Stevens v. State

251 So. 2d 565
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided August 19, 1971·No. O-86·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

251 So.2d 565 (1971)

James Edward STEVENS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. O-86.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

August 19, 1971.

*566 John Paul Howard, Jacksonville, for appellant.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

RAWLS, Judge.

Appellant's primary point on this appeal from a conviction of the crime of rape is that the testimony of police officers present at a lineup wherein the victim and another witness identified appellant as the attacker was hearsay evidence and should not have been allowed. He also contends that his constitutional rights were violated because: (1) He was subjected to an illegal search; (2) The jury was allowed to determine the voluntariness of a statement made after his arrest; (3) A prospective juror made a prejudicial statement; (4) Inflammatory photographs were allowed into evidence; and (5) A statement made before defendant was advised of his rights was allowed into evidence.

The facts in the case are as follows: The victim (age 16) and her boy friend had gone to a movie on a motorbike. On the way home at approximately 11:00 p.m., they stopped by a park bench to "kiss and talk." While there, they were approached by three negro youths, one of whom asked for cigarettes and permission to ride the motorbike. When permission was refused, he approached the victim, placed his arm around her shoulders and commented that she was a "good-looking woman." As the couple tried to leave, he struck the victim's boy friend in the face, knocking him down, and grabbed her. The uncontradicted evidence showed that he and a second boy proceeded to attack the girl while the third boy, wearing brass knuckles, restrained the boy friend. The victim was severely beaten about the face. She testified that she believed the first boy who grabbed her and threw her down was unable to pull down her pants so he allowed the second boy (who had been holding her arms) to rape her first. The two boys switched places again but flashlights were seen approaching and all three boys fled. The victim was taken to the hospital where several photographs were made. The examining doctor testified that she was badly beaten in the face, her hymen had been ripped causing bleeding, and she was in a state of shock.

Approximately 10 minutes after the attack occurred, the police (who had been searching the park) located the defendant (appellant) nearby wearing a dark shirt and bloodstained pants. The police searched him, recovering a straight razor, and placed him under arrest. They did not advise him of his constitutional rights nor did they make any attempt to question him. As they were placing him in the police car, he commented that his car was parked nearby and he didn't want to leave it. He then showed the police where the car was parked and they called a wrecker to tow it to the police station. At the station appellant's clothing was exchanged for prison clothing; he was fully apprised of his constitutional rights and questioned. Appellant signed a statement admitting that he was involved in the incident and had tried to rape the victim but failed to effect penetration. He also identified the other two boys. The next day appellant was *567 placed in several lineups and identified by both the victim and her boy friend as the attacker.

At trial defendant testified that he was the second boy involved in the rape; that he had not held the victim's arms but rather had remained at her head trying to protect her face from being beaten; and that he had refused to rape the victim when offered the opportunity. The third boy (who had remained with the boy friend) testified against appellant and identified him as the person who had raped the victim. Two police officers testified regarding the lineup proceedings. Both officers testified that appellant had been identified as the attacker at the lineup. No timely objection was made to the testimony of the first officer; however, the trial judge did sustain an objection to the second officer's testimony as hearsay and gave appropriate instructions to the jury to disregard the testimony of both officers. Appellant was convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Appellant raises numerous points on appeal most of which we find to be without merit. In short order, we find:

1. The trial court did not err in refusing to disqualify the entire jury venire when one prospective woman juror asked to be excused because "she had been raped by a colored person the year before" and did not feel she could be impartial. The statement in no way implicated the defendant. The court did not abuse its judicial discretion in refusing to disqualify all prospective jurors who heard the statement.

2. There is no merit in appellant's contention that his constitutional rights were violated when he was not immediately taken before a committing magistrate. This issue was not raised at the trial level and the record is devoid of information as to just when appellant was taken before a magistrate. However, appellant asserts in his brief that some four and one-half to five hours elapsed between the time he was arrested and the time he was taken before a magistrate. Assuming this assertion to be correct, we conclude that this is not an "unreasonable delay." Pettyjohn v. United States.[1] Appellant made and signed a voluntary statement implicating himself in the attack. The voluntary nature of this statement was first ascertained by the trial judge who admitted it into evidence for a jury to determine its evidentiary value. As in Paramore v. State,[2] "The voluntariness of the confession was a mixed question of fact and law which was decided first by the trial judge and then by the jury based on the evidence adduced."

3. Appellant freely, without any interrogation or prompting, voluntarily advised the arresting officers that his car was parked nearby and that he didn't want to leave it. Such statement was properly admitted into evidence and was not a violation of appellant's constitutional rights. Cameron v. State; Leach v. State; and Myrick v. State.[3]

4. The two photographs of the victim were also properly admitted into evidence. We have examined the two photographs, one made several hours after the attack and the other the next day. The first shows the victim in a disheveled state, her face dirty and scratched, with a blanket wrapped around her. The second shows the victim's head and bruished face after she had time to wash her face and comb her hair. In neither photograph is the victim's body exposed nor is there obvious blood. Both photographs demonstrate that force had been used against the victim during the attack, an essential element in a charge of *568 rape.[4] The trial judge did not abuse his discretion in allowing them into evidence as they were relevant to serve some purpose other than to "influence unduly the jury's reactions". Leach v. State, supra, and Mardorff v. State.[5]

5. We conclude that there is no merit to appellant's contention that he was illegally arrested and searched and that therefore the evidence obtained (i.e., straight razor and bloodstained clothing) should not have been introduced into evidence. The police officers had ample reason to stop, search and arrest appellant when they located him near the scene of a recent rape wearing bloodstained clothing. As noted by appellant, F.S. § 901.15(2) and (3), F.S.A. describe those situations wherein the police may arrest without a warrant as:

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