out on April 5, 2000. At a hearing on March 21, 2002, the State presented the testimony of the officer who investigated the incident involving C.R. The State informed the court that C.R. would testify at trial, and also submitted R.H.'s statement regarding the incident in this case. After taking the matter under advisement, the trial judge ruled that the evidence was admissible on March 28, 2003.

At trial, the State presented the testimony of C.R., who told the jury that she attended a family function on April 5, 2000 at the home of her sister and defendant, who was her sister's husband. After consuming several alcoholic beverages, she fell asleep in the master bedroom. C.R. said that she was not drunk, but admitted she was "under the influence of alcohol" before lying down. C.R. awoke to find herself repositioned in the bed, with her feet on the floor.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
896 So. 2d 1129, 2005 WL 356243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mutz-lactapp-2005.