State v. Wallace

484 So. 2d 908, 1986 La. App. LEXIS 6192
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 25, 1986
DocketNo. KA 85 0892
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 484 So. 2d 908 (State v. Wallace) 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. Wallace, 484 So. 2d 908, 1986 La. App. LEXIS 6192 (La. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

SAVOIE, Judge.

Defendant, Edward Wallace, appeals his conviction of aggravated rape, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:42.

On the morning of August 1, 1984, the victim was riding her bicycle home from the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Shortly before reaching her apartment complex, the victim noticed that she was apparently being followed by a blue and white older model Cutlass or Malibu. The driver, a black man, would not pass her even though she rode very slowly. Finally, the car passed her. This activity caused the victim great anxiety. As a precaution, she allowed the car to proceed down the street before she turned into her apartment complex so that the driver could not see where she lived. The victim then proceeded to her apartment, carrying her bicycle . with her into her apartment. Thereafter, the victim went downstairs to check her mailbox. While doing so, she observed a black male standing near the door of a downstairs apartment. It appeared as if he was “trying to look in the peephole or listen or something.” When she shut her mailbox door, the noise apparently scared the man. She apologized for startling him, and went upstairs into her apartment. Shortly thereafter, her doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, she observed the same black male. He asked her if she knew a certain individual, the victim replied negatively. He then asked permission to use her telephone. The victim testified as follows:

“I mean I already had the door open. So I didn’t know — really know what to say and I — I knew I was there by myself. So I said okay, and I let him in but as he went in, I walked out because I didn’t want to be in the same — you know, I didn’t want to be trapped in my house in case — I mean he — he didn’t look dangerous or anything at the time but I just — I didn’t want to be in the same room with him.”

After using the phone, the victim asked the man if he was able to locate the address of his friend. The man replied that it was nearby. When the man left, the victim re-entered her apartment, locked the door, and started watching TV. A few minutes later, the victim’s doorbell rang again. Thinking that it was the same man, she decided not to answer the door. Thereafter, her doorbell rang again, followed by a “loud crashing noise.” She then realized that someone was attempting to break down her door. At this point, the victim went to the door and said “Hello,” but there was no reply nor could she see any[910]*910one through the peephole. Concluding that the stranger had left, the victim decided that it was safer for her to get out of the apartment. Upon opening the door, the same black male whom she had previously observed was standing beside the door. After some discourse, the victim tried to close her door but the man pushed the door back open. Attempting to get away, she ran out the door, but her attacker grabbed her and a struggle ensued. The attacker caught her as she reached the stairs and began dragging her back into the apartment. Although she tried to hold on to the railing, she was overpowered by her attacker and dragged across the cement. She also tried to hold on to the door as the attacker pulled her through the doorway. Once inside the door, he partially lifted her in the air and dragged her into the bedroom. The victim continually screamed, kicked, hit, and scratched at her attacker. However, she was unable to escape.

Inside the bedroom, the attacker tripped the victim over his leg onto the floor, pinning her under his weight. He then pulled off her clothes while she attempted to struggle. After one unsuccessful attempt, the attacker finally raped the victim. Thereafter, he told the victim not to call the police as he would know and would come back. The victim stated that her boyfriend would be arriving momentarily. The attacker then left. Due to the attacker’s threat, the victim was afraid to call the police. A few minutes later, she called a nearby friend. After his arrival, the Rape Crisis Center and the Police Department were contacted. The victim related her story to the police including a description of the vehicle which had followed her, as well as a description of her attacker. She described him as a black male, approximately six feet tall, wearing old tennis shoes, maroon gym shorts, a blue T-shirt, and an unusual pair of rose-colored sunglasses. She described him as being “about twice my size” and “like somebody who lifts weights ... real muscular.”

Two days later, another LSU student observed a blue and white Oldsmobile Cutlass across the street from his apartment. He noticed that the man getting out of the car was not anyone that he recognized from the neighborhood. About twenty minutes later, this man was observed by the student running back towards the car. His curiosity aroused, the student memorized the vehicle’s license plate and immediately wrote it down. Thereafter, he called the police who traced the car to its present owner, the defendant. Later that afternoon, defendant was arrested. At the time of arrest, defendant was wearing rose-colored sunglasses which fit the victim’s description. A pair of maroon shorts matching her description was also seized. A few days later, the victim positively identified the shorts and the sunglasses. She also picked the defendant out of a lineup and positively identified him as her attacker.

Defendant was indicted with one count of aggravated rape, pled not guilty, and elected to be tried by a jury. Subsequently, defendant was convicted as charged and received mandatory life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He appeals, alleging that the trial court erred in:

1. Refusing the defendant’s requested jury charge.
2. Charging the jury on the definition of forcible rape.
3. Denying the defendant’s motions for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and/or new trial because the evidence only supported a conviction of the lesser included responsive verdict of forcible rape.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER 3

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motions for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and/or for new trial as the evidence only supported a conviction of the lesser included responsive verdict of forcible rape. It is not contested that he raped the victim without her consent. He merely argues that by examining the degree of force used and the amount of her resistance, a reasonable juror could only conclude, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecu[911]*911tion, that the defendant was guilty of forcible rape. Although the defendant was unarmed and the victim suffered no extensive physical pain Or injury, these facts do not negate the possibility that an aggravated rape occurred. A victim need not suffer physical harm to constitute the high degree of force necessary to support a conviction of aggravated rape. State v. Clark, 437 So.2d 879, 885 (La.App. 2nd Cir.1983), Writ denied, 442 So.2d 460 (La.1983).

Defendant relies on State v. Parish, 405 So.2d 1080 (La.1981), to support his position. In Parish, supra, our Supreme Court overturned a jury verdict convicting the defendant of attempted aggravated rape, substituting instead a conviction on the responsive verdict of attempted forcible rape. In doing so, the Court noted the similarity between LSA-R.S. 14:42(2) and LSA-R.S. 14:42.1. In State v. Jackson, 437 So.2d 855 (La.1983), our Supreme Court explained its decision in Parish, supra, by stating:

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Related

State v. Williams
149 So. 3d 462 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State v. Montana
533 So. 2d 983 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
State v. Wallace
489 So. 2d 244 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
484 So. 2d 908, 1986 La. App. LEXIS 6192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wallace-lactapp-1986.