Alexander v. State

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: GINA M. PALAFOX, JUSTICE
• Docket Number: 08-20-00051-CR
• Decision Date: 29 July 2022
• Citation: Alexander v. State, 08-20-00051-CR (Tex. App. Jul 29, 2022)
• Parties: WILLIAM OLLIE ALEXANDER, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

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WILLIAM OLLIE ALEXANDER, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

No. 08-20-00051-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eighth District, El Paso

July 29, 2022

Do Not Publish

Appeal from the 384th District Court of El Paso County, Texas (TC# 20180D03797)

Before Rodriguez, C.J., Palafox, and Alley, JJ.

OPINION

GINA M. PALAFOX, JUSTICE

A jury convicted appellant William Ollie Alexander of the offense of sexual assault pursuant to Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.011(a)(1)(A). In four issues, Alexander complains of the legal sufficiency of the evidence. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The disturbance call

At trial, the jury heard evidence of events occurring between complainant G.D., a 26-year-old woman, and Alexander, a former field training officer with the El Paso Police Department.^[1]On March 10, 2018, G.D. met Alexander when he and Officer Pedro Trejo, then a rookie officer responded to a disturbance call during their graveyard shift. Just after midnight, a 911-caller reported he had seen a female hitting a male as they both ran down a street. Arriving on scene, the two officers met with the 911-caller who pointed them to a nearby apartment in the rear of a home, identifying it as the source of the late-night disturbance. Approaching that location, Officer Trejo could hear voices arguing from inside the residence. Unexpectedly, before he could knock at the door, a woman, who was later identified as G.D., opened the door while completely naked. Officer Trejo could see that she was crying and she appeared shocked by their presence. Another individual, who was later identified as Roberto Rivera, was sitting on a table to the right of the door.

Taking the lead, Alexander asked G.D. to put on clothes, then followed her into the residence. While entering, he told Rivera to step outside to talk with Officer Trejo. From Rivera, Officer Trejo learned that he and G.D. had been arguing over a text message that G.D. had seen on his phone. Rivera mentioned that he and G.D. had been drinking. Rivera denied, however, that G.D. had assaulted him. Meanwhile, while G.D. dressed in the bedroom, Alexander asked for her name, date of birth, and phone number. G.D. put on pants and a shirt but no underwear or bra. During that time, Alexander gave her a piece of paper that included the name "Mike" along with a phone number. G.D. threw the paper in her purse.

After confirming that neither party had outstanding warrants, the officers decided they would separate G.D. and Rivera for the rest of the night to prevent further arguments. The apartment belonged to Rivera's friend and G.D. appeared intoxicated and unable to safely drive her own vehicle. She asked the officers for a ride to her home, but they said it was out of their way. They decided to transport G.D. to a responsible party. At that point, she arranged to stay with her friend Albert, a nursing school classmate who lived on the west side of town. After confirming Albert's address, G.D. rode with the officers in their patrol car.

While en route, Officer Trejo detected a strong odor of alcohol inside the patrol unit. Also, he noticed that G.D. cried throughout their ride. When they arrived at Albert's apartment, Alexander told Officer Trejo to stay in the unit while he escorted G.D. to the door of the residence. Trejo noted the arrival time as 1:12 a.m. on their daily activity log. Once Alexander returned to the unit, they drove back to the central area of town and responded to two other calls and conducted a traffic stop. Without comment, Alexander then drove them to the station at 2:00 a.m. Arriving, he gave instructions to Trejo to answer emails while he talked with a supervisor. Minutes later, Alexander informed Trejo he was ending his shift early due to his son having a 104-degree fever. Officer Trejo continued working their shift and eventually answered additional calls with a supervisor.

B. The text messages to G.D.

Not long after arriving at Albert's apartment, G.D. found herself feeling uncomfortable at not being in her own home. Even though Albert had an extra bedroom, she wanted to be in her own bed. She talked with Rivera on her phone, asking him to take her back to her car so she could drive home. He encouraged her to sleep at Albert's, promising he would pick her up the next day. G.D. felt worse about being away from her home. At that point, she received an incoming text message, time-stamped at 1:27 a.m. The message said, "Hey[,] its mike the cop. [You] ok?" She soon learned it came from Alexander, one of the officers who had just dropped her off at Albert's apartment. G.D. answered "Yes," and let him know she remained at Albert's. Alexander replied, "[I don't know why] that guy cheated on [you] [you're] smart [and] pretty [and] have a nice body." G.D. responded, "I'm sorry I'm not a bad person[,] I'm just drunk and I'm [so] sorry [you] had to drive me." Alexander replied, "No its good. I don[']t mind at all. [You] [should] get [back] at that guy [though][,] [laugh out loud]. Sh*t I [would]." G.D. responded, "I'm just hurt. I don't deserve this[,] I'm not a bad person."

