State v. Walker

743 S.W.2d 99, 1988 Mo. App. LEXIS 1812, 1988 WL 229
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 5, 1988
Docket52727
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 743 S.W.2d 99 (State v. Walker) 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. Walker, 743 S.W.2d 99, 1988 Mo. App. LEXIS 1812, 1988 WL 229 (Mo. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

GRIMM, Judge.

In this jury tried case, Terry Walker appeals from convictions of two counts of rape, § 566.030, RSMo 1986; and one count of attempted sodomy, §§ 564.011 and 566.-060, RSMo 1986. Defendant was sentenced, as a prior offender, to twenty years on each count of rape and twenty years on the attempted sodomy charge, all sentences to run consecutively. We affirm.

The appeal raises three issues. First, whether the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s motion for Judgment of Acquittal on the basis that “the evidence is insufficient as a matter of fact and law” as to the count of attempt to commit sodomy. We find that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction, because the action that defendant and his accomplice engaged in amounted to a substantial step toward the commission of that offense. See, §§ 564.011 and 562.041, RSMo 1986.

Second, whether the trial court erred by precluding defendant from inquiring of the prospective jurors, whether they had ever run into a situation where they [the jurors] had walked up to someone, or, someone had walked up to them, believing that they knew that person, when, in fact, they were mistaken or if they had ever been mistaken for someone else. Because a trial court *101 necessarily and properly has considerable discretion in control and conduct of voir dire examination and an appellate court will interfere with the exercise of that discretion only when the record shows a manifest abuse of discretion and a real probability of injury to the defendant, we find no error. State v. Scott, 515 S.W.2d 524, 527 (Mo.Div.1 1974).

Third, whether the trial court erred in overruling defendant’s motion to suppress identification because the defendant was the only person who appeared in two lineups, thus making the lineups inherently unfair. We find the point was waived, due to the absence of a timely objection during the trial; and there was no error, plain or otherwise.

In reviewing the record to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction, the state’s evidence, after conviction, must be accepted as true, together with all reasonable inferences deductible therefrom, and all evidence and inferences to the contrary must be disregarded. State v. Stapleton, 518 S.W.2d 292 (Mo. banc 1975). In addition, our sole determination is whether there was sufficient evidence from which reasonable persons could have found the defendant guilty as charged. State v. Dunavant, 674 S.W.2d 685 (Mo.App.E.D.1984).

Briefly, the evidence indicates that at approximately 11:00 p.m. on December 8, 1985, the 16 year-old victim was walking alone, while drinking a beer, on a street in the City of St. Louis. The victim was approached by a stranger who began harassing her. He continued to harass her until another stranger, Russell Wangler, told him to leave her alone. Wangler and the victim introduced themselves. They then decided to drink a few beers; the victim got into Wangler’s van and drove to a 7-11 store with him. After purchasing beer and driving around for one and one-half hours, they parked in an alley, where they were joined by the defendant.

The three then drove around for a while longer, and at one point went to Illinois to purchase beer. When they returned to St. Louis, Wangler parked the van at the side of the highway. The victim then attempted to get out of the van, saying she wanted to “stretch her legs.” Wangler denied her exit from the van and, with the help of the defendant, carried her to the back of the van.

The defendant held the victim down and Wangler removed her clothing from the waist down. The defendant then moved to the front of the van while Wangler raped her. Wangler then tried to make the victim have oral sex with him. However, the victim screamed that she would get sick and Wangler did not persist. The defendant then moved to the back of the van and raped the victim.

Thereafter, Wangler again went to the back of the van and lay down next to the victim. He went through her purse and slapped her several times for having “too many guy’s [sic] phone numbers.” He then threw the victim’s clothing at her and told her to get dressed.

The defendant exited the van soon after this and the victim attempted to follow. However, Wangler grabbed the victim and placed her back into the van. After a struggle, the victim finally escaped and flagged down a passing motorist. The motorist drove her until they found a police officer, who took her to the hospital.

About three weeks later, on January 2, 1986, the victim viewed a physical lineup of six individuals. From that lineup, she identified the accomplice, Russell Wangler, without hesitation. The next day, January 3,1986, the victim viewed a photo lineup of six individuals, identifying the defendant. On January 13, 1986, the victim viewed a physical lineup, consisting of four individuals. The victim again identified the defendant without hesitation. The only individual who was the same in both the January 3 photo lineup and the January 13 lineup was the defendant.

The first issue the defendant raises is that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for Judgment of Acquittal on the basis that “the evidence is insufficient as a matter of fact and law” as to the count of attempt to commit sodomy. De *102 fendant asserts that mere preparation and request by the accomplice to commit the act is insufficient to constitute an attempt to commit a crime, citing State v. Stewart, 537 S.W.2d 579 (Mo.App.E.D.1976). We observe that Stewart, being a 1976 decision, is a pre-code case. Before The Criminal Code was enacted in 1977, effective January 1, 1979, the Missouri statutes defined attempt only partially and obliquely, and one had to look to case law to determine its elements. MAI-CR Comments, Attempts, pp. 1-2. Since the enactment of The Criminal Code, the offense of an attempt to commit an offense is part of the Missouri statutes.

Section 564.011, RSMo 1986 defines an attempt as follows:

A person is guilty of attempt to commit an offense when, with the purpose of committing the offense, he does any act which is a substantial step towards the commission of the offense. A “substantial step” is conduct which is strongly corroborative of the firmness of the actor’s purpose to complete the commission of the offense.

Thus, there are two basic elements to attempt, namely (1) a purpose to commit the offense, and (2) the doing of an act which is a substantial step toward the commission of that offense. The language, “strongly corroborative of the firmness of the actor’s intent” is the gist of the “substantial step.” The conduct must be indicative of the defendant’s purpose to complete the offense. What act or conduct will constitute a substantial step will depend on the facts of the particular case. The New Missouri Criminal Code: A Manual for Court Related Personnel, pp. 9-1 and 9-2.

Here, the issue revolves around an attempted sodomy.

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Bluebook (online)
743 S.W.2d 99, 1988 Mo. App. LEXIS 1812, 1988 WL 229, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-walker-moctapp-1988.