State v. Walder

504 So. 2d 991
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 4, 1987
Docket86 KA 0517
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 504 So. 2d 991 (State v. Walder) 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. Walder, 504 So. 2d 991 (La. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

504 So.2d 991 (1987)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Stephen WALDER.

No. 86 KA 0517.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 4, 1987.
Writ Denied May 29, 1987.

*992 Joseph B. Tosterud, Asst. Dist. Atty., Covington, for appellee.

J. Kevin McNary, Ponchatoula, for appellant.

Before LOTTINGER, SHORTESS and CARTER, JJ.

CARTER, Judge.

Stephen Walder was indicted by the St. Tammany Parish grand jury and charged with aggravated rape in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:42. Defendant pled not guilty, was tried by a jury and was convicted as charged. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He has appealed, urging eight assignments of error:

1. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, because of the absence of any evidence of vaginal or anal penetration of the victim.
2. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, because the evidence at most supports a conviction of the lesser included offenses of forcible rape or sexual battery.
3. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for a new trial, because the verdict was contrary to the law and the evidence and the ends of justice require the granting of a new trial.
4. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for a new trial based on prejudicial errors resulting from the trial court's overruling of valid defense objections.
5. The trial court erred by overruling defendant's objection to Emile Navarre's testifying as to the mental and physical condition of the victim.
6. The trial court committed reversible error by overruling defendant's objection to the testimony of Emile Navarre, regarding a statement made to him by the victim.
7. The trial court erred by overruling defendant's objection to Barbara Guerrero's testimony, pertaining to the identity of a telephone caller.
8. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for new trial because defendant received ineffective assistance *993 of counsel, and the ends of justice would be served by the granting of a new trial.

Assignment of error number seven was not briefed on appeal and is, therefore, considered abandoned. Uniform Rules— Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-12.4. Assignment of error eight was expressly abandoned in brief.

FACTS

The record reflects that the instant offense occurred on June 1, 1985, in St. Tammany Parish. The offense was committed during the early morning hours against a thirty-two year-old female.

The victim testified that, after leaving her place of employment on June 1, 1985, at about 11:20 p.m., she went directly to Ruby's Roadhouse in Mandeville where she had two drinks. Before finishing the second drink, she received a telephone call from her friend Michael, who invited her to his home. She accepted the invitation.

When the victim walked out of Ruby's, she proceeded to her car, got inside and started the motor. Defendant, whom she had previously seen inside Ruby's, tapped on the car window and asked for a ride home. She consistently declined to give him a ride, however, after persistent requests, she agreed to furnish him a ride home.

As the victim drove, she and her passenger engaged in conversation. Upon nearing the location where defendant claimed to reside, the victim noticed there were no houses in the immediate area and began to worry. Defendant told her to stop her car. When she stopped her car, he pulled her toward him, put a knife to her throat and told her "[y]ou're going to do everything I tell you to do or I'm going to slit your throat." At that point, the victim became very frightened and told defendant to put his knife away and she would do whatever he wanted. He told her to turn off the lights and motor, give him the keys to the car, and exit the car. She complied. While continuing to hold the knife in his hand, defendant told the victim to disrobe. The victim testified that he forced her to "give him oral sex," they had "intercourse," and the act of intercourse was completed.

Defendant suggested that they go to the victim's home. He, however, refused to allow the victim to drive or put on her clothes. Accordingly, she directed him to Lotus Road where her friend Michael lived, telling defendant that she lived there. When they arrived at Michael's house, they stopped in front. The house was well-lighted. The victim unsuccessfully tried to convince defendant that her two children might have left the lights on. She tried to get him to go inside; however, he refused and took her back to Sunset Park, where he "did it [to her] again," both inside and outside of the car.

After allowing the victim to put her clothes on, defendant took her to a motel. When they arrived at the motel, he placed his knife in the victim's face and said: "Remember this? If you say anything to that guy at the window or do anything, I'm going to hurt you and then I'm going to kill him." Defendant registered for a room, and, after he and the victim were given a room, he "did it to [her] again." The victim testified that defendant eventually left the motel room to buy cigarettes and a coke, and upon leaving, told her he would "give [her] rectal intercourse" when he returned. Defendant also told her: "Now, you be here when I get back." After he left, the victim looked for a telephone in the room. She peeked outside, through a curtain, to see if she could see defendant. She became fearful that he might be hiding outside the door. However, she decided that she had to take advantage of the opportunity at hand and ran to Emile Navarre's house, approximately two blocks away.

Emile Navarre testified that, on the day in question at about 2:45 a.m., he heard banging on his front door. He first called the police and then went to the door. A few minutes after Emile Navarre let the victim come inside his house, the police arrived.

Officers Kevin Frosch and Marco Nuzzolillo of the Mandeville Police Department went to Emile Navarre's house in response *994 to the call for police assistance. At Emile Navarre's home, the officers spoke to the victim, who gave them a report of the instant offense and a description of defendant. As a result of the report received from the victim, Officer Frosch telephoned Michael Navarre, Jr., owner of the Ozone Motel, and instructed him to secure room number two.

Michael Navarre testified that, on the date in question, he remembered defendant and a woman checking into his motel. It was the last room he had rented that morning. About an hour after the two registered, Michael Navarre received a telephone call from the police and was instructed to remain indoors. He testified that, in the meantime, defendant came and asked him whether he had seen the girl who had been with him. Navarre replied in the negative.

While en route with the victim to the police station for additional questioning, Officers Frosch and Nuzzolillo observed the defendant near the Ozone Motel. The officers transferred the victim to another police car and proceeded toward the motel. At about 3:21 a.m., defendant was seen crouching down and moving behind a mobile home behind the motel. About a minute later, Officer Nuzzolillo apprehended defendant in the motel parking lot.

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Bluebook (online)
504 So. 2d 991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-walder-lactapp-1987.