State v. Roberts

844 So. 2d 263, 2003 WL 1956287
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 26, 2003
Docket2002-KA-2520
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 844 So. 2d 263 (State v. Roberts) 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. Roberts, 844 So. 2d 263, 2003 WL 1956287 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

844 So.2d 263 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Johnnie ROBERTS, Jr.

No. 2002-KA-2520.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 26, 2003.

*264 Eddie J. Jordan, Jr., District Attorney, Donna R. Andrieu, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Sherry Watters, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

Court composed of Chief Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES III, Judge TERRI F. LOVE, Judge DAVID S. GORBATY.

TERRI F. LOVE, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of forcible rape, intentional exposure to the AIDS virus, and second degree kidnapping, and sentenced to life imprisonment without benefits of probation or suspension of sentence as a fourth offender on the forcible rape conviction. He was also sentenced to ten years at hard labor for the intentional exposure to AIDS virus conviction and forty years at hard labor without benefits of parole, probation or suspension of sentence on the second degree kidnapping conviction to be served concurrently with the forcible rape sentence. On appeal the appellant alleges the State failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the appellant's conviction. For the reasons assigned below, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.

*265 STATEMENT OF CASE

On December 3, 2001, the State filed a bill of information charging the appellant with one count each of forcible rape, intentional exposure to the AIDS virus, and second degree kidnapping. At his arraignment, he pled not guilty to all counts. On March 12, 2002, at the conclusion of a two-day trial, a twelve-person jury found him guilty as charged to all three counts. The State filed a multiple bill, and the court found him to be a fourth offender. The defendant filed a motion for a sanity hearing, but later he withdrew this motion and indicated his readiness for sentencing. The court sentenced him on the rape count to life imprisonment without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence as a fourth offender, to ten years at hard labor on the exposure count, and to forty years at hard labor without benefits of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on the kidnapping count. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The court granted a motion for appeal on that date; no motion for reconsideration of sentence was filed. This appeal followed.

FACTS

In the early morning hours of September 18, 2001, police officers responded to a call of a woman who had been kidnapped and raped and was currently at a residence in the 1400 block of Shirley Drive in Algiers. Officers responding to the call found the victim S.M.[1]. The officers eventually took her to Charity Hospital, where a rape examination was performed on her. Kate Palisi, the nurse who conducted the examination and who was qualified as an expert in the examination and treatment of alleged sexual assault victims, testified that S.M. arrived at the hospital with abrasions and bruises, including what appeared to be a bite mark on her right shoulder. She also had abrasions on the inside of her mouth and on her left cheek. Nurse Palisi testified that S.M. told her that she had been standing in front of her house when a man drove up and forced her into his car. He locked the doors and hit her when she tried to get away. S.M. told her the man took her to an Algiers park and raped her anally and vaginally. Nurse Palisi testified her examination of S.M. showed no trauma or injury to her anal or vaginal area, but she noted it is not uncommon for a victim of such an assault to have no trauma or injury. She testified there was no visible semen in the victim's vaginal vault, but S.M. indicated to her that she was not sure if the assailant ejaculated. Nurse Palisi testified the victim told her she had last had sexual relations the evening before the rape. She also testified the victim had delivered a child in the past.

Heather Close testified she lived in the 1400 block of Shirley Drive on the night of the rape. She testified that at approximately 1:30 a.m. she heard someone run onto her front porch and begin pounding on her front door. She stated she heard a woman yelling for help. She testified her large dog began barking, and she did not open the door for the woman because the dog was very protective. Instead, she called 911. She testified the woman left her porch, and when she looked outside she could see wet footprints of bare feet on her porch. The State played the 911 tape of Ms. Close's call.[2]

Ashley Harding testified she also lived in the 1400 block of Shirley Drive. She testified that on the morning of the rape she was watching television with her husband when they heard noises and her dog barking at the back of their house. She *266 testified her husband went to the back of the house, then came back through the house to the front and told her to call 911. She stated that after he went out the front door, S.M. ran inside her house through the door. She testified the victim had a bloody lip and blood all over her body, and some hair had been ripped from her head. In addition, she was wearing only a shirt with a ripped collar. Ashley Harding gave the victim a pair of shorts to wear and tried to clean her a bit. Ashley Harding described the victim as shaking, crying, and screaming. The victim told her she was standing on Holmes Boulevard in Terrytown when a man grabbed her, put her in a car, and took her to Behrman Stadium, where he raped her in a field behind the stadium. Ashley Harding testified the victim did not tell her the assailant's name. She further stated the police and S.M.'s mother arrived at the house soon thereafter. She estimated the victim was at her house for thirty to forty-five minutes. Ashley Harding denied knowing either the victim or the defendant prior to this incident. The State also played the 911 tape of Ashley Harding's call.[3]

Scott Harding testified he is Ashley Harding's husband. He testified that Behrman Stadium was located behind his house. He testified that on the night of the rape, he and his wife heard noises at the back of their house. He stated he went to the back yard, but he determined that someone was in the front of his neighbor's house. He went back through his house to the front and saw the victim beating on the front of his neighbor's house. He stated that when the victim saw him standing outside the front of his house, she came over to him from his neighbor's porch. He testified she was dressed only in a torn shirt, she had a bruised and bleeding Hp, and some of her hair had been pulled out. He testified she told him she had been raped and asked for his help. He took her inside his house and told his wife to call 911. He then went back outside, leaving the victim and his wife in the house. He stated he did not know the victim or the defendant prior to this incident.

Barbara Winsberry testified she lived in the 1300 block of Shirley Drive. She stated that on the night of the rape she heard someone screaming and called 911. She stated she did not see who was screaming. The State played the tape of her call to 911.[4]

Robert Pender testified he was the victim's boyfriend at the time of this incident. He stated he lived with her, her mother, and her son at a residence on Holmes Boulevard in Terrytown. He admitted having one prior conviction for auto theft. He stated on the night of the rape, he came home from work at approximately midnight. He stated that after staying a short while, he left to go to a store. When he returned approximately an hour later, S.M. was missing.

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Related

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
844 So. 2d 263, 2003 WL 1956287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-roberts-lactapp-2003.