United States v. Gaines

61 M.J. 689, 2005 CCA LEXIS 239, 2005 WL 1793464
CourtNavy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedJuly 29, 2005
DocketNMCCA 200300828
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 61 M.J. 689 (United States v. Gaines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Gaines, 61 M.J. 689, 2005 CCA LEXIS 239, 2005 WL 1793464 (N.M. 2005).

Opinion

DORMAN, Chief Judge:

The appellant was tried before a general court-martial composed of a military judge, sitting alone. Contrary to his pleas, the military judge convicted the appellant of indecently assaulting two adult females, on different occasions. As a result, the appellant stands convicted of violating Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 934. The adjudged and approved sentence consists of confinement for 2 years, reduction to pay grade E-l, and a bad-conduct discharge. In taking action on 19 February 2003, the convening authority remitted all confinement in excess of 12 months. This action was taken to comply with an agreement reached between the appellant and the convening authority midway through the appellant’s court-martial. Additionally, as a matter of clemency, the convening authority waived automatic forfeitures of pay for a period of 6 months from the date of his action. The record is silent as to whether the appellant benefited from this clemency.

The appellant has raised five assignments of error,1 the first four of which will be addressed below. We have reviewed the record of trial, the appellant’s brief and assignments of error, the Government’s answer, and the appellant’s reply. We have also considered the excellent oral arguments presented by appellate counsel on 11 May 2005. Based on that review, we conclude that corrective action is required. Following our corrective action, we conclude that the findings and sentence are correct in law and fact, and that no error remains that is materially prejudicial to the substantial rights of the appellant. Arts. 59(a) and 66(c), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 859(a) and 866(c).

Facts

The appellant stands convicted of two indecent assaults. One assault was committed against a civilian female, Ms. S, on 25 November 2000, in the off-base house of one of the appellant’s girlfriends. The other assault was committed against Seaman Apprentice (SA) P on 3 March 2001, in the off-base house in which another of the appellant’s girlfriends was then living.

Ms. S testified that she had seen the appellant at Rumors, an on-base bar in Dahlgren, VA, the evening before the assault. She went there to meet her friend, Ms. D, who worked as a bartender at Rumors. Ms. S and Ms. D were best friends, and Ms. S planned on spending the night at Ms. D’s house that evening. After Rumors closed, the two of them went to Ms. D’s house. Prior to that evening, Ms. D had been dating the appellant. Shortly after Ms. S and Ms. D arrived at her house, the appellant arrived, letting himself in. He walked into Ms. D’s bedroom unannounced. Upon the appellant’s arrival, Ms. S retreated, pillow and blankets in hand, to sleep on the living room sofa.

Ms. S testified that she awoke early the next morning with the appellant’s finger in her vagina. She quickly got up and went into Ms. D’s room and woke her up. Ms. D testified that when Ms. S came into her room she was screaming and crying, saying the appellant’s name over and over again. After Ms. D shook Ms. S, Ms. S told her what the appellant had done. Ms. D got up and left the room in search of the appellant. Ms. S [691]*691did not report the incident to the police for several days.

The appellant testified that he spent the night with Ms. D and that they had sexual relations that night. The next morning, as he was leaving, he woke Ms. S to ask her about a cigarette lighter she had borrowed. He testified that when he woke her, she pulled him down towards her and started kissing him. She soon stopped and commented that he was not who she thought he was. He believed Ms. S was playing “head games” with him. He testified that he terminated the interchange with Ms. S by grabbing her buttocks and telling her that he would not tell Ms. D.

On the evening of 3 March 2001, SA P was at Rumors with Seaman (SN) K. SA P was 19 years old. SN K was 35 years old. SA P was both shorter and heavier than SN K. The appellant was also at Rumors, and he talked with them that evening. SA P and SN K left Rumors around 2300, eventually ending up at the off-base house where SN K was soon to be living. Along the way, they stopped at a convenience store and purchased some alcoholic beverages. Although SA P was not 21, she consumed some of those beverages once they got to the house. Eventually, the appellant and another Sailor showed up at the house. Two other Sailors arrived at the house some time later.

The house belonged to a petty officer, from whom SN K was going to be renting a room. Previously, SN K had “house-sat” for the petty officer. During the periods of time that she house-sat, the appellant would visit SN K there. During those visits the appellant and SN K engaged in sexual relations. During the time in which SN K house-sat, there was only one bedroom in the house. When the appellant and SN K engaged in sexual relations, they did so in that bedroom. The petty officer testified that when the lights are turned off in that bedroom at night, it becomes very dark in that room. SN K was in the process of moving into the house, and a second bedroom had been set up for her. The second bedroom was in a room that had previously been used for storage. The appellant was not aware that SN K had a bedroom of her own.

SA P knew the appellant because she had worked with him. After the appellant arrived at the house, he, SN K, and SA P sat on the sofa watching television in the living room. All were drinking, and the appellant testified that he had been drinking before he arrived. While on the couch, the appellant was whispering in SN K’s ear, and SN K testified that she was planning on having sex with the appellant that evening. SN K left the living room and went to bed, leaving the appellant, SA P, and the other Sailors in the living room. SA P was lying on the couch with her legs in the appellant’s lap. Eventually, she got up and went to bed. She testified that the appellant followed her to the bedroom, but that he did not enter the room. SA P went to the bedroom in which SN K and the accused had previously engaged in sexual relations, laid down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

The appellant testified that he stayed in the living room for a while and did not follow SA P to the bedroom. Later, however, the appellant got up to go be with SN K, going to the bedroom where he had previously stayed with her. The appellant went in and closed the door. He began to massage the feet of the woman who was on the bed, and eventually touched her legs and pelvic area. This contact woke SA P. The appellant testified that he immediately apologized, telling SA P that he thought she was SN K. SA P became upset and went into the room where SN K was staying. She testified that she told SN K that the. appellant “had gone into the wrong room.” Record at 256. While the appellant acknowledged that he touched SA P, he also testified that he believed that he was with SN K. Contributing to his mistake were the facts that he had quite a bit to drink, that the room was very dark, and that he was not aware that SN K had her own room.

During the appellant’s case-in-chief, he presented evidence of his good military character through the testimony of four witnesses and the stipulated testimony of another.

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Bluebook (online)
61 M.J. 689, 2005 CCA LEXIS 239, 2005 WL 1793464, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gaines-nmcca-2005.