Continuing their conversation, Alexander offered to meet up if she wanted. G.D. replied, "It's ok. [T]hank you[,] so . . . I'm at my friends still." He replied, "Ok." Minutes later, Alexander asked, "[you] pretty drunk??" She responded, "I'm ok now . . . I'm just up[.] [You]?" He replied, "Yea[,] when [you] opened the door [you] caught me off guard [laugh out loud]. [I'm] [about] to get off [work]." G.D. apologized for him seeing her naked and asked what time he finished his work. Alexander replied he was not complaining because she had a "VERY nice body." (Emphasis in original). He said he would be off work in an hour or so. G.D. responded, "Mike your (sic) my angel [laugh out loud] [I'm] not drunk[.] Can u come by[.] I'm at the same place[.] Are [you] married[.]" Alexander replied "nope," and asked what she wanted to do. G.D. replied "anything." She then added that she was a "hurt nursing student." Alexander responded he knew she was a good person and he did not want to take advantage of her. He asked whether she was going to be "ok." G.D. replied that she was at her friend's house and he was "good people." Alexander next asked whether she wanted him to pick her up. She replied, "yes [please][.] [laugh out loud]." Replying at 1:57 a.m., he said, "Ok give me like 30 mins."

At 2:08 a.m., Alexander texted he was on the way and asked if G.D. was still drinking. She replied "no." Alexander asked if she was a friendly drunk. She replied, "[u]nless [you] f*ck" with me [laugh out loud] I'm friendly." Alexander next mentioned he accidentally had grabbed her breast at the apartment and he apologized. After confirming it happened, she told him it was "ok." About 2:25 a.m., Alexander sent a text asking if she could meet him in the front because he was wearing his work pants and did not want to leave his vehicle. G.D. replied she was on her way. At 2:31 a.m., his text message questioned whether she was coming, and at 2:34 a.m. he sent a question mark. He then called her phone and she returned the call, talking less than a minute.

C. Alexander's truck

Alexander picked G.D. up in his pick-up truck. As she rode in the front passenger seat, they talked about her "drama" with Rivera. Alexander said, "You should get back at him." G.D. kept talking, and crying, without responding directly. G.D. asked for a ride to her car, which remained parked at Rivera's apartment. Instead, Alexander soon parked on a street behind a semi-truck. Again, she asked him to take her to her car. Responding, he asked her to first show him her breasts, implying he would take her to her car after she did so. G.D. testified, "I was shocked. I was, like, surprised. I wasn't expecting him to ask me that. But I did it anyway because I just wanted to get to my car, and he had already seen me naked, so I was like, 'Well, okay. I'll show you. Just take me to my car.'"

At the time, G.D. wore leggings as well as a tank top without a bra. As she pulled her shirt down, Alexander touched her and started licking her breast. He kept complimenting her body. Responding, she told him to stop, saying to him, "Can you" -- "can you just get away? I want to go to my car." She had worked a full shift and had not showered. She told him, "Stop. I'm dirty," and "no." She did not want him to try anything else nor did she want to have sex with him. Rather than stop, Alexander continued touching her and kissing her breast. He lifted her shirt, kissed her stomach, and moved down her body. Feeling shocked, she was afraid to push him off of her or to do anything. She was then thinking of him being a police officer who would likely have a gun with him in the vehicle. Alexander next removed her shoe and the left side only of her pants, continuing despite her telling him to stop. After he pulled her leg towards him, he pulled down his own pants and penetrated her sexual organ with his sexual organ. G.D. started feeling nauseous from the rocking motion. She was afraid and shocked. She testified she felt frozen in fear, not knowing what to do.

While testifying, G.D. acknowledged she did not fight back. Instead, she just laid still trying not to throw up. She confirmed that Alexander ejaculated but she did not know where exactly. He asked her for napkins from the glove compartment, which she assumed he wanted to "clean himself up." Alexander then told her to move away and put her pants on. She described she could only partly dress because she felt dizzy and nauseous. As he then drove her to her car, she described the ride as being "quiet and awkward," and he did not say anything. Only when they arrived at her car, he asked whether she was still drunk and whether she...